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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


GUIDE 

TO  THK 

HIGHLANDS  AND  ISLANDS 


INCLUDING  ORKNEY  AND  ZETLAND 

DESCRIPTIVE   OF   THEIR    SCENERY, 
STATISTICS,   ANTIQUITIES,    AND   NATURAL   HISTORY. 

CONTAINING  ALSO 

DIRECTIONS  FOB  VISITING  THE  LOWLANDS  OF  SCOTLAND 

WITH  DESCRIPTIVE  NOTICES, 


MAPS,    VIEWS,    TABLES    OF   DISTANCES, 
NOTICES    OF    INNS,    &c. 


BY  GEORGE  ANDERSON  AND  PETER  ANDERSON 

OF  INVERNESS. 


THIRD    EDITION 

CAREFULLY   RF.VISED,    ENLARGED,    ANH    REMODELLED. 


EDINBURGH. 
ADAM   AND   CHARLES   BLACK,   NOKTH    KKIDGK 

BOOKSELLERS  AND  PUBLISHERS  TO  THE  QUKEN. 


SDINBURGH  : 
PRINTED   BY  ROBERT   CLARK. 


PEEFACE. 


THE  Authors  having  been  induced  to  remodel  this  Guide,  by 
commencing  the  Routes  between  Inverness  and  the  South, 
not  at  Inverness  as  a  central  point,  as  in  previous  editions, 
but  at  the  opposite  extremities,  so  as  better  to  serve  the  pur- 
pose of  the  stranger  visiting  the  Highlands,  necessarily  had 
to  rewrite  these  portions ;  and  they,  with  some  confidence, 
anticipate  that  these  alterations  produce  a  very  material  im- 
provement in  all  respects.  They  have  again  visited  several 
parts  of  the  country,  and  made  personal  acquaintance  with 
some  other  districts  which  they  had  not  had  previous  oppor- 
tunity of  inspecting  for  themselves — thus  giving  freshness 
and  novelty  to  the  narrative.  They  have  also  subjected  the 
whole  work  to  so  thorough  a  revision,  and  have  introduced  so 
much  new  matter  into  their  pages,  that  they  are  encouraged  to 
hope  that  it  will  now  be  found  not  only  a  very  complete  Guide 
Book  to  the  Highlands  and  Islands,  even  in  their  most  remote 
and  sequestered  byeways,  but  also  a  readable,  as  well  as  com- 
prehensive compilation,  for  the  closet  or  the  fireside.  To 


865838 


accommodate  the  Volume  to  the  wants  of  Tourists  throughout 
the  whole  of  Scotland,  a  condensed  Sketch  of  the  Lowlands 
has  been  added,  by  which  the  Authors  have  endeavoured  to 
direct  the  Traveller's  notice  to  the  points  of  most  interest,  as 
well  as  to  promote  his  acquaintance  with  the  subjects  it  passes 
in  rapid  survey  before  him. 

It  is  with  much  gratification  the  Authors  acknowledge  the 
prompt  attention  they  have  received  from  the  numerous  parties 
they  have  applied  to  for  details  of  information,  for  this  as  of 
former  Editions.  They  have  felt  called  upon  already  to  express 
their  special  sense  of  obligation  to  the  Reverend  Charles  Clous- 
ton  of  Stromness,  in  Orkney,  for  his  description  of  the  Orkney 
Islands — to  the  late  Mr.  George  Sutherland  Taylor  of  Dornoch 
— and  to  Mr.  Robert  Sutherland  Taylor,  sheriff-substitute  of 
the  eastern  division  of  Ross-shire,  by  whom  the  nucleus  of  the 
Branch  Routes  to  the  North  and  West  of  Sutherlandshire  was 
furnished ;  and  to  the  Reverend  Dr.  M'Intosh  Mackay  of 
Dunoon,  who  has  kindly  supplied  the  greater  part  of  the  de- 
scription of  Islay.  But  they  cannot  with  propriety  continue 
to  avail  themselves  of  the  labours  of  these  gentlemen  without 
renewed  acknowledgment.  Through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Tho- 
mas Fraser,  sheriff-substitute  of  Skye,  several  gaps  in  the 
delineation  of  the  scenery  of  that  island  will  now  be  found  to 
be  filled  up ;  and  the  Authors  are  indebted  to  Mr.  George  May, 
resident  engineer  of  the  Caledonian  Canal,  for  the  amended 
lucid  history  and  account  of  that  national  undertaking — the 
most  full  and  complete  yet  presented  to  the  public.  The  de- 


tails  of  the  Roman  Camps  at  Ardoch,  and  other  particulars 
regarding  Strathearn,  were  communicated  by  a  gentleman  con- 
versant with  the  antiquities  of  the  neighbourhood — Mr.  Thomas 
Soutar,  writer,  Crieff. 

Though  the  plan  of  the  first  Edition  led  to  greater  use 
being  made,  than  in  subsequent  Editions,  of  the  benefits  of 
the  scientific  aid,  which  the  kindness  of  Drs.  Hibbert,  Sir  W. 
J.  Hooker,  Sir  Roderick  Impey  Murcheson,  and  the  Reverend 
George  Gordon  of  Birnie,  put  at  their  command,  the  Authors 
would  again  tender  their  grateful  acknowledgments  to  these 
gentlemen.  This  Edition  is  enriched  with  a  valuable  synopsis 
of  the  Geology  of  Morayshire  by  Alexander  Robertson,  Esq.,  of 
Elgin. 

In  conclusion,  the  Authors  would  repeat  their  request,  that 
any  inaccuracies  or  defects  may  be  pointed  out  to  them,  in 
order  to  future  correction. 

INVERNESS,  6th  August  1850. 


CONTENTS. 


SECTION  I. 

PAGE 

GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  HIGHLANDS  AND  ISLANDS  OF 
SCOTLAND  1 


SECTION  II. 

APPROACHES  TO  AND  TRAVELLING  IN  THE  HIGHLANDS,  HIGH- 
LAND ROADS,  COACHES,  INNS,  STEAM  NAVIGATION,  &c 42 


SECTION  III. 

ROUTE  FIRST.  — FROM  GLASGOW  TO  OBAN,   FORT- WILLIAM, 

AND  INVERNESS 63 

By  the  Crinan  Canal  to  Oban 66 

To  Oban  by  Loch  Lomond  80 

To  Fort- William  by  Loch  Lomond    97 

To  Oban  by  Inverary    103 

To  Inverar}'  by  Loch  Lomond    103 

To  Inverary  by  the  Gairloch,  Loch  Goil,  and  Loch  Eck...  106 

Inverary  to  Oban  109 

Oban  to  Inverness     110 

Branch  A.  Stirling,  by  Lochearn-head,  to  Tyndrum,  and,  by  Cal- 
lander,  to  Loch  Catrine,  Lochs  Lomond,  Chon,  Ard, 
and  Monteith ..  156 


VI11  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Branch  B.  From  Fort- William  to  Arisaig  and  Moidart     175 

„      C.  Loch  Arkaig  180 

„      D.  Loch  Laggan  Road  and  Parallel  Roads  of  Glen  Roy 182 

„      E.  From  Invergany  to  Loch  Hournhead  and  Cluany 189 

„       F.  From  Invermoriston  to  Kyle  Rhea  and  Kyle  Akin 192 


SECTION  IV. 
TOWN  OF  INVERNESS  202 

SECTION  V. 

ROUTE  SECOND.— PERTH  TO  INVERNESS,  ACROSS  THE  GRAM- 
PIANS, BY  THE  HIGHLAND  ROAD,  THROUGH  ATHOLE,  BADE- 

NOCH,  STRATHSPEY,  AND  STRATHDEARN 221 

Branch  A.  From  Crieff  and  Greenloaning  Station,  by  Lochearn-head, 
Killin,  and  Kenmore,  to  Tummel  Bridge  and  Blair, 
and  by  Aberfeldy  to  Dunkeld ;  and  by  Curriemuck- 

lach  and  Aberfeldy  to  Dalnacardoch 248 

To  Amulree  and  Aberfeldy  256 

To  Lochearn-head,  &c 257 

„      B.  From  Blair- Athole  to  Grantown,  in  Strathspey,  by  Glen 

Tilt  and  the  Castletown  of  Braemar  275 

„      C.  Routes  across  the  Grampians  to  Braemar  and  Athole, 

with  Loch-an-Eilan,  Cairngorm,  &c. 284 

„      D.  Strathspey  and  Lochindorbh  293 

„      E.  Strathdearn  and  the  River  Findhorn 301 

„      F.  Strathnairn  and  Stratherrick  314 

Ballichernoch  Road  316 


SECTION  VI. 

ROUTE    THIRD.  —  ABERDEEN   TO    INVERNESS   BY    SEA,   AND 
THROUGH  THE  COUNTIES  OF  ABERDEEN,  BANFF,  ELGIN,  AND 

NAIRS 318 

Route  through  Buchan  to  Peterhead  and  Banff  325 

Mid  Road,  from  Aberdeen  to  Banff,  by  Old  Meldrum  and 

Turriff 333 

The  Upper,  or  Great  North  Road,  by  Huntly  to  Inverness  336 


CONTENTS.  IX 

PAGE 

Branch  A.  Inverness  to  the  field  of  the  battle  of  Culloden,  to  Clava, 
Castles  Dalcross,  Kilravock,  and  Cawdor,  to  Fort- 
George,  and  to  the  Findliorn  363 

Battle  of  Cullodeh,  or  Drummossie  Moor 365 

Ancient  Stone  Monuments  at  Clava  369 

Dalcross  or  Dacus  Castle 371 

Kilravock  Castle    372 

Cawdor  (anciently  Calder)  Castle  373 


SECTION  VII. 

ROUTE  FOURTH.— INVERNESS  TO  TAIN,  GOLSPIE,  WICK,  THURSO, 

AND  JOHN-O'-GROAT'S 380 

Branch  A.  Beauly  to  Strathglass,  Glen  Strathfarar,  Glen  Cannich, 

Glen  Affiick,  and  thence  to  Kintail   424 

Passes  from  Strathglass  to  the  "West  Coast  433 

Glen  Strathfarar,  branching  off  from  Strathglass  at  Stray  434 

Glencannich    436 

The  Chisholm's  Pass  and  Strath  Affrick   437 

„      B.  (THE  BLACK  ISLE).  Inverness,  by  Kessock  Ferry,  to  Ding- 
wall,  Redcastle,  Avoch,  Fortrose,  and  Cromarty 440 

„      C.  Dingwall  to  the  Western  Coast  of  Ross-shire  454 

1st  Branch  Road,  Strathgarve  to  Ullapool 467 

2d.  Branch  Road  from  Auchnasheen  to  Lochs  Maree, 

Torridon,  and  Gairloch  473 

3d.  Branch  Road  from  Jeantown  to  Shieldaig  and 

Applecross , 479 

„      D.  Bonar  Bridge  to  Tongue,  Duirness,  and  Cape  Wrath 482 

„      E.  From  Bonar  Bridge  to  Loch  Inver  of  Assynt,  and  from 

Assynt  to  Duirness    508 

From  Assynt  to  Duirness 522 

„      F.  Tongue  to  Thurso 533 

Note  to  Route  Fourth. 

(1.)  Dunrohin  Castle 536 

(2.)  Herring,  Cod,  and  Ling  Fisheries 541 

(3.)  Strathpeffer 544 

(4.)  Meikle  Ferry  and  Dornoch ;  Errata  and  Addenda  545 
(5.)  Steam  Communication  to  the  West  of  Ross  and 

Sutherlandshire 545. 


X  CONTENTS. 

SECTION  VIII. 
THE  WESTERN  ISLES  AND  CANTYRE. 

PAGE 

A.  Isle  of  Arran  and  Ailsa  Craig    546 

Ailsa  554 

B.  Knapdale  and  Cantyre. 

From  Fort- William  to  Campbelltown  and  the  Mull  of  Cantyre,  by 

land,  along  the  coast 554 

(1.)  Fort-William  to  Oban 555 

(2.)  Do.         to  Lochgilphead    555 

(3.)  Knapdale    555 

(4.)  Cantyre.    1.  West  Side  555 

Do.         2.  East  Side 556 

C.  Islands  of  Islay  and  Jura,  Colonsay  and  Oronsay 570 

Islay  572 

Jura   586 

Colonsay  and  Oronsay    587 

D.  Mull,  lona,  and  Staffa    589 

lona   '. 592 

Staffa 603 

Sound  of  Mull  607 

E.  Skye  and  Rasay. 

Division  I.  Skye — From  Armadale,  Kyle  Rhea,  and  Kyle  Akin, 

to  Dunvegan  and  Duntulm 615 

„      II.  Skye — Cave  of  Strathaird,  Coruishk,  Glen  Sligachan  636 
„    III.  Broadford  to  Brochel  Castle,  in  Rasay 647 

F.  The  Outer  Hebrides,  or  the  Long  Island 650 

G.  St.  Kilda  ..  ..665 


SECTION  IX. 
THE  ORKNEY  AND  ZETLAND  ISLANDS. 

Part  1st.  The  Orkney  Islands 670 

Itinerary 692 

Natural  History 717 

Part  2d.  The  Zetland  Islands 720 

Natural  History 749 

Note  to  Sections  VI.  and  VIII.  and  Errata,  and  Addenda  as  to  the 
Lews,  &c 751 


CONTENTS.  XI 

APPENDIX. 

DIRECTIONS  FOR  VISITING  THE  LOWLANDS. 

PAGE 

I.  THE  TWEED,  THE  BORDER  COUNTRY,  AND  CLYDESDALE   755 

Edinburgh  to  the  Tweed 756 

Kelso  to  Jedburgh  and  Hawick 759 

Hawick  to  Melrose  and  Selkirk 761 

Ettrick  Forest    762 

Moffat 762 

Moffat  to  Selkirk,  by  the  Yarrow   763 

Selkirk  to  Peebles  and  Lanark    765 

Lanark 766 

Lanark  to  Hamilton 767 

Hamilton  to  Glasgow   768 

II.  EDINBURGH  TO  GLASGOW  AND  AYR  AND  THE  LAND  OF  BURNS, 

THE  COASTS  OF  GALLOWAY  AND  DUMFRIES  768 

Edinburgh  to  Glasgow 768 

Glasgow  to  Ayr 770 

The  Galloway  Coast 773 

Dumfries 773 

III.  MAIN  RAILWAY  LINES  THROUGH  SCOTLAND   775 

1.  Berwick  to  Edinburgh 775 

2.  Caledonian  Railway 777 

3.  The  Edinburgh  and  Northern  Railway  to  Dundee  and  Perth  777 

4.  The  Scottish  Central  Railway,  Greenhill  Junction,  to  Perth, 

Castle  Campbell,  and  the  Scenery  of  the  Devon 778 

5.  The  Dundee  and  Perth,  Dundee  and  Arbroath,  Scottish 

Midland  Junction,  and  Arbroath  and  Forfar  Railway  781 

6.  The  Aberdeen  Railway    782 

Note  to  Section  II. — Erratum  as  to  Roads  on  the  West  Coast  of 

Ross  and  Sutherland  shires 783 

TABLE  OF  DISTANCES  785 

INDEX ...  795 


GUIDE 

TO   THE 

HIGHLANDS  AND  ISLANDS  OE  SCOTLAND, 


SECTION  I. 

GENERAL   OBSERVATIONS   ON   THE   HIGHLANDS   AND   ISLANDS   OF 
SCOTLAND. 


.  —    reng      an        sruon  o       e      ans,     .  —      er     oca      eaons,     . 
Causes  of  Change  and  Career  of  Improvements  in  the  Highlands,  6.  —  Dwellings,  7 


auses  o         nge  an      arer        mprovemens  n     e      gans,    .  —   wengs,    . 
—  Commercial  Resources,  Harbours,  and  Piers,  8.  —  HigMand  Societies  of  London 


and  Scotland,  Sh 
—  British  Fishe 


esources,  arours,  an  ers,  .  —  gan  ocees  o  onon 
heep  and  Wool,  9—  Black  Cattle,  Horses,  10.—  Wood,  11.—  Kelp,  12. 
ries,  13.  —  Herring  and  Salmon  Fisheries,  14.  —  White  Fish,  15.  — 

— 


—  ses,      .  —     errng  an       amon      sees,      .  —         e     s,      .  — 

Game,  16.  —  Sources  of  Livelihood;  Dress;  Language,  17-  —  Ecclesiastical  History 
—  — 


.  —  ;  ;  ,     -  —  asa       sory 

Highlands,  18.  —  Parliamentary  or  Government  Churches,  19.  —  Episcopacy 
land  since  the  Revolution,  20.  —  Present  Ecclesiastical  Statistics  of  the 


Gaelic  Episcopal  Society  ;  Gaelic  Scriptures,  26.  —  Present  State  of  Education  and 
Religious  Instruction,  27.  —  Gaelic  Literature,  28.  —  Highland  Music,  29.  —  General 
Chartr  f  he  iland  Pulain  . 


,      . 
Character  of  the  Highland  Population,  30 


1.  IT  will  save  much  repetition  in  the  body  of  this  work,  if  we 
begin  it  with  a  few  general  remarks  on  the  external  appearance, 
history,  and  statistics  of  the  Highlands,  with  some  brief  notices 
of  the  present  condition  of  the  inhabitants  and  their  resources, 
and  such  a  sketch  of  the  natural  history  of  the  country  as  is 
necessary  for  the  use  of  the  Tourist,  and  which  may  assist  the 
recollection  of  the  man  of  science.  The  Highlands  of  Scotland, 
then,  strictly  speaking,  consist  only  of  the  mountainous  parts  to 
the  north  of  the  Firths  of  Clyde  and  Tay,  and  the  River  Forth. 


2  GENERAL  FEATURES  SECT.  I. 

Their  boundary  stretches  in  a  line  from  S.W.  to  N.E.,  a  few- 
miles  north  of  the  cities  of  Glasgow,  Stirling,  Perth,  and  Dun- 
dee, and  excludes  the  greater  parts  of  the  sea  coasts  of  Nairn, 
Elgin,  and  Banff  shires,  and  the  counties  on  the  eastern  coast 
south  of  the  Moray  Firth — all  of  which  were  peopled  at  an  early 
period  by  Saxon,  Danish,  or  Flemish  colonies  ;  and  hence  were 
separated  from  the  Highlands  which  peculiarly  composed  the 
territories  of  the  ancient  Gaelic  or  Celtic  tribes.  As,  however, 
the  whole  of  Scotland  north  of  the  line  just  mentioned  is  com- 
monly regarded  as  belonging  to  the  Highlands,  including  the 
Hebrides,  the  Orkney  and  Shetland  Isles,  many  districts  of 
which,  both  in  form  and  population,  are  decidedly  lowland,  we 
shall  undertake  to  guide  the  tourist  through  all  the  northern 
counties  and  islands,  with  the  exception  of  the  eastern  coast 
south  of  Aberdeen  ;  and  many  places  also  beyond  the  Highland 
boundary,  will  be  at  least  partially  described. 

This  great  tract  of  country,  as  its  name  denotes,  is  of  a 
mountainous  character.  The  mountains  vary  greatly  in  eleva- 
tion as  well  as  form  :  their  greatest  height  being  about  4400 
feet,  while  they  often  exhibit  groups  and  clusters  of  nearly  uni- 
form magnitude,  sometimes  about  1000,  sometimes  2000,  and 
occasionally  3000  feet  and  upwards  above  the  sea.  In  general, 
the  principal  chains  of  mountains  extend  across  the  country  in 
a  direction  from  S.W.  to  N. E.,  and  the  larger  valleys  which 
intervene  between  them  have  a  parallel  direction  ;  while  the 
intersecting  openings,  or  lateral  valleys,  observe  no  such  regu- 
larity. The  eastern  side  of  the  north  of  Scotland  for  the  most 
part  presents  a  continuous  unbroken  line  of  coast,  while  the 
western  is  indented  by  numberless  narrow  arms  of  the  sea. 
This  latter  coast,  also,  is  flanked  by  clusters  of  large  islands,  of 
varied  aspect,  with  smaller  ones  interspersed  among  them, 
forming  an  almost  unbroken  breastwork  between  the  ocean  and 
the  mainland  ;  while  the  eastern  shore,  on  the  other  hand,  is  en- 
tirely defenceless,  and  exposed  to  the  entire  force  of  the  German 
Ocean.  The  mountains  of  the  west  coast  generally  possess  a 
more  verdant  and  less  of  a  heathery  aspect  than  those  in  the  in- 
terior and  the  opposite  shore  Their  acclivities  are  also  more 
abrupt,  and  their  forms  more  picturesque.  A  further  strongly 
distinctive  character  between  the  east  and  west  coasts,  is,  that 
the  mountainous  ranges  in  general  subside  much  more  towards 
the  former.  The  inclination  of  the  surface  of  the  country  on 


SECT.  I.  OF   THE    HIGHLANDS.  3 

this  side  being  thus  more  lengthened,  its  rivers  have  a  more 
prolonged  course,  and  are  consequently  of  greater  body — as  the 
Tay,  Dee,  Spey,  Findhorn,  Beauly,  Carron,  and  Oikel,  with  which 
there  are  hardly  any  streams  that  can  compare  on  the  western 
side  of  the  island  ;  and  several  of  their  estuaries  also  assume 
the  characters  of  extensive  firths,  while  on  the  west  they  do  not 
attain  such  dimensions  as,  in  any  case  north  of  the  Clyde,  to  be 
so  designed.  Patches  of  arable  ground  are  cultivated  in  the 
less  elevated  portion  of  the  uplands,  fertility  and  cultivation 
increasing  with  the  descent  of  the  valleys  ;  and,  on  the  sea- 
coasts,  rich  and  luxuriant  crops  are  seen  gladdening  the  face 
of  nature.  Except  on  the  eastern  shore,  however,  there  is,  on 
the  whole,  no  great  extent  of  cultivated  land.  Here  the  level 
and  sloping  tracts  are  most  extensive  :  to  this  side  the  towns  are 
chiefly  confined,  and  consequently  greater  wealth  exists  to  stamp 
its  impress  on  the  scenery,  and  the  exports  of  grain  and  other 
produce  from  Caithness  and  the  east  coast  of  Ross  and  Inverness- 
shire  are  considerable.  Native  woods,  chiefly  of  pine  and  birch, 
clothe  the  declivities  in  many  parts  of  the  Highlands,  over- 
hanging generally  the  banks  of  lakes  and  streams  ;  and  the 
planting  of  hardwood  and  larch  has  of  late  greatly  extended  the 
woodland.  The  west  coast  rarely  presents  any  breadth  of  wood, 
though  it  is  occasionally  adorned  with  trees  ;  but  on  both  sides, 
and  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  the  remains  of  very  large  trees 
of  oak  and  fir  are  found  under  gravel  banks  and  in  peat 
mosses. 

A  surface  so  diversified  necessarily  exhibits,  within  very 
circumscribed  limits,  varieties  of  scenery  of  the  most  opposite 
descriptions  ;  enabling  the  admirer  of  nature  to  pass  abruptly 
from  dwelling  on  the  loveliness  of  an  extensive  marine  or 
champaign  landscape  into  the  deep  solitude  of  an  ancient  for- 
est, or  the  dark  craggy  fastnesses  of  an  alpine  ravine  ;  or  from 
lingering  amid  the  quiet  grassy  meadows  of  a  pastoral  strath 
or  valley,  watered  by  its  softly  flowing  stream,  to  the  open 
heathy  mountain-side,  whence  "alps  o'er  alps  arise,"  whose 
summits  are  often  shrouded  with  mists  and  almost  perennial 
snows,  and  their  overhanging  precipices  furrowed  by  deep  tor- 
rents and  foaming  cataracts.  Lakes  and  long  arms  of  the  sea, 
either  fringed  with  woods  or  surrounded  with  rocky,  barren,  and 
mossy  shores,  now  studded  with  islands,  and  anon  extending 
their  silvery  arms  into  distant  receding  mountains,  are  met  in 


GENERAL   FEATURES.  SECT.  I. 

every  district ;  while  the  extreme  steepness,  ruggedness,  and 
sterility  of  many  of  the  mountain  chains,  impart  to  them  as  im- 
posing and  magnificent  characters  as  are  to  be  seen  in  the  much 
higher  and  more  inaccesible  elevations  of  Switzerland.  No 
wonder,  then,  that  this  "  land  of  mountain  and  of  flood  "  should 
have  given  birth  to  the  song  of  the  bard,  and  afforded  material 
for  the  theme  of  the  sage  in  all  ages  ;  that  its  inhabitants 
should  be  tinctured  with  deep  romantic  feelings,  at  once  tender, 
melancholy,  and  wild  ;  and  that  the  recollection  of  their  own 
picturesque  native  dwellings  should  haunt  them  to  their  latest 
hours,  wherever  they  go.  Neither,  amid  such  profusion  and  di- 
versity of  all  that  is  beautiful  and  sublime  in  nature,  can  the 
unqualified  admiration  of  strangers,  from  every  part  of  Eu- 
rope, of  the  scenery  of  the  Highlands,  fail  of  being  easily  ac- 
counted for ;  nor  can  any  hesitate  in  recommending  them  to 
visit  the  more  remote  or  unknown  solitudes.* 

*  The  following  sketch,  in  this  foot-note,  of  the  Geology  of  the  Highlands,  may 
not  be  unacceptable  to  some  of  our  readers : — 

The  great  central  mass  of  the  Highlands  consists  of  rough  old  primitire  or 
crystalline  rocks — those  of  Argyleshire,  in  the  extreme  south-west,  being  chiefly 
mica  and  argillaceous  schists,  succeeded,  on  the  north,  towards  Glencoe  and  Ben- 
Nevis,  by  huge  mountains  of  the  most  ancient  porphyritic  or  eruptive  rocks.  The 
Lennox,  Perth,  and  Inverness  shires,  consist,  for  the  most  part,  of  gneiss  rooks, 
through  which  granite,  in  mountain  masses  and  veins,  has  protruded  in  almost  every 
direction — the  great  central  ridge  of  the  Grampians  being  principally  composed  of 
that  rock ;  which  thence  descends,  in  wide  moorish  plateaus,  through  the  heights  of 
Banff  and  Aberdeen  shires,  and  projects  itself  into  the  German  Ocean  in  the  shape  of 
long  headlands  and  ranges  of  mural  precipices.  Ross  and  Sutherland  shires  also 
abound  most  in  gneiss ;  but  some  of  their  most  rugged  and  picturesque  portions — 
such  as  those  about  Loch  Duich,  Loch  Maree,  and  Gairloch— consist  of  mica  slate,  a 
rock  which  presents  a  more  serrated  and  deeply-cleft  surface  than  perhaps  any  other 
in  Scotland.  It  is  yet  questionable  whether  these  rocks  are  not  older  than  the  similar 
Silurian  deposits  of  Wales,  the  Isle  of  Man,  and  the  north  of  England. 

All  these  great  central  masses  of  what  are  called  primitive  rocks,  were  encased  in  an 
enormous  frame-work  of  the  Devonian  old  red  sandstone,  and  its  associated  conglomer- 
ate ;  which  may  be  traced  almost  uninterruptedly  along  the  whole  southern  flank  of  the 
Grampians,  and  thence  northwards,  with  very  few  breaks,  into  the  basin  of  the  Moray 
Firth.  With  the  exception  of  a  small  number  of  protruding  ridges  and  summits  of 
granitic  rocks,  the  whole  shores  of  this  firth  are  composed  of  this  old  red  sandstone  ; 
which,  no  doubt,  at  one  time,  extended  its  layers  across  from  side  to  side ;  and  above 
and  upon  wliich,  from  the  few  traces  of  them  still  remaining,  deposits  of  lias  and 
oolitic  shales,  grits,  and  limestones,  appear  to  have  rested.  Perhaps  these  were  also 
surmounted  by  members  of  the  chalk  formation — rolled  masses  of  which  have  been 
discovered  in  Banff  and  Aberdeen  sliires ;  while  in  one  or  two  places,  as  at  Elgin, 
singular  local  deposits  of  the  era  of  the  green  sand  occur,  with  their  peculiar  and 
characteristic  fossils.  The  amenity  of  the  climate,  and  fertility  of  the  soil,  round  all 
the  shores  of  the  Moray  Firth,  are  owing,  in  no  small  degree,  to  their  being  formed 
of  members  of  the  old  red  sandstone  series ;  which,  in  Caithness,  extend  themselves 
out  in  enormous  flat  or  undulating  plains  of  bituminous  and  calcareous  shales  and 
freestones ;  bestowing  on  that  country,  except  along  the  sea-cliffs,  a  dead  and  unin- 
teresting outline.  Almost  all  the  bays  and  headlands  along  the  north  coast,  from 
the  Peiitland  Firth  westwards,  are  skirted  or  tipped  with  the  remains  of  the  same 
great  old  sandstone  frame ;  which,  as  we  round  Cape  Wrath,  soon  meets  us  again 
in  enormous  sheets  and  masses,  composing  the  greater  portion  of  the  coast  as  far 


SECT.  I.   LANDED  PROPERTY  AND  POPULATION.         O 

2.  In  speaking  of  Highland  hill  property,  as  to  extent,  (ex- 
cluding the  lower  and  more  fertile  portions,)  miles  may,  with- 
out any  great  exaggeration,  be  substituted  for  acres,  to  indicate 
a  possession  of  a  value  corresponding  with  a  Lowland  estate. 
In  the  assessment  of  real  property  in  1815,  the  annual  ascer- 
tained value  of  all  the  Highland  counties,  including  Orkney 
and  Zetland,  with  the  exception  of  Perth,  Stirling,  and  Dum- 
barton shires,  was  ,£647,441  ;  while  the  real  property  of  Fife 
and  Dumfries  shires,  as  assessed  at  the  same  time,  was  ,£701,391. 
But  the  population  of  the  Highland  counties  is  double  that 

south  as  Applecross,  and  rising,  in  the  interior  of  Sutherland,  into  huge  detached 
peaks  and  pinnacles,  apparently  of  red  horizontal  masonry.  The  sandstones  on  this 
side  of  the  island  are  distinguished  by  their  superior  hardness  and  crystalline  texture; 
and  have  hy  some,  especially  in  the  neighbourhood  of  gneiss  and  mica  slate,  been 
described  as  a  sort  of  primitive  sandstone. 

The  Hebrides  are  naturally  divided  into  two  groups :  the  outer,  which  consists 
almost  exclusively  of  gneiss  rocks ;  and  the  tinier,  comprehending  Mull,  Staffa,  Eig, 
Rum,  and  Skye,  which,  with  their  dependent  islets,  consist  of  a  basis  for  the  most 
part  of  secondary  sandstones  and  limestone,  out  of  which  have  arisen,  from  the 
internal  fiery  nucleus  of  the  earth,  enormous  overlying,  and,  in  some  cases,  overflow- 
ing masses  and  mountains  of  trap  rocks,  chiefly  greenstone,  syenite,  basalt,  hyper- 
stene,  and  an  endless  variety  of  pitchstone,  claystone,  and  felspar  porphyries,  with 
their  associated  crystals  and  simple  minerals.  The  precise  localities  of  the  most 
interesting  of  all  these  deposits  will  be  mentioned  in  pur  subsequent  chapters. 

The  Highlands  and  Islands  of  Scotland  exhibit  in  every  direction  the  most  une- 
quivocal traces  of  all  the  recent  changes  which  have  affected  this  portion  of  the  globe. 
The  principal  valleys  and  mountains  appear  to  have  received  their  present  forms 
before  the  British  isles  uprose  from  the  deep ;  and  everywhere  the  enormous  quanti- 
ties of  rolled  stones  or  boulders,  and  of  sand  and  gratel,  not  only  betoken  the 
immense  abrading  forces  to  which  the  rocks  were  exposed,  but  those  rounded  frag- 
ments, by  their  deposition  in  regular  banks  and  terraces,  also  indicate  the  successive 
heights  at  which  the  ocean,  or  some  other  great  mass  of  water,  stood  at  long  and 
different  periods.  Every  valley  and  hill  side  exhibit  such  appearances ;  and  a  series 
of  corresponding  terraces  may  be  seen  extending  to  at  least  IbOO  feet  above  the  pre- 
sent sea  level.  The  most  marked  and  general  sea  margin,  however,  is  one  which 
encircles  the  island  with  an  almost  continuous  ring,  at  an  elevation  of  from  90  to  120 
feet.  This  great  terraced  bank  is  beautifully  displayed  on  the  sea-coast  in  almost 
every  part  of  the  Highlands,  and  in  the  cliffs  above  it,  as  at  the  Sutors  of  Crpmarty 
and  elsewhere,  lines  of  caverns  may  be  seen  marking  other  elevations  at  which  the 
sea  had  previously  stood.  The  distinction  observable  in  the  Isle  of  Man — and  so  fully 
described  by  the  Rev.  J.  G.  Gumming  in  his  interesting  account  of  that  island- 
between  the  boulder  clay  and  the  drift  gravel  of  these  later  deposits,  may  also  be 
traced  throughout  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  and  especially  around  Inverness,  the 
former  being  the  undermost,  but  rising  up  from  beneath  the  gravel  banks  to  a  higher 
elevation,  and  often  to  the  very  tops  of  the  hills.  This  boulder  clay  is  the  cause  of 
the  superior  fertility  of  some  of  our  higher  ridges,  and  in  it  are  entombed  by  far  the 
largest  of  our  erratic  blocks.  All  the  phenomena  of  scratching,  grooving,  and  polish- 
ing, so  characteristic  of  what  is  called  the  Glacial  theory  of  the  denudation  and 
transport  of  rocks,  are  likewise  abundantly  exemplified  throughout  the  country. 
And  lastly,  the  remains  of  the  Irish  Elk,  and  of  enormous  trunks  of  Oak  and  Pine 
(with  which  no  living  examples  in  this  country  can  compare),  imbedded  in  our  peat 
mosses  and  quagmires,  both  on  the  mainland  and  adjoining  islands,  betoken  the 
extent  and  universal  diffusion  of  the  ancient  Caledonian  forests,  while  the  great  size 
of  those  remains  excites  a  doubt  whether  a  considerable  change  of  climate  has  not 
taken  place  since  the  era  in  which  they  existed.  References  will  be  given  in  the 
body  of  this  book  to  particular  localities  where  all  the  phenomena  alluded  to  may  be 
distinctly  seen. 


6  EARLY   HISTORY  SECT.  1. 

of  the  latter.      The  county  of  Perth  was  estimated  at  within 
^100,000  of  all  the  rest  of  the  Highlands.* 

3.  The  great  mass  of  the  population  of  the  Highlands  is 
unquestionably  of  Celtic  origin  ;  those  Celts  being  (according 
to  Mr.  Skene,  the  latest  essayist  on  this  obscure  point)  identical 
with  the  Picts,  and  the  descendants  of  the  ancient  Caledonians 
of  Roman  authors.  With  the  Pictish  inhabitants  were  after- 
wards incorporated  the  Scots,  of  the  same  Celtic  stock,  who,  from 
the  north  of  Ireland,  colonised  the  south-west  of  Scotland,  during 
the  period  between  the  third  and  the  sixth  centuries.  The 
Scots  did  not  acquire  a  firm  footing  till  the  Romans  had  aban- 
doned Britain.  They  contended  for  the  mastery  with  the 
Picts  for  about  400  years,  both  nations  merging  into  one  in  the 
ninth  century.  The  northern  Picts,  however,  kept  themselves 
greatly  separate,  and  owned  only  a  nominal  submission  to  the 
Scottish  line  of  kings  ;  and,  retaining  their  ancient  territories 
and  language,  they  were  the  real  ancestors  of  the  modern  Gael 
or  Highlanders.  The  upper  classes,  however,  were  to  some  ex- 
tent of  Scandinavian,  more  immediately  of  Norman  origin,  and, 
on  the  west  coast,  of  Danish  or  Norwegian  lineage.  In  the 
reign  of  Malcolm  III.,  or  Ceanmore,  partly  in  consequence  of 
his  marriage  with  Margaret,  sister  of  Atheling  the  Saxon,  Nor- 
man barons  banished  from  his  court  began  to  effect  settlements 
in  the  Highlands.  The  Saxons  are  thought  to  have  confined 
themselves  to  the  Lowlands.  On  the  appearance  of  these 
strangers  and  their  followers,  feudal  policy  came  to  be  gradu- 
ally blended  with  the  old  patriarchal  or  Celtic  system,  which 
differed  materially  from  feudalism.  Society  assumed  the  as- 

*  The  assessed  values  of  the  different  Highland  counties,  and  their  population,  in 
1831  and  1841,  are  as  follow  •.— 

Real  Value  In  1842  for  Population.  Population. 

Property  Tax.  183L  18*1. 

Argyle  ......  \  »3fi2  27,    R    9  101,425  97,140 

Bute     ......  j  £-62,273    8  u  151  15  695 

Caithness  .....  66,572    3  10  34,529  36,197 

Inverness  .....  182,064    7    2  94,797  97,615 

Orkney  and  Zetland     .  42,767    6    7  >.^'J  <!<).<  HI; 

Boss  and  Cromarty      .  143,214  10  10  74,820  78,058 

Sutherland    ....  36,112  19    8  25,518  24,666 

Perth    ......  613,167  12    1  142,894  138,151 

Elgin    ......  98,114  11     5  34,231  34,994 

Nairn  ......  16,795  18    8 


£1,461,082  19    1  580,604  582,523 


Whole  of  Scotland     .    £9,418,742    8    5  2,365,807  2,628,957 


SECT.  I.  OP   THE   HIGHLANDS.  7 

pect  of  a  population  divided  into  numerous  communities,  the 
members  of  each  of  which  had  gradually  amalgamated  into  a 
state  of  complete  subordination  of  all  to  one  common  head. 
We  have  presented,  in  the  annals  of  the  Highlands,  till  within 
no  very  distant  period,  the  spectacle  of  the  most  faithful  attach- 
ment on  the  part  of  inferiors  to  their  superiors,  though  it  par- 
took of  a  servile  and  dependent  character.  The  sentiments  of 
the  upper  ranks  were  ordinarily  marked  by  kindness  and  concern 
for  the  lower  orders  ;  but  these,  again,  were  often  vitiated  by 
coarseness,  and  the  proud  selfishness  characteristic  of  an  ig- 
norant and  barbarous  age. 

The  separation  of  the  tribes  or  clans  from  one  another  by  name 
and  lineage,  was  rendered  more  complete  from  the  rugged  nature 
of  the  country.  In  addition  to  a  distinction  of  surname  and  pa- 
tronymics, the  clans  had  each  a  different  slogan  or  war-cry,  and 
a  peculiar  badge,  generally  some  species  of  shrub,  as  the  juni- 
per, yew,  holly,  &c.,  worn  in  the  bonnet,  and  likewise  a  distinct 
variety  of  checkered  dress  or  tartan.  They  were  remarkable  for 
their  jealousy  of  one  another,  and  of  the  association  of  men  in- 
to towns,  where  society  is  held  together  by  principles  and  for 
purposes  at  variance  with  those  of  clanship.  Constant  feuds 
and  animosities,  rapine,  violence,  and  bloodshed,  were  the  una- 
voidable consequences  of  such  a  state  of  society.  The  warlike 
spirit  of  the  Highlanders  was  kept  alive  by  the  incursions,  in 
more  early  periods,  of  the  Scandinavians,  and  by  the  abiding 
occasions  of  aggression  on  their  own  part  to  spoil  the  rich  pos- 
sessions of  their  Saxon  and  other  Lowland  neighbours.  Hos- 
pitality there  was,  but  of  a  barbaric  and  licentious  character. 
The  domestic  affections  existed  in  great  strength  ;  but  there  was 
little  of  philanthropy  or  comprehensive  sympathy  with  their 
fellow  men.  Indeed,  the  kindlier  feelings  of  our  nature  were, 
in  Highlanders  of  the  olden  time,  unavoidably  confined  to  a 
narrow  range  of  objects,  and  the  renovating  doctrines  and  prin- 
ciples of  Christianity  were  most  imperfectly  understood  and 
practised.  Considerable  urbanity  and  politeness  of  demeanour 
prevailed  among  the  gentry  ;  but  gross  ignorance  overspread 
the  mass  ;  and  all  the  arts  of  peace  were  at  the  lowest  ebb. 
The  chiefs  resided  in  strongholds,  each  generally  a  square  tower 
of  four  or  five  single  apartments,  with  perhaps  some  adjoining 
buildings,  and  having  at  times  a  walled  court.  Their  household 
economy  was  distinguished  by  abundance — at  least  of  animal 


8  STRENGTH   AND   DISTRIBUTION  SECT.  I. 

food.  The  residences  of  the  ranks  next  in  grade  were  mean, 
small,  and  comfortless  ;  while  the  peasantry,  as  is  too  univer- 
sally the  case  at  the  present  day,  were  sheltered  by  dingy  turf 
or  dry  stone  huts,  with  bare  earthen  floors  ;  than  which  it  is 
impossible  to  conceive  abodes  for  human  beings  more  squalid 
and  wretched.  They  were  at  the  same  time  poorly  fed  ;  but 
were,  however,  uncommonly  hardy  and  athletic.  Their  un- 
daunted courage  and  energetic  strength,  and  their  prowess  in 
the  use  of  their  favourite  weapons,  the  claymore,  dirk,  and  targe, 
rendered  their  very  name  a  terror  to  the  industrious  but  more 
peaceful  Lowlander. 

4.  After  the  rebellion  of  1 745,  a  memorial  was  drawn  up  for 
government,  it  is  conjectured  by  President  Forbes,  which  gives 
the  subjoined  estimate  of  the  force  of  able-bodied  men  which 
the  respective  clans  could  bring  into  the  field.* 

*  Argyle  (Campbells) 3000 

Breadalbane  (ditto) 1000 

Lochnell  and  other  chieftains  of  the  Campbells 1000 

Macleans 1    ...  500 

MaclacHans 200 

Stewart  of  Appin 300 

Macdougals 200  • 

Stewart  of  Grandtully 300 

ClanGregor • 700 

Duke  of  Athole  (Stewarts,  Robertsons,  &c.) 3000 

Farquharsons 500 

Duke  of  Gordon  (followers  from  Glenlivet  and  Strathavon)     .    .  300 

Grant  of  Grant •    .    .    .    .  850 

Mackintosh 800 

Macphersons 400 

Erasers 900 

Grant  of  Glenmoriston 150 

Chisholms 200 

Duke  of  Perth  (followers  from  Glenartnie,  &c.) 300 

Seaforth  (Mackenzies) 1000 

Cromarty,  Scatwell,  Gairloch,  with  other  chieftains  of  the  Mackenzies  1 500 

Menzies 300 

Mnnroes 300 

Bosses       500 

Sutherlands 2000 

Mackays 800 

Sinclaire 1100 

Macdonald  of  Slate 700 

Macdonald  of  Clauranald 700 

Macdonell  of  Glengarry     •...., 500 

Macdonell  of  Keppoch 300 

Macdonald  of  Gleucoe 130 

Robertsons 200 

Camerons        800 

Mackinnon 200 

Macleod 700 

The  Duke  of  Montrose,  Earls  of  Bute  and  Moray,  Macfarlanes, 
Colquhouns,    M'Neils    of    Barra,    M'Nabs,    M'Naughtons, 

Laments,  &c.,  &c 5600 

31,930 


SECT.  I.  OF   THE    CLANS. 

Several  septs  of  other  names  than  those  mentioned  in  this 
list  were  among  the  followers  of  some  of  the  more  powerful 
chieftains.  In  point  of  dress,  the  kilt,  a  sort  of  plaited  petticoat, 
reaching  to  the  knees,  with  the  plaid,  was  universally  worn  by 
the  ordinary  Highlander,  while  the  lower  garment  of  the  upper 
ranks  was  the  trews,  consisting  of  breeches  and  hose  of  one 
piece.  The  bagpipe  was  also  the  common  instrument  of 
music. 

The  distribution  of  the  various  clans  throughout  the  High- 
lands was,  and  still  is,  as  underneath.* 

5.  The  Western  Isles  were  long  subject  to  the  sway  of  Nor- 
way ;  and  though,  on  the  discomfiture  of  Haco's  armament  in 
the  thirteenth  century,  they  were  transferred  to  the  dominion  of 
the  crown  of  Scotland,  its  sovereignty  was  for  a  long  period  not 
recognised  by  the  powerful  kings  or  lords  of  the  Isles,  who 
maintained  a  state  of  independent  and  supreme  rule.  Their 
strength  was  first  materially  weakened  by  the  subdivision  of  the 
family  estates  among  the  numerous  sons  of  the  two  families  of 
John  of  Isla,  by  Amy,  great-great-grand-daughter  of  Reginald, 

*  Argyllshire :  Campbells ;  and  on  the  N.  W.  of  the  county  and  in  Mull,  Mac- 
dougals,  Stewarts  of  Appin,  Maclachlans,  Macleans;  and  M'Allisters  in  part  of 
Can  tyre. 

Dumbarton  and  Stirling  shires,  and  adjoining  parts  of  Perth  and  Argyle :  M'Grcgors, 
Macfarlanes,  Colquhouns,  M'Nabs,  M'Naughtons,  &c. 

Perthshire:  Stewarts,  Robertsons,  Menzies,  &c. 

Aberdeen  and  Banff  shires:  Farquharsons,  Forbeses,  and  Gordons. 

Inverness-shire :  Grants,  Mackintoshes,  Macphersons,  Frasers,  and  Chisholms,  on 
the  east ;  and  Camerons,  Macdonalds  and  Macdonells,  Macleods  and  Mackinnons,  on 
the  west  and  in  the  islands. 

Rots-shire:  Mackenzies,  with  Munroes  and  Rosses  in  the  east,  and  M'Raes  in  the 
west. 

Sutherlandshire :  Sutherlands,  Mackays,  Gunns. 

Caithness:  Sinclairs. 

The  annals  of  the  lona  Club,  recently  published,  have  completely  disproved  the 
theory  that  the  tilt  and  parti-coloured  tartan  plaid  are  of  modern  origin,  and  shew  that 
from  the  time  of  Magnus  Barefoot,  anno  1093,  the  Hijghlanders  were  always  described 
as  the  "bare-legged  or  red-shanked,  wild  or  rough-footed  Scottes,  clothed  with  ane 
mantle,  with  ane  shirt — saffroned,"  their  "  delight  being  in  marled  clothes,  specially 
that  have  long  stripes,  of  sundry  colours,  and  chiefly  purple  and  blew,"  the  women's 
plaid  differing  only  from  the  men's  in  its  smaller  size,  being  "  white,  with  a  few  small 
stripes  of  black,  blue,  and  red."  Martin,  Dean  of  the  Isles,  says  in  his  history,  (edition 
1716),  in  what  may  be  looked  on  as  a  summary  of  his  own,  and  of  all  previous  obser- 
vations on  the  question,  that  "every  Isle  differed  from  each  other  in  their  fancy  of 
making  plaids,  as  to  the  stripes,  in  breadth  and  colour.  This  humour  is  also  as  differ- 
ent through  the  mainland  of  the  Highlands,  in  so  far  as  that  they  who  have  seen 
those  places,  are  able,  at  the  first  view  of  a  man's  plaid,  fo  guess  the  place  of  his 
residence."  The  chiefs,  besides  the  eagle's  plume  in  the  bonnet,  often  wore  costly 
and  richly  dyed  stuffs  in  their  coats  and  vests,  with  slashed  sleeves  of  scarlet  cloth, 
and  gold  lace — long  plaited  hair,  and  numerous  studs  and  clasps  of  silver  in  their 
belts,  and  occasionally  even  a  polished  steel  helmet.  Green  is  now  believed  to 
characterise  the  tartans  of  clans  having  an  Irish  descent,  as  the  Mackenzies ;  red,  of 
the  pure  British  Celt,  as  the  Rosses  and  Clan  Gregor ;  and  yellow,  the  Danish  clans, 
as  the  Macleods. 


10  POLITICAL   RELATIONS.  SECT.  I. 

King  of  Man,  and  Margaret,  daughter  of  Robert  II.  of  Scotland, 
and  the  severely  contested  battle  of  Harlaw,  fought  by  Donald 
of  the  Isles,  in  1411,  on  occasion  of  an  enterprise  undertaken  to 
make  good  his  pretensions  to  the  earldom  of  Ross.  This  was 
followed  by  the  overthrow  of  Alexander  in  Lochaber,  and  by 
several  determined  measures  of  James  I.  and  the  succeeding 
Scottish  kings. 

In  general,  the  Scottish  kings  observed  the  policy  of  sowing 
disunion  and  promoting  feuds  among  the  clans  ;  and  James  V. 
pursued,  with  partial  success,  vigorous  measures  to  bring  them  to 
some  sort  of  obediential  acknowledgment  of  the  head  of  the  state  ; 
but  the  inaccessible  nature  of  the  country  rendered  the  allegi- 
ance of  its  rude  inhabitants  and  stormy  chieftains  little  more 
than  nominal,  as  regarded  public  police  and  good  government. 
As  if,  however,  to  make  amends  for  their  habitual  disregard  of 
any  authority  but  their  own  will,  the  Highlanders  were  prompt 
to  rally  round  the  standard  of  royalty  when  in  distress.  The 
Argyleshire  and  Sutherland  Highlanders,  however,  form  an  ex- 
ception. They  were  always  of  Whig  and  presbyterian  principles. 
To  them  might  be  added  the  Rosses  and  Munroes.  The  Frasers, 
Mackintoshes,  and  Grants,  were  also  covenanting  clans  ;  but  the 
two  former  took  part  in  the  later  rebellions,  the  latter  clan  but 
partially.  On  the  various  occasions  of  mutual  co-operation,  the 
Highland  clans  signalised  themselves  by  achievements  of  a  truly 
remarkable  character,  considering  their  small  numerical  strength ; 
as,  for  instance,  in  Montrose's  wars,  Dundee's  campaign,  and  the 
rebellions  of  1715  and  1745. 

6.  Though  no  decided  impression  was  made  on  their  con- 
dition till  the  two  latter  risings,  all  these  seasons  of  combined 
effort  were  attended  with  some  effect  on  the  manners  and  ideas 
of  the  various  tribes.  The  soldiery  stationed  by  Cromwell,  in 
the  forts  constructed  by  him,  had  also  a  considerable  influence 
in  introducing  some  traits  of  refinement.  At  last  the  formation 
of  the  military  roads,  and  the  disarming  act  in  the  period  be- 
tween the  two  rebellions,  and  subsequent  to  that  of  1745  the 
abolition  of  heritable  jurisdictions,  ward-holdings,  and  of  the 
Highland  dress,  and  other  coercive  measures  of  government, 
completely  broke  up  the  ancient  system.  A  new  field  of  adven- 
ture was  then  unfolded  to  the  young  in  civil  and  military  pro- 
fessions in  other  parts  of  the  kingdom,  and  a  spirit  of  independence 
was  engendered  quite  foreign  to  the  former  relations  between 


SECT.  I.      CAUSES   OP   CHANGE   AND   IMPROVEMENT.  11 

the  different  classes  of  society.  Now,  no  peculiarities,  springing 
from  any  essential  distinction  in  the  constitution  of  the  political 
and  social  body,  exist  between  this  and  other  portions  of  the 
empire ;  none  but  such  as  must  continue  to  mark  the  several 
subdivisions  of  a  country  according  to  their  elevation  and  the 
respective  degrees  of  commercial  intercourse  and  wealth. 

The  progress  of  the  Highlands  of  Scotland  towards  an  assi- 
milation with  the  rest  of  the  kingdom  has,  since  the  middle  of 
last,  but  more  particularly  since  the  commencement  of  the  pre- 
sent century,  been  singularly  great,  and  its  rapidity  continually 
accelerating.  About  the  year  1730,  several  lines  of  roads  were 
formed  by  the  Hanoverian  soldiers,  opening  a  communication 
along  and  from  either  extremity,  and  also  from  the  centre  of  the 
Great  Glen  with  the  south  of  Scotland.  In  the  year  1803,  a 
parliamentary  commission  was  appointed,  under  whose  sanction 
about  £267,000  of  the  public  money  has  been  expended,  of  which 
about  £214,000  were  advanced  as  the  half  of  the  expense  of  con- 
structing about  875  additional  miles  of  roads  and  bridges 
throughout  the  Highlands  ;  the  heritors  of  the  several  counties 
assessing  themselves  to  defray  the  other  half,  (£214,000,)  and 
£5000  a-year  is  allowed  by  government  towards  the  repair  of 
roads.  Numberless  district  roads  intersect  these,  formed  by  the 
statute-labour  and  local  Road  Acts,  and  other  means.  In  the 
county  of  Sutherland  alone,  there  has  been  formed,  since  1812, 
nearly  300  miles  of  road  of  this  latter  description,  with  assis- 
tance from  the  Sutherland  family,  at  an  expense  of  about 
£40,000,  affording  three  lines  from  north  to  south,  and  another 
along  the  north  coast,  and  the  southern  boundary  of  the 
county. 

7.  The  canals,  roads,  inns,  and  modes  of  conveyance  now  ex- 
isting in  the  Highlands,  are  described  in  the  body  of  this  work, 
and  it  only  remains  for  us  to  add,  in  this  general  survey,  that 
the  residences  of  the  better  classes  in  the  Highlands  are  now 
provided  with  the  usual  comforts  and  conveniences  of  life  ;  but 
the  poorer  peasantry  and  labourers  are  often  found  immured, 
especially  in  the  west  coast,  in  the  most  wretched  huts,  built 
chiefly  of  uncemented  turf,  with  a  total  disregard  to  neatness  or 
cleanliness. 

8.  The  chief  export  products  of  the  Highlands  and  Islands, 
are  sheep,  wool,  black  cattle,  wood,  kelp,  herrings,  cod-fish,  and 
salmon  ;  and  of  late  years,  from  the  east  of  Ross  and  Inverness, 


12  COMMERCIAL   RESOURCES  —  SOCIETIES.       SECT.  I. 

and  from  Caithness,  wheat,  oats,  and  potatoes.  They  are  depen- 
dent on  other  parts  of  the  kingdom  for  groceries,  and  for  most 
haberdashery,  hardware,  and  other  manufactured  goods.  By 
the  appropriation  of  certain  balances  from  the  estates  which 
were  forfeited  in  the  rebellions  of  last  century,  about  £53,000 
has  been  expended  on  harbours  and  piers  ;  sums  having  been 
advanced  to  individuals  undertaking  the  completion  of  works  to 
double  the  amount  received,  making  a  total  of  £110,000  laid 
out  on  these  objects  by  this  means.  The  exertions  of  the  High- 
land Society  of  London,  instituted  in  1778,  and  that  of  Scotland, 
founded  in  Edinburgh  in  1783,  have  been  eminently  beneficial 
in  fostering  and  quickening  the  capabilities  of  the  country.  The 
objects  of  the  former  association  are  to  preserve  the  language, 
dress,  music,  and  poetry  of  the  Gael.  Several  societies  in  Scot- 
land address  themselves  to  similar  purposes,  as  the  Celtic  So- 
ciety, the  Highland  Club  of  Scotland,  and  the  St.  Fillan's  High- 
land Society.  The  attention  of  the  Highland  Society  of  Scot- 
land is  more  immediately  directed  to  the  advancement  of  Agri- 
cultural improvement  in  its  various  ramifications,  by  all  the 
appliances  which  such  a  great  national  institution  can  put  in 
operation.  And  its  efforts  have  been  attended  by  the  most 
marked  success. 

9.  The  modern  system  of  sheep-farming  on  a  great  scale 
seems  to  have  been  too  generally  adopted,  with  an  inconsiderate 
degree  of  expedition,  in  some  districts  of  the  Highlands.  It  is 
incompatible  with  the  presence  of  a  promiscuous  population, 
unconnected  with  the  charge  of  the  stock,  and  the  consequence 
of  its  introduction  has  accordingly  been  the  dispossession  of  the 
inhabitants  ;  and  that  often  on  a  sudden,  without  sufficient 
care  being  taken  to  open  up  to  them,  on  the  coasts,  or  elsewhere, 
new  sources  of  livelihood,  and  without  due  respect  to  the  pro- 
priety and  expediency  of  dealing  tenderly  with  their  local  pre- 
dilections and  deeply-rooted  habits.  The  rearing  of  cattle  is 
not  so  prejudiced  by  an  intermixture  of  small  crofters,  or  cotta- 
gers, and  requires  a  greater  number  of  dependents.  It  is  pro- 
blematical whether  the  rentals  of  Highland  estates  might  not 
have  benefited  by  a  more  limited  system  of  sheep-farming  ;  while 
the  condition  of  the  tenantry  in  general,  and  the  peasantry, 
would  have  been  improved  thereby.  It  is  difficult  to  form  any 
conjecture  as  to  the  total  sheep  stock,  or  yearly  produce  in 
sheep  and  wool,  of  the  whole  of  the  Highlands.  But  from  the 


SECT.  I.  SHEEP BLACK   CATTLE PONIES.  13 

statistical  information  procured  for  a  railway  company  projected 
in  1846,  with  the  view  of  opening  up  the  communication  with 
the  southern  markets,  and  developing  the  resources  of  the 
north  and  central  Highlands,  it  would  appear  that  even  in  the 
present  backward  state  of  things,  there  are  annually  exported 
by  land  from  the  Highland  counties  (excluding  the  maritime 
shires  of  Banff,  Aberdeen,  and  Argyleshire,  and  the  Lennox), 
about  200,000  head  of  sheep  in  a  lean  condition,  of  which  about 
40,000  proceed  from  Perthshire  alone,  and  the  rest  from  the 
northern  shires  ;  that  Caithness,  Sutherland,  Ross,  Inverness, 
and  part  of  Moray  shires,  send  south  about  40,000  head  of  lean 
cattle,  and  Perthshire  and  the  south  Highlands  about  as  many 
more ;  that  from  the  distance  and  difficulties  of  getting  to  market, 
the  fattening  of  sheep  and  cattle  for  the  butcher  has  scarcely 
commenced  in  the  Highlands  ;  and  that  the  improvement  of 
the  stocks,  by  changes  of  breed  from  the  south,  is  as  yet,  from 
the  same  causes,  very  slow.  Instead,  therefore,  of  hill  produce 
being  frequently  and  expeditiously  disposed  of,  the  Highland 
fanner  can  only  get  rid  of  it  once  or  twice  a-year,  and  that  in  a 
lean  condition,  and  at  great  risk  and  expense.  An  annual  great 
wool  fair  is  held  at  Inverness  in  the  month  of  July,  but  though 
sometimes  upwards  of  100,000  stones  of  wool,  and  as  many 
sheep,  change  owners  at  it,  the  sales  are  often  dull,  and  the 
grower  has  to  consign  his  stock  to  brokers  in  Glasgow  and 
Liverpool.  Great  numbers  of  sheep  are  still  sent  south  on  foot, 
across  the  hills,  and  the  black  cattle  follow  them  in  large  droves ; 
and  the  animals  so  driven  south  generally  pass  into  English 
hands  at  the  great  trysts  at  Falkirk. 

10.  The  Highland  black  cattle  are  of  a  small  size,  but  their 
beef  is  of  a  peculiarly  delicate  quality.  For  the  disposal  of  them, 
various  trysts,  or  markets,  are  held  throughout  and  on  the 
southern  borders  of  the  Highlands.  Along  with  the  droves  of 
cattle,  parcels  of  Highland  ponies  are  driven,  which  are  of  a 
small  size,  but  strong  and  hardy.  Of  these,  a  considerable  num- 
ber are  destined  for  the  north  of  England  coal  mines.  Both 
cattle  and  ponies  are  supplied  in  greatest  numbers  by  the  west 
coast  and  islands.  Highland  ponies  are  capable  of  enduring 
great  fatigue.  The  larger  breed  of  horses,  when  well  cared  for, 
form  stout,  hardy,  and  serviceable  animals.  Crosses  with  south- 
country  horses  are  now  general  for  agricultural  purposes, 
draught,  and  riding. 


14  WOOD KELP BRITISH   FISHERIES.         SECT.  I. 

11.  Highland  timber  consists  chiefly  of  pine  or  fir,  and  birch. 
The  former,  when  not  of  native  growth,  is  mostly  disposed  of  in 
the  shape  of  short  props  for  the  coal  mines.     About  200  or  300 
cargoes  of  props,  logs,  and  deals,  are  shipped  annually  from  the 
Moray  Firth  :  the  average  value  of  a  cargo  of  props  does  not 
exceed  £30  or  £40.   Coals  and  lime  are  brought  back  in  return : 
birch  is  used  for  herring-barrel  staves,  and  for  domestic  utensils 
and  farm  implements.     Oak  coppice  is  chiefly  valuable  for  the 
charcoal  and  pyroligneous  acid  which  it  yields  ;    and  larger 
stems  of  oak,  ash,  and  elm,  are  now  exported  in  considerable 
quantities.    There  are,  however,  enormous  plantations  of  fir  and 
larch  shooting  up  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  especially  in 
the  interior,  which  cannot  be  turned  to  their  full  use  until  the 
communication  by  railway  is  opened  up.     Thus,  in  the  inland 
portions  of  Inverness  and  Nairn  shires  alone  (away  from  the 
sea),  there  are  upwards  of  50,000  acres  under  wood  ;  in  Perth- 
shire, on  the  line  of  the  great  north  road,  there  are  26,000  acres 
of  woodland  ;  and  the  rest  of  the  county  must  contain  double 
that  quantity.    The  yearly  exports  of  timber  at  present  from  the 
ports  of  the  Moray  Firth  alone,  amount  to  about  50,000  tons. 

12.  There  is  generally  manufactured  about  8000  tons  of 
kelp  on  the  coasts  of  the  western  Highlands  and  Islands  ;  from 
2000  to  3000  tons  in  Orkney  and  Zetland  ;  and  probably  from 
1000  to  1500  tons  on  the  north  and  east  coasts  of  Sutherland 
and  Caithness.      During  the  last  war,  kelp  often  sold  for  £20  a 
ton  ;  but  since  the  introduction  of  Spanish  barilla  and  other 
substitutes,  it  has  fallen  in  price  from  a  half  to  a  fourth  of  that 
sum.     From  a  new  alkaline  product  which  kelp  has  lately  been 
found  to  contain,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  its  value  will  yet  greatly 
rise.      The  expense  of  cutting,  drying,  and  burning  the  ware  is 
from  £3  to  £-1  a  ton. 

13.  The  seas  of  the  north  of  Scotland  abound  with  valuable 
products  ;  a  fact  which  the  industrious  Dutch,  for  a  long  period 
of  time,  turned  to  the  most  profitable  account.     Two  centuries 
ago,  that  people  were  in  the  habit  of  sending  as  many  as  1500 
and  even  2000  busses,  of  eighty  tons  each,  to  prosecute  the  her- 
ring fishery  off  the  coast  of  Shetland,  besides  several  hundred 
doggers  of  about  sixty  tons'  burthen  to  fish  for  cod  and  ling. 
For  the  latter,  also,  they  carried  on  an  extensive  barter  with 
the  Shetland  fishers.     Towards  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, the  Dutch  herring  busses,  from  wars  with  this  country, 


SECT.  I.  BRITISH   FISHERIES.  15 

and  other  causes,  had  decreased  to  500  or  600,  and  they  con- 
tinued to  diminish  still  farther  during  the  eighteenth  century, 
and  have  now  almost  disappeared  from  our  coasts.  Yet,  seventy 
years  ago,  they  had  200  busses  employed  on  the  Shetland  fish- 
ings ;  and  the  Danes,  Prussians,  French,  and  Flemings,  as  many 
more  ;  while  the  English  had  only  two  vessels,  and  the  Scotch 
but  one.  Public  societies  for  the  encouragement  of  the  British 
fisheries  have  been  formed  at  various  times  in  this  country,  since 
the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  previous  to  the  society  now  esta- 
blished, but  they  were  short-lived,  and  their  success  was  very 
partial.  No  attention  was  bestowed  on  the  herring  fishery  till 
the  year  1750,  when  a  company  was  incorporated,  which,  how- 
ever, eventually  broke  up,  with  a  loss  of  .£500,000  sterling.  The 
present  British  Fishery  Society  was  established  in  1780.  Par- 
liament has  frequently  granted  bounties  for  the  encouragement 
of  the  fisheries  ;  but  as,  till  of  late,  they  were  paid  on  the 
tonnage,  and  not  on  the  quantity  of  fish  taken,  vessels  went 
out  rather  to  catch  the  bounty  than  anything  else.  For  some 
years  back,  bounties  for  fishing  herring  have  been  found  quite 
unnecessary,  and  are  now  discontinued.  Several  fishing  villages, 
as  Tobermory,  Ullapool,  and  Pulteney  Town,  near  Wick,  owe 
their  origin  to  the  British  Fishery  Society. 

On  being  forsaken  by  their  old  friends  the  Dutch,  the  Shet- 
land proprietors  were  obliged,  in  order  to  enable  their  impover- 
ished tenants  to  prosecute  the  ling  fishery  (to  which  they  had 
previously  directed  much  of  their  attention),  to  advance  the 
purchase  price  of  their  boats  and  tackling,  and,  in  return,  the 
fishers  became  bound  to  dispose  of  the  produce  of  their  labours 
to  their  landlords  at  a  stipulated  price  ;  and  this  sort  of  tenure 
still  prevails  among  these  islanders  to  this  day.  It  was  not  till 
about  thirty  years  ago  that  even  a  feeble  revival  (by  means  of  a 
few  vessels  of  small  burthen)  was  attempted  of  the  Shetland  cod 
fishery,  but  since  then  it  has  been  cultivated  with  great  success, 
and  may  yet  be  improved  so  as  to  become  a  source  of  much  na- 
tional wealth  ;  for  a  prodigiously  large  cod,  ling,  and  tusk  bank 
has  been  discovered,  extending  all  the  way  from  the  north  of 
Orkney  to  the  west  of  Shetland.  There  is  every  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  a  similar  bank  lies  to  the  westward  of  the  Hebrides  ; 
and  the  spirited  gentry  of  those  isles  are  beginning  to  look 
after  it. 

14.  The  herring  fishery  was  at  one  time  a  source  of  great 


1 6  HERRING   AND    SALMON   FISHERIES.  SECT.  I. 

profit  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  west  coast  of  Scotland  ;  but  it 
has  of  late  somewhat  fallen  off  in  that  direction,  and  been  pro- 
secuted with  most  signal  and  daily  increasing  success  on  the 
eastern  shores.  However,  there  are  occasional  great  takes  of 
herring  in  the  salt-water  inlets  on  the  west  coast.  In  1840, 
about  ,£20,000  worth  of  herring  were  cured  in  Loch  Torridon  ; 
and,  in  1841,  as  much  as  to  the  value  of  perhaps  ,£50,000  in 
Loch  Duich.  It  is  singular,  that  this  economical  article  of  food 
is  still  so  little  used  in  the  great  manufacturing  towns  of 
England. 

Of  the  quantity  of  salmon  cured,  and  the  value  of  the  fishery, 
we  cannot  speak  with  any  certainty,  as  the  exports  of  this  fish, 
though  very  considerable,  vary  much  every  year.  Including 
the  Dee  and  the  Don,  there  are,  north  of  the  Tay,  twenty-five 
salmon-fishing  rivers  of  various  importance,  some  of  them 
yielding  several  thousand  pounds'  rent.  Besides  which,  the 
stake-net  fisheries,  along  the  coasts  of  the  firths  and  arms  of  the 
sea,  return  an  additional  revenue.  This  branch  of  the  fisheries 
has  been  greatly  overwrought,  and  salmon  in  consequence  are 
much  scarcer  than  they  used  to  be :  the  subsisting  law,  which 
makes  the  same  close  time  (from  the  14th  September  to  the  2d 
of  February)  to  be  observed  all  over  Scotland,  having  also 
proved  injurious,  being  opposed  to  the  habits  of  the  fish  in  dif- 
ferent rivers. 

15.  Besides  these  fish,  haddock,  cod,  whiting,  skate,  floun- 
ders, rock  cod,  and  cuddies,  abound  in  most  places.  The  had- 
dock is  rare  on  the  west  coast,  (except  towards  the  south,)  but 
its  place  is  supplied  by  a  fine  firm  fish,  of  somewhat  similar 
form,  called  the  lythe.  A  new  trade  has  lately  commenced  be- 
tween the  north  of  Scotland  and  the  London  markets,  in  that 
most  valuable  of  our  white  fish,  the  haddock,  which  are  now 
being  picked  up  in  vast  quantities  by  steamers  and  quick  sail- 
ing vessels  from  the  fishing  boats,  just  as  they  are  caught,  and 
brought  to  market  either  fresh  or  in  a  half  cured  state.  The 
supply  is  inexhaustible,  and  the  demand  in  our  great  cities  and 
manufacturing  towns  for  this  fish  is  steadily  increasing.  When 
smoked  and  dried,  the  haddock  is  becoming  a  staple  article 
of  food  in  many  places,  under  the  names,  from  Aberdeen,  of 
Finnan  Haddies,  or  of  Speldings,  from  other  places.  Turbot 
are  to  be  had  in  the  Moray  Firth,  but  unfortunately  the  fisher- 
men have  not  directed  their  attention  to  them.  They  are, 


SECT.  I.  FISH GAME.  17 

however,  industriously  fished  in  the  Firth  of  Clyde.  Soles  are 
rarely  to  be  seen  in  Scotland,  as  are  also  mullet,  gurnets,  and 
the  many  varieties  taken  on  the  coasts  of  England.  Shell-fish 
naturally  accompany  the  others  enumerated.  Crabs  are  com- 
mon ;  lobsters  are  met  with  in  many  places  ;  oysters  are  rare, 
except  in  some  parts  of  the  west  coast,  whence  they  are  occasion- 
ally brought  to  market  in  Inverness  and  other  towns,  but  by 
attention  it  is  believed  their  numbers  might  be  greatly  increased. 
Mussels  (used  chiefly  for  bait)  abound  on  all  our  coasts  ;  and 
as  care  has  lately  been  taken  to  preserve  and  increase  the  spawn, 
the  mussel  banks  belonging  to  our  sea-ports  and  villages  are 
becoming  sources  of  great  revenue  to  them.  Those  of  Inverness 
and  Tain  are  already  worth  to  each  about  .£100  a-year.  Neither 
shrimps  nor  prawns  fancy  our  northern  latitudes  ;  but  cockles 
occur  in  great  quantities,  and,  where  best,  form  a  highly  palat- 
able dish.  Our  mountain  lakes,  rivers,  and  streams,  afford, 
besides  salmon,  great  varieties  and  abundance  of  trout.  The 
char,  or  mountain  salmon,  is  found  only  occasionally,  and  in  the 
higher  lochs.  Pike  of  great  size  occur  in  many  lakes  ;  but  the 
presence  of  these  voracious  animals  is  not  desired,  on  account 
of  their  monopolising  propensities. 

16.  Among  the  products  of  the  Highlands,  game  must  not 
be  omitted,  being  matter  of  very  general  interest,  and  now  no 
inconsiderable  source  of  profit  to  many  Highland  proprietors. 
Grouse,  till  of  late,  abounded  in  most  parts  of  the  Highlands, 
but  now  they  have  been  greatly  reduced  in  number  by  sports- 
men, by  the  treading  of  the  sheep  and  shepherd's  dogs,  and  by 
various  diseases,  especially  the  tape-worm.  Partridges  and  hares 
are  common  in  the  low  grounds :  the  ptarmigan  and  mountain 
hare  confine  themselves  to  the  rocky  summits  of  the  highest 
mountains.  Pheasants  are  being  introduced  in  policies  on  the 
outskirts  of  the  Highlands  and  in  the  Hebrides.  Black  game 
or  heath  fowl  abound  in  most  of  the  younger  plantations  and 
coppices,  as  also  woodcocks  ;  and  great  numbers  of  wild  ducks, 
snipes,  and  other  water-fowl,  in  the  lakes  and  marshes.  The 
stately  red  deer  keeps  far  remote  from  the  haunts  of  man,  but 
they  are  still  numerous  in  the  more  secluded  wilds,  and  are  now 
greatly  on  the  increase.  Roe  are  frequent  in  the  lower  coverts. 
Deer-stalking  requires  patience,  and  some  hardiness  of  consti- 
tution. Hunting  is  out  of  the  question,  and,  indeed,  coursing 
is  hardly  attempted ;  in  the  interior,  and  most  of  the  west  coast, 

B2 


18  GAME SOURCES    OF    LIVELIHOOD.  SECT.  I. 

not  at  all.  The  deer-stalker  must  use  the  arts  aiid  dexterity  of 
the  Indian  in  looking  for  his  prey.  The  hare  is  pursued  with 
greyhounds,  or  the  gun;  while  foxes,  badgers,  &c.,  must  be 
unearthed  by  the  aid  of  the  little  wiry  Scotch  terrier.  It  has 
now  become  a  common  practice  for  Highland  proprietors  to  let 
the  right  of  shooting  on  their  grounds.  Moors  may  be  had  at 
all  prices,  from  £50  to  ,£700  for  the  season,  with  accommoda- 
tions varying  according  to  circumstances.  Mr.  Snowie,  gun- 
maker  in  Inverness,  is  the  chief  agent  in  the  north  Highlands 
between  the  proprietors  of  game  and  the  sportsmen,  and  he 
regularly  advertises  the  shootings  which  are  to  let.  His  arrange- 
ments alone,  extend  over  a  rental  amounting  in  some  years  to 
between  £7000  and  £8000.  His  returns  for  seventy-six  shoot- 
ings, three  years  ago,  were  55,700  brace  of  grouse  killed  in  the 
season,  and  288  deer  from  twenty-six  places  where  deer  and  roe 
occur.  More  precise  and  extensive  information  is  not  to  be  got 
at  present ;  but  we  know  that,  in  the  estimates  of  railway  traffic 
submitted  to  Parliament  not  long  ago,  there  were  data  procured 
for  believing  that  the  conveyance  of  game  and  small  parcels 
from  the  northern  counties  alone,  would  yield  about  £3500 
a-year,  and  of  private  carriages  (chiefly  used  by  sportsmen), 
horses,  and  dogs,  within  a  thousand  pounds  of  the  same  sum. 

17.  Oat  and  barley  meal,  with  potatoes  (until  the  partial 
failure  of  that  root  within  the  last  three  years),  form  the  staple 
articles  of  food  of  the  mass  of  the  population,  to  which  the 
peasantry  add,  when  they  can,  a  few  herrings,  and,  on  the  coasts, 
the  other  varieties  of  fish  ;  but  butcher's  meat  is  a  rarity  they 
are  seldom  able  to  afford.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  towns, 
and  even  throughout  the  country,  the  farmers  willingly  give 
permission,  to  such  as  please  to  avail  themselves  of  it,  to  plant 
with  potatoes  as  much  land  as  they  can  supply  with  manure  ; 
and  thus  many  poor  people,  who  are  neither  farm-servants,  nor 
possess  crofts  of  their  own,  contrive  to  eke  out  a  part  of  their 
subsistence,  by  accumulating  moss,  fern,  potato  stems,  sea  ware, 
and  whatever  else  may  serve  as  a  component  part  of  a  dung- 
heap.  In  the  towns  and  villages,  the  bulk  of  the  population 
earn  their  livelihood  as  artisans,  carters  and  day  labourers  ;  but, 
with  a  few  trifling  exceptions,  there  are  no  manufacturing  estab- 
lishments. The  distillation  of  smuggled  spirits  is  now,  from  the 
low  price  of  whisky,  and  the  efficiency  of  the  excise,  except  in 
remote  districts,  happily  nearly  abolished.  It  had  a  most  de- 


SECT.  I.  DRESS — LANGUAGE — EMIGRATION.  19 

moralising  effect  in  those  districts  where  it  prevailed,  giving  rise 
to  idleness,  duplicity,  and  dissipation.  The  crews  of  the  revenue 
cutters,  of  whom  about  two-thirds  are  constantly  patroling  the 
country  under  an  officer  of  excise,  have,  at  a  cost  of  only  ,£8000 
a-year,  been  the  chief  means  of  suppressing  smuggling.  Many  of 
the  poor  Highlanders  earn  a  pound  or  two  by  annually  migrat- 
ing in  bands  to  the  low  country  to  assist  in  reaping  the  harvest ; 
and,  when  they  can  get  employment  as  labourers  on  railways, 
they  are  eager  to  avail  themselves  of  it.  In  the  herring-fishing 
season,  thousands,  who  have  throughout  the  rest  of  the  year  no 
connexion  with  the  sea,  abandon  their  usual  occupations  for  a 
couple  of  months,  and,  as  fishermen  and  fish-curers,  earn  hand- 
some though  dear-bought  wages.  The  clothing  of  the  lower 
orders  is  often  wrought  at  home  by  themselves,  and  is  ordina- 
rily of  a  blue  colour.  Plaiding  and  tartan  are  still  a  good  deal 
worn  ;  but  the  kilt  is  only  occasionally  met  with.  Except  in 
Caithness,  where,  as  in  Orkney  and  Zetland,  English  is  exclusively 
spoken,  Gaelic  is  still  the  prevailing  language  in  the  Highlands, 
particularly  in  the  Hebrides,  and  the  western  and  inland  parts 
of  Argyle,  Inverness,  Ross,  and  Sutherland  shires.  The  amended 
poor  law  of  1845  has  been  put  in  force  in  all  the  parishes  ;  but 
notwithstanding,  poverty  and  wretchedness  prevail  to  a  most 
alarming  extent.  The  landlords  cannot  give  full  employment 
or  subsistence  ;  and  hence  government  has  been  appealed  to,  to 
afford  funds  necessary  for  transporting  the  population  in  large 
numbers  to  the  colonies.  In  the  present  state  of  agriculture  and 
of  the  fisheries,  and  the  almost  exclusive  appropriation  of  the 
land  to  sheep,  any  sensible  relief  by  means  of  emigration  alone, 
would  be  experienced  only  by  its  being  conducted  on  a  very 
extensive  scale  indeed.  Like  the  Irish,  the  poor  Highlander 
has  been  forced  hitherto  to  seek  his  bread  from  home  ;  and  the 
little  education  he  gets  to  qualify  him  for  doing  so,  he  owes  as 
much  to  the  exertions  of  benevolent  societies  and  individuals 
in  the  south,  as  to  the  institutions  or  liberality  of  the  native 
proprietors  and  inhabitants.  Many  impolitic  and  harsh  clear- 
ances of  the  people  have  been  carried  through  within  the  last 
sixty  years.  The  ignorance  and  want  of  skill  in  agriculture  in 
the  peasantry,  and  their  undue  increase  in  certain  localities 
after  the  decline  of  the  kelp  trade,  formed  the  chief  pretext 
for  such  wholesale  removals  ;  but  the  real  causes,  no  doubt, 
were  the  inordinate  expectations  formed  by  the  proprietors  of 


20  ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY  SECT.  I. 

the  profits  of  sheep  fanning,  and  their  want  of  capital  to  develope 
the  resources  of  the  country  in  the  yield  of  grain  and  timber, 
and  the  capabilities  of  the  fisheries.  The  throwing  together  of 
the  poor  people  into  crowded  hamlets  and  villages,  where  it  was 
attempted,  in  some  instances,  to  make  artizans  and  manufac- 
turers of  them,  and  in  others  to  convert  rustics  into  fishermen, 
with  small  patches  of  ground  attached  to  their  dwellings,  in- 
sufficient, when  used  even  as  potato  plots,  for  the  support  of 
their  families,  has  also  been  a  fruitful  cause  of  destitution  and 
pauperism  throughout  the  Highlands.  But  the  clearances  car- 
ried out  on  the  greatest  scale  were  those  in  Sutherlandshire, 
which  are  more  particularly  described  in  another  part  of  this 
book.  These  have  been  the  subject  of  animadversion  by  nume- 
rous eminent  authors,  both  foreign  and  domestic  ;  and  they  are 
now  generally  regretted,  and  by  none,  we  believe,  more  than  by 
the  noble  family  in  whose  name  they  were  effected.  Ignorant 
of  the  habits,  attachments,  and  even  language  of  the  Celtic 
tribes,  the  advisers  of  those  measures  hurried  on  improvements 
and  arrangements  which  should  have  been  extended  over  many 
years,  and  been  carried  through  with  much  patience  and  tender- 
ness towards  a  warm-hearted  but  easily  excited  people.  Their 
pride  and  indignation  were  roused,  and  they  either  expatriated 
themselves  in  large  bands,  or,  like  the  imaginative  Arab  deprived 
of  his  liberty,  became  broken-hearted  and  useless  dependents. 

18.  These  observations  may  well  be  concluded  by  a  glance 
at  the  ecclesiastical  history,  and  a  few  remarks  on  the  state  of 
education  and  religious  instruction  in  the  Highlands. 

The  name  of  Christ  was  first  declared  to  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Highlands  by  Columba  (Gallicce  St.  Callum  or  Malcolm), 
who  came  from  Ireland,  and  settled  in  the  island  of  lona,  about 
the  year  560.  He  sailed  from  the  Emerald  Isle  along  with  a 
small  band  of  fellow  missionaries  (said  to  be  twelve  in  number) 
in  a  little  currach  or  wicker  boat;  and  although  he  subsequently 
visited  the  south  of  Scotland,  his  labours  were  chiefly  devoted 
to  the  conversion  of  the  western  and  northern  Picts — as  his 
predecessor  St.  Ninian  in  the  fifth  century,  and  St.  Kentigern 
or  Mungo  (founder  of  the  see  of  Glasgow),  and  St.  Patrick,  a 
native  of  Dumbarton,  who  were  almost  his  contemporaries, 
laboured  among  the  Strathclyde  Britons,  and  over  the  ancient 
kingdom  of  Cumbria,  extending  from  Loch  Lomond  to  Winder- 
mere  and  Furness  and  the  confines  of  Yorkshire  ;  as  well  as 


SECT.  I.  OF    THE    HIGHLANDS.  21 

among  the  Celtic  tribes  of  Wales  and  Ireland.     The  church  in 
Scotland  was  then  unquestionably  missionary  or  monastic,  and 
did  not  become  parochial  or  territorial  till  David  I.'s  time  ; 
and  like  its  Irish  mother,  it  traced  its  origin  to  the  Eastern 
Church,  not  to  that  of  Rome,  whose  first  representative,  St. 
Austin  or  Augustine,  only  set  foot  in  Kent  in  the  year  597, 
two  years  after  St.  Columba's  death.     Educated  in  one  of  the 
small  monasteries  instituted  in  the  north  of  Ireland  by  St. 
Patrick,  at  a  place  called  Dearmack  (from  its  being  near  an  oak 
forest),  the  Scottish  apostle  imbibed  the  simplicity  and  holy 
zeal  of  his  preceptor  ;   and  when  he  and  his  brother  monks 
landed  at  lona,  we  find,  from  his  historian  Adamnan,  that  they 
retired  for  worship  to  a  secluded  circle  of  upright  stones,  previ- 
ously, in  all  likelihood,  a  Druidical  temple,  whence  they  after- 
wards issued  "  to  gather  bundles  of  twigs  to  build  their  hospice." 
Their  abodes  were  mere  wigwams  ;  their  churches,  for  long  after, 
no  better  than  log-houses  of  "  hewn  oak  ; "  and  such  was  their 
humility,  that  they  sought  no  better  name  than  that  of  "  Cuttd- 
hich"  (Culdees),  signifying,  according  to  the  received  opinion 
in  lona,  "  the  people  that  retire  to  corners,"  who  worshipped 
God  in  dens  and  secret  recesses  of  the  woods,  but  "  in  spirit  and 
in  truth."     Hermits  they  might  be  called,  did  they  not,  after 
being  refreshed  by  meditation  and  prayer,  go  forth  to  preach. 
Accordingly,  St.  Columba  penetrated  to  the  most  remote  dis- 
tricts ;  and  it  is  distinctly  asserted  by  his  contemporary  bio- 
graphers, that  he  laboured  at  Inverness  "  ad  ostiam  Nessise"  to 
convert  Brudeus,  king  of  the  northern  Picts,  at  whose  court 
also  he  held  communications  with  a  Scandinavian  earl  of  Orkney. 
Churches  were  subsequently  dedicated  to  him  in  all  parts  of 
the  Highlands  (as,  for  instance,  Kilcalmakil,  in  the  centre  of 
Sutherlandshire) ;  and  the  Celtic  brethren  who  accompanied  or 
immediately  succeeded  Columba,  have  their  names  recorded  in 
very  many  of  our  parishes  and  churches,  the  Gaelic  origin  of 
which  are  readily  distinguishable  from  the  Saxon  and  Norman 
names  prevalent  on  the  east  and  southern  coasts  of  Scotland, 
commemorative  of  Romish  churchmen.     Indeed,  the  exertions 
of  individual  saints  or  hermits  prior  to  Columba,  who  seems  to 
have  acted  more  on  a  system  of  Episcopal  arrangement,  are  now 
proved  by  undoubted  records  ;  and  St.  Ninian  at  Whitherne  in 
the  fifth  century,  and  St.  Kieran,  the  titular  saint  of  Campbel- 
town  in  Argyleshire,  and  several  others,  laboured  singly  among 


22  ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY  SECT.  I. 

the  Dalriadic  Scots  of  that  county  early  in  the  sixth  century. 
(See  Mr.  Howson's  very  valuable  papers  on  the  Ecclesiastical 
Antiquities  of  Argyle,  in  the  Cambridge  Camden  Society's 
Transactions,  Parts  II.  and  III.)  That  these  holy  men  retained 
much  of  apostolic  Christianity,  seems  plain,  from  the  character 
left  of  them  by  old  writers.  "  They  never  stirred  abroad  but 
to  gain  souls.  They  preached  more  by  example  than  word  of 
mouth.  The  simplicity  of  their  garb,  gesture,  and  behaviour, 
was  irresistibly  eloquent.  They  did  good  to  everybody,  and 
sought  no  reward.  Preferments,  cabals,  intrigues,  division, 
sedition,  were  things  unknown  to  them.  There  were  bishops 
among  them,  but  no  lords  ;  presbyters,  but  no  stipends,  or  very 
small  ones  ;  monks  truly  such — humble,  retired,  poor,  chaste, 
sober,  and  zealous.  In  a  word,  they  were  in  a  literal  sense 
saints." — (Ibid,  and  Abercrombie's  Mart.  Ach.  of  Scotland,  i., 
106.)  St.  Columba  and  his  disciples  promoted  all  the  "  arts  of 
peace,"  especially  medicine  and  agriculture  ;  and  their  cures 
and  recipes  have  been  handed  down  to  this  day,  in  Gaelic 
legendary  rhymes  constantly  ascribed  to  them. 

Among  the  Culdees  the  tonsure  was  cut  according  to  the 
Eastern  fashion  ;  and  the  great  festival  of  Easter,  which  regu- 
lates all  the  others,  observed  on  the  same  day  as  in  the  East  ; 
but  in  other  respects  the  venerable  Bede,  and  the  Irish  Annals, 
prove  the  Church  to  have  been  completely  Episcopal  in  its  con- 
stitution, in  the  same  sense  as  it  was  so  throughout  the  rest  of 
Christendom.*  It  long  struggled  against  the  supremacy  and  cor- 
ruptions of  the  Church  of  Rome,  which  did  not  attain  their  full 
sway  till  the  twelfth  century,  when  popish  monachism  was  intro- 
duced :  and  even  in  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century,  some  of  the 
Culdees  are  found  engaged  in  an  unsuccessful  opposition  to  the 
new  intruders.  The  regular  creation  of  Sees  in  the  Highlands,  under 
authority  of  the  Crown,  was,  as  follows,  Mortlach  (now  Aberdeen), 
by  Malcolm  III.  in  1010 :  Moray  and  Caithness,  including  Suther- 
land, most  probably  by  the  same  prince.  In  the  twelfth  century, 
David  I.  founded,  in  addition  to  the  existing  sees,  that  of  Dun- 
keld,  to  which  Argyle  was  at  first  annexed  ;  and  he  also  consti- 
tuted the  bishopric  of  Ross.  Alexander  III.,  on  the  acquisition 
of  the  Western  Isles,  added  the  ancient  bishopric  of  Sodor,  or 
the  Isles,  to  the  national  church.  The  Highlands  and  Islands 
were  thus  partitioned  into  the  seven  dioceses  of  Dunkeld,  Argyle, 
*  See  the  subsequent  account  of  lona. 


SECT.  I.  OF   THE    HIGHLANDS.  23 

Moray,  Ross,  the  Isles,  Caithness,  and  Orkney  ;  the  last  being 
most  likely  a  Norwegian  see,  though  Christianity  was  introduced 
to  Orkney  by  St.  Columba  or  his  immediate  followers.  It  is 
difficult  to  form  a  conjecture  as  to  the  probable  number  of  the 
inferior  clergy  at  this  period,  or  the  influence  they  and  the  doc- 
trines which  they  taught  acquired  over  the  rude  and  stormy  in- 
habitants. Certain  it  is,  that  a  few  faint  rays  of  light  continued 
to  struggle  against  the  darkness  of  feudal  strife  and  clannish 
jealousy  ;  and  the  various  religious  establishments  sent  forth 
among  the  people  teachers  animated  with  a  desire  to  lead  them 
to  a  settled  and  peaceable  mode  of  living  ;  while  it  is  likewise 
unquestionable,  that  many  who,  either  from  bodily  infirmity  or 
a  moral  change  of  mind,  found  themselves  unsuited  to  bear  the 
coarse  manners  of  their  countrymen,  retired  to  the  seclusion  of 
the  cloister  for  protection  and  repose.  The  errors  of  popery, 
however,  which  had  for  a  long  time  been  strenuously  resisted  in 
this  kingdom,  overspread  and  characterized  the  church  from  the 
eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries,  even  in  the  remote  Highlands. 
At  the  Reformation,  the  religious  houses,  as  detailed  in  Keith's 
Catalogue  of  the  Scottish  Bishops,  were  not  numerous ;  and  they 
belonged  chiefly  to  regular  monks,  who  had  not  the  spiritual 
charge  of  any  particular  district,  or  any  cure  of  souls.  They 
were  situated  as  follows  : — The  Canons  Regular  had  established 
houses  at  Loch  Tay,  on  an  island  in  that  lake  ;  Rowadill,  in  the 
Isle  of  Harris  ;  Crusay,  in  the  Western  Isles  ;  in  the  islands  of 
Colonsay  and  Oronsay,  and  Insula  St.  Colmoci,  and  Inchmahome, 
in  the  lake  of  Monteith  ;  at  Strathfillan,  in  Breadalbane,  and 
Scarinche,  in  the  Isle  of  Lewis.  The  Red  Friars  had  an  estab- 
lishment at  Dornoch,  in  Sutherland  ;  the  Prcemonastratenses  at 
Fearn,  in  Ross-shire ;  the  Cluniacenses  at  Icolmkill,  in  lona ; 
the  Cistertians  at  Saddel,  in  Cantyre  ;  the  monks  of  Valliscaul- 
lium  at  Beaulieu,  or  Beauly,  at  the  head  of  the  Beauly  Firth, 
and  Ardchattan,  on  the  side  of  Loch  Etive,  in  Argyle  :  and  the 
Dominicans  were  domiciled  at  Inverness.  There  appears  to 
have  been  but  one  nunnery — at  Icolmkill,  in  lona ;  and  one 
hospital — at  Rothvan,  in  Kiltarlity,  Inverness-shire  ;  and  only 
two  collegiate  churches  for  secular  canons,  namely,  Kilmun  in 
Cowal,  Argyle;  and  Tain,  in  Ross-shire,  besides  the  cathedral 
churches  of  Dunkeld,  Lismore,  Fortrose,  Dornoch,  and  Kirkwall. 
The  diocesan  church  of  Moray  was  the  magnificent  cathedral  of 
Elgin,  "the  lantern  of  the  north;"  and  there  were  several 


24  ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY  SECT.  I. 

abbeys  and  monasteries  in  that  county,  as  Kinloss  and  Plus- 
cardine. 

Patrick  Hamilton,  called  the  first  Scottish  martyr  for  the 
doctrines  of  the  Reformation,  was  an  abbot  of  Fearn,  in  Ross- 
shire  ;  in  which  county  and  its  neighbourhood,  there  is  little 
doubt,  he  advocated  the  truth  in  primitive  power,  gentleness, 
and  simplicity.  Popery  was  finally  abolished  in  1560.  Under 
the  first  constitution  of  the  reformed  church  (which  was  a 
medium  between  Episcopacy  and  Presbyterianism,  having  super- 
intendents to  exercise  Episcopal  functions,  but  without  any 
Episcopal  consecration),  it  was  intended  that  the  Highlands 
should  have  had  three  of  the  ten  superintendents  appointed  for 
the  kingdom;  and  be  divided  into  three  districts — Orkney, 
Ross,  and  Argyle.  The  latter  superintendency  alone  was  filled 
up.  On  the  remodelling  of  the  form  of  church  government  in 
1572,  when  a  more  decided  episcopacy  was  introduced,  the 
Highlands  had  five  unconsecrated  bishops,  of  the  sees  of  Dun- 
keld,  Moray,  Argyle,  Caithness,  and  Orkney.  Presbyterianism, 
after  a  severe  struggle  with  the  power  of  the  crown,  was,  for  a 
time,  fully  established,  in  the  year  1592.  After  various  pre- 
paratory measures,  bishops  were  restored  to  their  temporal  estate 
in  1606;  and  Presbyterianism  abolished,  and  Episcopacy  erected 
in  its  place  in  1610.  The  bishops  were  regularly  consecrated 
through  the  English  hierarchy;  and  we  find  the  Highlands 
divided,  as  of  old,  into  the  dioceses  of  Dunkeld,  Argyle,  Moray, 
Ross,  the  Isles,  Caithness,  and  Orkney.  By  the  acts  of  Assembly 
1638,  and  of  the  Scottish  Parliament  1640,  Presbyterianism  was 
reinstated,  the  bishops  deposed,  their  order  declared  unscrip- 
tural,  and  all  the  clergy  put  on  a  footing  of  equality.  On  the 
Restoration,  Episcopacy  was  again  introduced,  and  ratified  in 
1662  ;  and  the  former  bishops  having  died,  a  new  consecration, 
by  the  hands  of  the  English  bishops,  took  place,  and  the  former 
sees  in  the  Highlands  were  filled  up.  The  order  of  things  was, 
owing  to  the  political  principles  of  the  Episcopalian  clergy, 
once  more  reversed,  and  the  Presbyterian  form  of  government 
finally  settled  in  1690;  and  it  subsequently  formed  part  of  the 
Articles  of  Union  between  the  two  kingdoms. 

In  the  earlier  years  of  the  reformed  church,  the  preachers 
being  few,  and  all  the  natural  obstacles  of  situation,  poverty, 
and  language,  which,  after  the  Revolution  in  1688,  long  retarded 
the  efforts  made  to  supply  the  Highlands  with  a  ministry, 


SECT.  I.  OF   THE    HIGHLANDS.  25 

existing  in  full  force,  little  generally  effectual  was  done  in  the 
northern  counties.  Even  in  1650,  some  districts,  as  Lochaber, 
had  had  no  Protestant  ministry  planted  in  them.  In  others, 
however,  some  settlements  were  effected,  very  early  after  the 
Reformation.  Several  clergy,  of  both  reformed  persuasions, 
laboured  in  the  north,  in  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury. In  1617,  a  commission  was  appointed  by  parliament,  for 
planting  of  kirks  and  modifying  stipends  throughout  Scotland  ; 
and  to  various  succeeding  commissions  additional  powers  were 
granted  of  dividing  and  remodelling  parishes  ;  all  which  powers 
were,  in  1707,  transferred  to  the  Court  of  Session.  Some  settle- 
ments were  made  in  the  Highlands,  and  new  presbyteries  erected 
during  the  Episcopal  period  between  1610  and  1638.  The 
troubled  state  of  the  country  in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  was  little  favourable  to  the  enlargement  of  the  church. 
In  1646,  however,  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  "  in  order  that  the  knowledge  of  God  in  Christ  may  be 
spread  through  the  Highlands  and  Islands,"  enacted,  "  1.  That 
an  order  be  procured,  that  all  gentlemen  who  are  able,  do  send 
their  eldest  sons  to  be  bred  in  the  inland.  2.  That  a  ministry 
be  planted  among  them  (the  Highlands  ;)  and,  for  that  effect, 
that  ministers  and  exhortants,  who  can  speak  the  Irish  language, 
be  sent  to  employ  their  talents  in  these  parts  ;  and  kirks  there 
be  provided,  as  other  kirks  in  this  kingdom.  3.  That  Scots 
schools  be  erected  in  all  parishes  there,  according  to  the  act  of 
parliament,  where  conveniently  they  can  be  had.  4.  That  all 
ministers  and  ruling  elders  that  have  the  Irish  language,  be  ap- 
pointed to  visit  these  parts." 

The  non-conforming  clergy,  or  such  as  refused  to  comply 
with  the  Episcopal  establishment,  and  acknowledge  the  order  of 
bishops,  were,  in  the  Highlands  as  elsewhere,  in  many  instances 
ejected  from  their  parishes,  between  the  Restoration  and  Revo- 
lution. Episcopacy,  at  this  time,  embraced  the  Confession  of 
Faith  promulgated  by  the  reformed  church  in  1567,  the  received 
standard  of  doctrine  of  both  denominations,  prior  to  the  draw- 
ing up  of  the  Westminster  Confession.  After  the  opposition 
offered  to  the  attempted  introduction,  in  1637,  of  a  liturgy 
drawn  up  by  the  Scottish  bishops  and  Archbishop  Laud,  along 
with  the  bishops  of  London  and  Norwich,  on  the  model  of  that 
of  Edward  VI.,  no  general  form  of  prayer  was  appointed.  The 
several  bishops  drew  up,  as  before,  each  a  particular  liturgy  for 


26  ECCLESIASTICAL   BISTORT  SECT.  I. 

his  own  flock,  including  a  few  petitions  and  collects  from  the 
English  Prayer-book  ;  but  even  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  set 
forms  were  observed,  especially  in  the  administration  of  the  holy 
communion,  down  to  the  year  1638,  when  the  church,  for  the 
first  time,  authoritatively  assumed  its  most  peculiar  features  of 
the  entire  parity  of  the  clergy  and  the  exclusive  use  of  extem- 
porary prayer,  with  the  disuse  of  the  ancient  lessons  from 
Scripture.  As  to  church  government,  there  were  kirk-sessions, 
presbyteries,  and  diocesan  synods,  but  no  national  assemblies. 

The  Highlands  must  have  been  in  a  very  benighted  state 
during  the  seventeenth  century.  Repeated  revolutions  in  church 
and  state,  a  distracted  state  of  society,  and  frequent  shifting  of 
pastors,  were  ill  calculated  to  foster  dawning  knowledge.  De- 
tached districts  only  were  supplied  with  spiritual  guides  ;  and 
of  these  many  understood  indifferently,  or  not  at  all,  the  lan- 
guage of  the  people  ;  while  no  Gaelic  version  of  the  Scriptures 
had  been  published,  and  there  subsisted  an  almost  entire  igno- 
rance of  even  the  art  of  reading.  Popery  retained  nearly  exclu- 
sive dominion  in  the  western  section,  and  the  isles  of  Inverness 
and  Ross.  Episcopalian  worship,  in  the  Highlands,  prevailed 
chiefly  about  Dunkeld  and  Blair,  and  the  town  of  Inverness ;  in 
Strathnairn  and  Strathdearn  ;  and  also  to  some  extent  in  Strath- 
spey and  Badenoch,  and  more  decidedly  in  the  county  of  Moray. 
It  was  also  rooted  in  the  south-east  of  Ross-shire,  and  along  the 
shores  of  the  Linnhe  Loch,  in  the  vicinity  of  Lismore.  Such 
of  the  Episcopalian  clergy,  throughout  the  Highlands,  as  took 
the  oaths  of  allegiance  to  King  William,  which  they  did  pretty 
generally,  were  allowed  to  retain  their  livings  ;  and,  during  the 
lives  of  these  incumbents,  Episcopalian  worship  was  accordingly 
maintained  in  their  parishes.  The  non-jurors,  who,  from  jaco- 
bitical  feelings,  or  conscientious  scruples,  declined  to  take  the 
oaths  to  government,  were  treated  with  no  little  rigour,  being 
legally  interpelled  from  divine  service  in  any  place  of  worship, 
and  from  administering  baptism  or  marriage.  The  mild  endur- 
ance of  the  Episcopal  Church  has  undoubtedly  been  the  cause 
of  its  continuance  to  this  day. 

The  Church  of  Scotland,  as  by  law  established,  evinced  con- 
siderable anxiety  to  supply  the  Highlands  with  an  adequate 
proportion  of  churches  and  clergymen.  Successive  acts  of 
Assembly  were  passed,  by  which  bodies  of  ministers  and  proba- 
tioners, or  expectants,  were  enjoined  to  visit  and  itinerate  in  the 


SECT.  I. 


OF   THE   HIGHLANDS.  27 


Highlands  ;  and,  to  defray  their  expenses,  grants  were  obtained 
from  the  vacant  stipends.  The  settlement  in  any  Lowland 
parishes  of  ministers  having  the  Gaelic  language  was  forbidden, 
and  settled  clergymen  understanding  Gaelic  were  declared  tran- 
sportable ;  so  that,  in  the  event  of  a  call  to  a  Highland  parish, 
they  were  bound  to  comply.  Committees  were  appointed  to 
visit  Highland  parishes,  with  a  view  to  the  erection  of  churches 
and  schools.  By  the  year  1726,  a  considerable  effect  was  pro- 
duced by  these  exertions.  In  1724,  the  Presbyteries  of  Loch 
Carron,  Abertarff,  and  Skye,  were  erected,  and,  with  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Long  Island,  formed  into  a  synod,  called  the  Synod 
of  Glenelg.  Orkney  was,  in  the  following  year,  divided  into 
three  presbyteries  ;  in  1726,  the  Presbytery  of  Tongue  was  es- 
tablished ;  and  in  1729,  those  of  Mull  and  Lorn ;  and  the  Long 
Island  was  divided  into  two  presbyteries  in  1742.  The  atten- 
dant and  corresponding  progress  of  education  will  be  sub- 
sequently noticed. 

19.  In  1823,  a  sum  of  .£50,000  was  granted  by  government 
for  building  additional  places  of  worship  in  the  Highlands  and 
Islands  of  Scotland.     With  this  sum  thirty-two  churches  with 
manses,  one  church  without  a  manse,  and  ten  manses, — where 
there  were  already  churches  in  which,  for  instance,  the  parish 
minister  had  been  accustomed  to  officiate  occasionally, — have 
been  built ;  about  .£10,000  extra  having  been  expended  in  ge- 
neral management.     The  services  of  forty-two  ministers  have 
thus  been  secured,  at  an  expense  to  the  public  of  £120  to  each, 
or  £5040  per  annum.      Small  glebes  and  gardens  are  provided 
to  the  clergymen,  who,  with  the  heritor  making  application  for 
the  church,  are  bound  to  keep  church  and  manse  in  repair, 
having  the  seat-rents  consigned  to  them  for  that  purpose.    The 
churches  and  manses,  which  have  been  constructed  under  the 
superintendence  of  the  Inspector  of  Highland  roads  and  bridges, 
cost  respectively  £720  and  £750  each,  and  are  of  neat  designs, 
and  the  churches  are  capable  of  accommodating  from  300  to  500 
persons.      These  clergymen  have  charge  of  a  section  of  the 
several  parishes  under  certain  restrictions  ;  and  they  were  ad- 
mitted by  the  Assembly  to  be  members  of  the  Church  courts  in 
June  1833. 

20.  The   Episcopalian  bishops  first   consecrated  by  their 
ejected  brethren,  were  not  invested  with  the  charge  of  particular 
bounds,  but  the  whole  formed  a  college,  having  a  general  con- 


28  EPISCOPACY    SINCE   THE   KEVOLDTION.        SECT.  I. 

cern  in  the  affairs  of  their  communion.  This  arrangement  was 
found  inconvenient,  and  was  changed  in  1732,  and  the  diocesan 
subdivision  reverted  to,  when  three  bishops  were  appointed  for 
the  Highlands  ;  one  to  the  see  of  Dunkeld,  another  to  that  of 
Moray,  Ross,  and  Argyle,  and  the  third  to  Orkney,  Caithness, 
and  the  Isles.  The  rebellion  of  1745  brought  upon  the  Epis- 
copalians the  most  depressing  enactments,  which  continued 
unrepealed  till  1792.  No  bishop  has  been  required  for  Caith- 
ness and  Orkney  since  1762.  Moray,  formerly  joined  with  Ross 
and  Argyle,  is  now  restored  to  its  independent  position  ;  the  see 
of  Argyle  and  the  Isles  has  again  been  revived  ;  and  these,  with 
Dunkeld,  form  the  only  present  Highland  dioceses.  The  remnant 
of  this  persuasion,  in  the  Highlands,  are  still  found  in  nearly 
the  identical  localities  where  Episcopacy  at  one  time  predomi- 
nated ;  namely,  in  Inverness,  and  the  neighbouring  district  of 
Strathnairn,  in  the  south-east  of  Ross-shire,  in  Fort-William 
and  Appin,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Dunkeld. 

21.  Until  the  disruption  in  1842,  dissent  from  the  present 
establishment  had  made  but  little  progress  in  the  Highlands. 
In  Inverness-shire  and  the  northern  counties,  it  was  confined  to 
the  eastern  coast,  and  the  Orkneys  and  Zetland.  The  Church 
of  Rome  has  its  congregations  almost  solely  on  the  western 
coasts  and  islands  of  Inverness-shire,  along  the  course  of  the 
Caledonian  Canal,  and  in  the  diverging  glens,  in  Inverness  itself, 
and  Strathglass  adjoining,  with  a  few  members  in  Badenoch. 
They  are  more  numerous  in  Aberdeen  and  Banff  shires,  and 
their  clergy  are  most  devoted  to  their  flocks. 

The  most  extraordinary  ecclesiastical  change  in  Scotland  of 
late  years  has  been  the  disruption  in  the  Establishment  in  the 
year  1842.  At  that  time  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Scotland 
appeared  to  be  impregnable  in  strength,  and  at  no  previous 
period  was  it  more  efficient,  or  the  clergy  more  zealous  and  ex- 
emplary. It  enjoyed  an  amount  of  civil  liberty  which  the 
Church  of  Christ  at  no  former  time  seems  to  have  had  in  the 
world,  and  although  patronage,  or  the  right  of  the  Crown  or  of 
lay  patrons  to  present  to  livings,  with  some  other  minor  griev- 
ances, existed  in  name,  practically  the  opinions,  and  even  feelings 
of  the  people,  in  the  settlements  of  the  clergy,  were  almost  uni- 
versally consulted  and  acquiesced  in.  The  power  of  public  opi- 
nion (if  that  be  of  any  value  in  religion)  was  becoming  more 
operative,  and  the  popular  party  in  the  church  courts  had 


SECT.  I.  DISRUPTION    OP   THE    CHURCH.  29 

attained  a  preponderating  influence.  State  endowments  had 
not  corrupted  the  ministers,  but  on  the  contrary  had  aided  them 
in  their  studies,  and  helped  them  not  only  to  contribute  liber- 
ally to  every  good  work  at  home  and  abroad,  but  had  enabled 
them  to  preach  the  gospel  in  all  its  fulness  and  freeness,  unin- 
fluenced by  the  local  prejudices  or  contracted  views  of  their 
sessions  and  people,  which  operate  so  strongly  among  the  other 
sects.  The  clergy  were  almost  uncontrolled  in  their  power  ;  cer- 
tain of  the  most  eminent  of  them  had  evidently  in  effect,  though 
not  in  name,  overstepped  the  notion  of  Presbyterian  parity  ;  and 
in  the  church  courts  an  agitation  was  commenced,  fomented  by 
popular  clamour  from  without,  and  unrestrained  by  the  presence 
of  a  sufficient  number  of  men  of  deliberate  business  habits 
within,  which  of  a  sudden  demanded  a  total  independence  of 
the  civil  courts,  and  an  unreserved  concession  by  the  legislature 
of  the  most  democratic  features  of  Presbyterian  Church  govern- 
ment. Litigations  ensued  about  the  presentation  and  deposition 
of  ministers  before  the  civil  tribunals,  without  a  previous  ap- 
preciation of  the  extent  to  which  the  judicial  findings  would  or 
would  not  be  submitted  to.  The  decrees  of  the  highest  courts 
when  adverse  were  repudiated,  and  the  most  threatening  lan- 
guage resorted  to.  The  government  assumed  an  equally  high 
position,  and  was  but  ill  informed  of  the  lengths  to  which  the 
people  would  go,  and  of  the  solemn  engagements  by  which  the 
clergy  were  confederated  together  not  to  yield  an  iota  of  their 
claims.  Hence  a  disruption  which  in  one  day  emptied  500 
pulpits  in  Scotland,  divided  the  people  into  two  nearly  equal 
parts,  and  which  in  the  Highlands  and  Islands  caused  at  least 
three-fourths  of  them  to  "go  out"  from  the  establishment  with 
the  pastors  by  whom  they  were  led,  and  to  whom  they  were  most 
justly  and  warmly  attached.  Although  the  most  extraordinary 
exertions  and  sacrifices  have  been  made  by  the  seceding  party, 
under  the  name  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  to  maintain 
their  principles  and  support  their  clergy  by  voluntary  contri- 
butions, it  is  evident  that  the  struggle  in  the  Highlands  has 
been  most  unequal  and  lamentable.  There  the  people  cannot 
afford  to  support  the  church  ;  they  must  depend  on  their  friends 
in  the  south  for  aid,  and  this  will  not  be  given  always.  Already 
some  of  their  best  preachers  are  being  called  away  to  better  liv- 
ings— the  Gaelic  population  in  the  southern  towns  is  draining 
the  north  of  her  best  students  ;  and  the  establishment,  which 


30  HISTORY   AND    STATE    OF   EDUCATION          SECT.  I. 

has  much  difficulty  in  supplying  vacant  charges,  especially 
with  ministers  who  speak  Gaelic,  labours  under  the  disadvan- 
tage of  being  proclaimed  as  no  church  at  all  (or  at  best  "  as  a 
body  without  a  soul ! ")  by  the  very  parties  who  use  the  same 
forms  of  worship  as  itself,  and  profess  identically  the  same  Con- 
fession of  Faith  !  Meanwhile  the  people  are  losing  their  re- 
verence for  ordinances  as  such,  from  a  disposition  to  receive  them 
at  the  hands  only  of  certain  individuals,  and  as  discipline  though 
attempted  to  be  strictly  enforced  is  easily  evaded.  The  several 
evil  consequences  to  be  apprehended,  and  to  some  extent  deve- 
loped, are  now  happily  being  counteracted,  as,  fortunately,  al- 
though much  acrimony  of  feeling  prevailed  for  sometime  after 
the  disruption,  the  good  sense  of  the  people  is  now  leading  them 
to  act  as  citizens  in  harmony.  For  the  stand  made  by  the  Free 
Church  for  spiritual  independence,  they  are  entitled  to  much 
respect ;  but  their  charge  against  the  Establishment  and  State 
that  they  have  disowned  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church,  is  a 
slander  discreditable  to  its  abettors,  and  indignantly  repudiated 
by  the  adherents  of  the  Establishment,  and  universally  con- 
demned by  all  unbiassed  persons.  In  preaching,  the  high  and 
most  austere  Calvinism,  of  the  Puritan  times  is  promulgated 
and  encouraged  in  the  Free  Church,  from  which  the  Established 
clergy  have  been  gradually  receding,  and  losing  with  such  re- 
cession somewhat  of  their  popularity. 

22.  We  shall  now  review  shortly  the  progress  of  education, 
and  the  establishment  of  schools  in  the  Highlands.  The  early 
solicitude  which  existed  in  Scotland  on  the  subject  of  education 
is  gratifying  and  interesting.  Thus,  in  the  reign  of  James  IV., 
(1496)  an  act  of  Parliament  was  passed,  ordaining  that  all 
"  baronis  and  substantious  freeholders  sould  put  their  airs  to 
ye  schulis."  The  project  of  the  system  of  parochial  schools, 
which  may  justly  be  deemed  the  basis  of  education  in  this 
country,  was  first  entertained  by  the  Privy  Council  in  1616. 
Their  act  proceeds  on  the  narrative  of  being  for  the  promotion 
of  "  civilitie,  godliness,  knowledge,  and  learning  ; "  and  that  the 
youth  of  the  kingdom  might  be  taught  "  at  the  least  to  write 
and  read,  and  be  catechised  and  instructed  in  the  grounds  of 
religion."  Religion  was  thus  made  the  foundation  on  which 
the  goodly  superstructure  of  parochial  education  has  been  reared. 
That  act  was  made  part  of  the  law  of  the  land  in  1633,  and 
the  bishops,  with  consent  of  the  heritors  and  parishioners, 


SECT.  I.  AND    RELIGIOUS    INSTRUCTION.  31 

empowered  to  stent  the  land  for  the  maintenance  and  esta- 
blishment of  schools.  Laws  were  afterwards  framed  for  the 
management  and  visitation  of  schools  by  the  Assembly,  and 
Presbyteries  enjoined  to  diligence  in  getting  them  erected.  The 
above-cited  act  (1646)  has  respect  to  education,  as  well  as  a 
ministry  in  the  Highlands.  We  find  every  congregation  ap- 
pointed, in  1648,  to  contribute  40s.  Scots  yearly,  altered  next 
year  to  an  annual  collection,  for  maintaining  Highland  boys  at 
school.  In  1696,  a  school  was  appointed  to  be  settled  in  every 
parish  in  Scotland  by  the  advice  of  the  ministers -and  heritors, 
and,  failing  them,  the  Presbytery  and  any  five  Commissioners 
of  Supply  ;  a  school-house  and  garden  to  be  provided  by  the 
heritors,  and  a  salary  to  be  modified  of  100  to  200  merks  Scots, 
payable  by  them,  with  relief  against  tenants  for  one  half.  The 
laws  respecting  parish  schools  were  greatly  amplified  in  1803, 
and,  in  1828,  the  salaries  were  raised  from  300  to  400  merks 
(.£16 :  13  :  4,  to  £22  :  14  :  5)  ;  thereafter,  to  from  one  and  a 
half  to  two  chalders  (24  to  32  bolls)  of  oatmeal,  valued  at  £25 
to  .£34,  with  certain  house  and  garden  accommodation.  Shaw, 
in  his  History  of  the  Province  of  Moray,  says  : — "  There  were 
scarce  any  schools  of  learning  in  this  province,  except  in  royal 
burghs,  till  after  the  Revolution.  I  well  remember  (he  wrote 
in  1775)  when,  from  Speymouth  (through  Strathspey,  Badenoch, 
and  Lochaber)  to  Lorn,  there  was  but  one  school,  viz.,  at  Ruth- 
ven,  in  Badenoch  ;  and  it  was  much  to  find  in  a  parish  three 
persons  that  could  read  or  write. "  At  the  end  of  the  seventeenth, 
and  beginning  and  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  Assem- 
bly urged  presbyteries  to  get  the  various  parishes  provided  with 
schools  ;  and  in  1704  and  1707  acts  were  specially  passed  in 
regard  to  the  Highlands. 

23.  The  first  books  published  in  Gaelic  were  a  version  of 
the  Psalms,  and  a  translation  of  the  Shorter  Catechism,  by  the 
Synod  of  Argyle,  in  1690.  The  philanthropic  Boyle  having 
presented,  for  the  use  of  the  Highlands,  200  copies  of  Bishop 
Bedell's  Bible  (the  Old  Testament),  published  by  him  in  1685, 
the  General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  brought  out 
also,  in  1690,  an  edition  of  it,  and  of  a  version  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament in  Irish,  published  about  the  year  1600.  The  Assembly 
printed  3000  Bibles,  and  1000  Testaments.  These  were  followed, 
in  1699,  by  a  Translation  of  the  Confession  of  Faith,  likewise 
by  the  Synod  of  Argyle.  In  1704,  the  Society  for  Propagating 


32  ERRONEOUS  SYSTEM  OF  EDUCATION.  SECT.  I. 

Christian  Knowledge  in  Scotland  was  founded,  and  letters 
patent  were  obtained  for  its  erection  in  1709.  This  venerable 
institution  has  been  the  means  of  conferring  a  train  of  invalu- 
able blessings  on  the  Highlands,  having  always  maintained  a 
large  establishment  of  schools  throughout  the  country,  besides 
a  few  missionaries  and  catechists.  In  addition  to  schools  for 
instruction  in  the  ordinary  elementary  branches  of  education 
and  religious  instruction,  it  also  supports  a  large  number  of 
schools  of  industry  for  initiating  females  in  the  arts  of  spinning, 
sewing,  and  knitting.  These  schools  of  industry  have  been 
greatly  conducive  to  habits  of  cleanliness  and  tidiness.  In 
1725,  an  annual  grant  of  £1000,  afterwards  enlarged  to  £2000, 
was  placed  by  government  at  the  disposal  of  the  committee  of 
the  General  Assembly  for  the  support  of  assistant  teachers  or 
missionaries,  and  of  catechists.  The  first  edition  of  the  New 
Testament  in  Gaelic  was  printed  in  1769,  by  the  Society  for 
Propagating  Christian  Knowledge.  It  consisted  of  10,000 
copies  :  one  of  21,500  succeeded  in  1797  ;  but  it  was  not  until 
1802  that  the  whole  Bible  was  published,  when  the  same  society 
printed  5000  copies  ;  and  in  1807,  20,000  copies  of  a  faithful 
translation,  prepared  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  John  Stewart, 
minister  of  Luss ;  Dr.  Alexander  Stewart,  minister  of  Canon- 
gate,  Edinburgh  ;  and  the  Rev.  James  Stewart  of  Killin. 

24.  During  last  century,  an  erroneous  system  was  too  gene- 
rally pursued,  of  teaching  to  read  in  the  English  language 
alone,  as  the  most  advisable  method  of  promoting  education 
amongst  Highlanders.  At  first  sight,  this  seems  a  rational 
course  :  but  the  consequence  was,  that  the  scholar  acquired  an 
acquaintance  with  certain  signs,  significant  to  him,  however,  of 
nothing  but  unmeaning  sounds.  His  attainments  were  of  no 
immediate  use  when  out  of  school,  nor  were  they  productive  of 
any  effect  in  stimulating  his  mind  in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge. 
The  consequence  was,  that  frequently  the  very  faculty  of  read- 
ing was  lost  by  disuse.  By  training  Highlanders  to  the  art  of 
reading  in  their  vernacular  tongue,  combined  with  the  English 
language,  the  germ  of  the  love  of  knowledge  is  developed.  To 
satisfy  that  feeling,  they  must  have  recourse  to  the  English,  as 
their  own  literature  offers  no  original  or  sufficiently  extensive 
store  of  information  ;  and  they  are  thence  furnished  with  an 
index  whereby  to  understand  translations,  and  thus  to  acquaint 
themselves  with  the  English  language  ;  while  the  knowledge  of 


SECT.  I.  MORAL  STATISTICS.  33 

their  own  written  dialect  is  of  direct  service,  in  giving  command 
of  the  range  of  such  works  as  have  been  rendered  into  Gaelic. 
It  affords  them  instant  access  also  to  the  Scriptures.  The  pre- 
valence of  the  opposite  opinion  may  have  been  the  means  of  the 
late  appearance  of  the  Gaelic  translations  of  the  Bible,  and, 
there  can  be  no  doubt,  greatly  retarded  the  advancement  of  the 
Highlands.  Now,  however,  the  excellent  society  just  alluded 
to,  and  all  others,  cultivate  an  attention  to  both  languages,  and 
to  translation  from  the  one  to  the  other,  in  the  schools. 

25.  In  1811,  a  Gaelic  School  Society  was  established  in  Edin- 
burgh ;  and  in  the  following  year  an  Auxiliary  in  Glasgow, 
which  last  institution  combined  the  teaching  of  English  with 
Gaelic  reading.  A  society  was  formed  in  1818,  in  Inverness, 
for  the  education  of  the  poor  in  the  Highlands  and  Islands. 
This  society  instituted,  in  1824-5,  a  series  of  very  particular 
inquiries  throughout  all  the  parishes  in  the  Highlands  and 
Islands,  from  which  an  interesting  and  elaborate  work,  entitled 
"  Moral  Statistics  of  the  Highlands  and  Islands  of  Scotland," 
was  compiled.  Printed  schedules  were  sent  to  the  clergy  ;  and, 
of  171  despatched,  89  were  received  back,  filled  up  with  a 
degree  of  care,  and  at  an  extent  of  personal  trouble,  reflecting 
much  credit  on  the  clergy.  Of  these  returns,  72  were  from  the 
84  parishes  of  Inverness,  Ross,  Moray,  Nairn,  Cromarty,  and 
Sutherland  ;  general  accounts  being  received  from  the  other 
less  necessitous  shires.  It  appears  from  the  returns,  which 
apply  to  about  one-half  the  whole  population,  including  that  of 
Orkney  and  Zetland,  among  other  facts,  that  "  one  half  of  all 
ages  were  then  unable  to  read  ;"  —  "a  third  part  of  the  fami- 
lies visited  were  above  two  miles  distant  from  the  nearest 
schools;" — and  "a  third  part  of  the  families  visited  were 
found  to  be  without  copies  of  the  Scriptures."  By  calculations 
on  the  whole  data,  "taking  all  ages  above  eight  years,  those 
who  could  not  read  were  nearly  in  the  following  proportions  :  — 
In  the  Hebrides  and  other  western  parts  of  Inverness  and  Ross, 
70  in  the  100  could  not  read.  In  the  remaining  parts  of  Inver- 
ness and  Ross,  Nairn,  the  Highlands  of  Moray,  Cromarty, 
Sutherland,  and  the  inland  parts  of  Caithness,  40  in  the  100. 
In  Argyle  and  the  Highlands  of  Perth  (supposed  about)  30  in 
the  100.  In  Orkney  and  Zetland,  (supposed  about)  12  in  the 
100.  In  the  western  parts  of  Inverness  and  Ross,  all  the  Scrip- 
tures found  existing  were  in  the  proportion  of  one  copy  of  the 


34        GENERAL  ASSEMBLY'S  EDUCATIONAL  SCHEME    SECT.  I. 

Bible  for  every  eight  persons  above  the  age  of  eight  years  ;  and 
in  other  parts  of  the  Highlands  and  Islands,  including  Orkney 
and  Zetland,  where  reading  is  very  general,  only  (supposed 
about)  one  copy  for  every  three  persons.  About  one-fourth 
part  of  all  the  families  in  these  districts,  or  upwards  of  100,000 
persons,  were  wholly  without  Bibles  ;  in  several  thousand  fami- 
lies of  this  number  there  being  persons  who  could  read."  The 
"  moral  statistics"  materially  conduced  to  awaken  public  atten- 
tion to  the  state  of  education  in  the  Highlands,  but  the  society 
which  published  the  book  has  been  superseded  by  the  more 
powerful  agencies  which  it  was  instrumental  in  evoking. 

26.  The  General  Assembly,  happily,  in  1825,  appointed  a 
committee  for  the  purpose  of  increasing  the  means  of  education 
and  religious  instruction  in  Scotland,  particularly  in  the  High- 
lands and  Islands.  Their  schools  are  now  numerous,  and  effi- 
ciently conducted,  and  aided  by  government  grants.  The  General 
Assembly's  Education  Committee  is  exerting  a  steady  and  most 
salutary  influence  on  the  state  of  education  throughout  Scot- 
land. Under  the  authority  of  the  Church,  Presbyterial  visita- 
tion of  all  schools  is  coming  to  be  much  more  efficiently  per- 
formed, and  minute  returns  are  annually  called  for  from  all 
parishes,  respecting  the  schools  of  all  sorts  within  the  bounds. 
Great  solicitude  is  shown  by  the  committee  to  raise  the  standard 
of  elementary  instruction,  by  a  stricter  examination  of  the 
qualifications  of  candidates  for  schools,  by  pressing  on  public 
attention  the  bad  effects  of  the  want  of  some  means  for  super- 
annuating inefficient  teachers,  and  endeavours  for  an  increase  of 
the  allowances  to  teachers,  the  incomes  of  the  parochial-school 
teachers  throughout  the  Highlands  only  averaging  from  £30  to 
,£50  ;  while  it  being  competent,  in  some  parishes,  by  allowing 
three  chalders  of  oatmeal  (,£51  :  6 :  7)  to  subdivide  it  among 
several  teachers,  these  are  in  such  cases  still  worse  off,  while  at 
the  same  time  the  usual  accommodations  can  be  dispensed  with 
by  the  heritors.  Another  useful  object  of  attention  has  been 
the  publication  of  supplies  of  suitable  school-books,  maps,  &c., 
at  a  cheap  rate,  and  the  establishment  of  school  libraries.* 

*  The  Free  Church  vies  with  the  Establishment  in  its  efforts  to  educate  the  people  ; 
imd,  not  content  with  the  University  system  of  the  country,  it  has  opened  a  college  of 
its  own  in  'Edinburgh.  The  government,  likewise,  has  just  promulgated  a  plan  for 
popular  education,  to  be  paid  for  partly  by  the  state ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  say  how  the 
boon  will  be  received,  or  whether  the  mutual  jealousies  of  the  religious  bodies  may 
not  cause  it  for  a  time  to  be  withdrawn  or  remodelled. 


SECT.  I.  AND   RELIGIOUS   INSTRUCTION.  35 

A  Gaelic  Episcopal  Society  was  formed  in  1831,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  assisting  to  educate  young  students  for  the  ministry, 
publishing  Gaelic  prayer  and  other  books,  and  providing  cate- 
chists  and  schools  for  the  poor  of  that  communion  throughout 
the  Highlands.  Its  operations  are  limited ;  but  they  have 
merged  in  a  great  measure  into  those  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal 
Church  Society,  which  was  instituted  in  1839,  for  the  purposes 
of  assisting  aged  and  infirm  clergymen,  and  congregations 
labouring  under  pecuniary  difficulties,  and  educating  the  poorer 
candidates  for  the  ministry  ;  for  providing  schoolmasters, 
books,  and  tracts  for  the  poor,  and  forming  or  enlarging  dio- 
cesan libraries.  By  Act  1  and  2  Victoria,  cap.  87,  it  is  enacted, 
that  in  all  Highland  parishes  which  have  been  divided  quoad 
sacra,  under  the  Act  for  the  erection  of  Government  Churches, 
the  heritors  may  secure  a  government  endowment  for  such  addi- 
tional schools  as  may  be  necessary  by  providing  similar  accom- 
modation to  what  is  required  for  parish  schools.  Previous 
to  1826,  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  had  printed 
several  editions  of  the  Gaelic  Scriptures,  to  the  amount  of 
35,000  Bibles,  and  48,700  Testaments,  and  making,  along  with 
those  of  the  Scottish  Society  for  Propagating  Christian  Know- 
ledge, in  all  60,000  Bibles,  and  80,000  New  Testaments.  Since 
then,  several  editions  of  the  Scriptures  have  been  printed  by 
these  societies  and  by  the  Edinburgh  Bible  Society,  and  the 
circulation  of  the  inspired  volume  has  been  materially  increased 
since  the  abolition  of  the  exclusive  privileges  of  the  Queen's 
printers. 

27.  The  General  Assembly's  committee  have  appended  to 
their  annual  report,  dated  in  May  1833,  a  valuable  statement, 
entitled  "  Educational  Statistics  of  the  Highlands  and  Islands," 
compiled  from  parochial  returns.     From  this  source  we  derive 
the  following  analytical  results  which  hold  good  to  this  day,  as 
the  Assembly  has  not  published  any  additional  report  on  this 
subject  since  1833,  and  the  state  of  the  Highlands  since  then  is 
not  much  changed,  except  recently  by  the  schools  of  the  Free 
Church,  the  statistics  of  which  are  as  yet  unknown  : — 
In  the  Synods  of  Argyle  ;  two  Presbyteries  in  Aberdeen  (Alford 
and  Kincardine  O'Neil) ;  the  Synods  of  Moray,  Ross,  Suther- 
land, and  Caithness  ;  Glenelg,  Orkney,  and  Zetland  :  compre- 
hending 220  parishes,  and  a  population,  by  the  Government 
Census  of  1831,  of  504,955. 


36                                    STATE    OP   EDUCATION.  SECT.  I. 

The  number  of  schools,  not  including  Sabbath  and  week-day 
evening  schools,  and  of  scholars  were,  of — 

Schools.  Scholars. 

Parochial  schools,  ....  273  14,202 

Schools  supported  by  societies,  .  .  315  18,085 
Schools  endowed,  or  partially  so,  or  supported 

by  subscription,  .  .  .  .  137  6,314 
Schools  on  teachers'  own  adventure,  without 

salary, 372  13,728 


1097          52,329 


Besides  418  Sabbath  schools,  20  week-day  evening  schools, 
and  about  80  schools  of  industry  of  the  Society  for  Propagating 
Christian  Knowledge. 

Pupils  learning  mathematics  in  all  the  schools  amounted 

to  417 

Learning  Latin  in  all  the  schools       ....      1,536 

Number  of  persons  of  all  ages  above  6  years  unable  to 

read  in  Gaelic  or  English 83,396 

Number  of  persons  betwixt  6  and  20  years  of  age  unable 

to  read  in  either  language  ....  28,073 

It  is  remarkable  that  Shetland  bears  the  palm  in  point  of 
universality  of  elementary  instruction,  there  being,  out  of  a  po- 
pulation of  29,392,  only  107  of  all  ages  above  6  years,  and  28 
betwixt  6  and  20  years  of  age,  unable  to  read.  In  the  synod  of 
Glenelg,  of  a  population  of  91,584,  the  numbers  thus  ignorant 
are  respectively  43,799,  and  16,433.  "  There  are,  in  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Mull,  8104  above  6  years  of  age  untaught  to  read,  in 
a  population  of  24,113  of  all  ages ;  in  the  Presbytery  of  Uist 
there  are  10,831  in  a  population  of  17,490  ;  in  the  Presbytery 
of  Loch  Carron,  10,778  in  a  population  of  21,350  ;  in  the  single 
parish  of  Loch  Broom,  in  a  population  of  4615,  not  more  than 
1000  appear  to  have  been  taught  to  read  ;  in  South  Uist,  the 
number  of  the  untaught  is  4334  in  a  population  of  6890 ;"  and 
in  Barra  and  adjoining  isles,  1097  out  of  1597. 

The  returns  made  to  the  General  Assembly's  committee  are 
to  be  regarded  as  exhibiting  a  very  near  approximation  to  the 
precise  extent  of  educational  destitution  in  the  Highlands  ;  and 


SECT.  I.  STATE    OF   EDUCATION.  37 

they  show  that  no  less  than  83,397  of  all  ages  above  6  years  of 
age,  and  28,073  betwixt  6  and  20  years  of  age,  were  then  unable 
to  read  ;  and  no  very  material  variation  has  since  taken  place. 
It  must  be  observed,  too,  that,  of  those  who  have  been  taught 
to  read,  many  have  been  but  indifferently  instructed  ;  a  large 
proportion,  also,  can  read  merely  in  the  Gaelic  language,  an  at- 
tainment necessarily  of  comparatively  circumscribed  utility. 
Little  more  than  merely  elementary  tuition  is  attempted  in  any 
of  the  schools  ;  and  even  as  to  writing  and  arithmetic,  a  much 
greater  degree  of  ignorance  prevails  than  of  the  art  of  reading  ; 
it  being  computed  that  those  who  have  not  been  taught  to  write 
are  in  a  triple  ratio  to  the  number  who  cannot  read.  This  we 
apprehend  to  arise,  not  so  much  from  neglect  of  this  branch 
when  at  school,  as  in  not  being  able  to  prosecute  it  till  such  a 
satisfactory  degree  of  progress  be  made  as  to  induce  its  con- 
tinued practice,  and  from  inability  to  purchase  writing-mate- 
rials. In  Arran,  17  are  represented  as  unable  to  write  for  1 
unable  to  read  ;  and  it  is  believed  the  same  proportion  exists  in 
Orkney  and  Shetland.  In  the  Synod  of  Glenelg  there  were  only 
8  studying  mathematics,  out  of  8558  attending  school ;  but  the 
Latin  scholars  preserve  nearly  a  fair  average  to  the  rest  of  the 
Highlands,  being  181  in  number.  To  capacitate  for  perusing 
the  pages  of  divine  truth  is,  however,  a  distinguishing  aim  of 
all  Highland  Schools.  It  is  an  affecting  peculiarity  that  the 
order  of  nature  is,  to  a  great  extent,  reversed  in  our  mountain 
glens  ;  the  adult  being  very  frequently  almost  wholly  dependent 
upon  the  young  for  access  to  scriptural  knowledge.  Several 
Highland  parishes  are  so  extensive  as  from  forty  to  sixty  miles 
in  extreme  length,  and  twenty  to  thirty  in  extreme  breadth,  and 
many  are  not  much  smaller.  It  is  thus  out  of  the  power  of  a 
great  part  of  the  population  to  attend  the  public  services  of  the 
church,  while  the  mountainous  character  of  the  country  in- 
creases the  difficulties  of  intercourse.  The  capacity  of  reading 
is  thus  of  the  more  vital  consequence,  and  schools  in  remote  dis- 
tricts are  signal  blessings,  the  teacher  in  numerous  instances 
becoming  a  sort  of  pastor  or  missionary  to  the  inhabitants. 
Many  other  circumstances  in  the  lot  of  Highlanders  strengthen 
their  claims  for  a  general  extension  to  them  of  the  blessings  of 
education,  by  their  more  favoured  countrymen  throughout  the 
kingdom.  To  the  rest  of  the  community  they  must  look  for 
the  means  of  alleviating  the  disadvantages  they  labour  under  ; 


38  GAELIC    LITERATURE.  SECT.  I. 

for  of  themselves  it  may  be  said,  "  their  poverty,  and  not  their 
will,  consents."  The  Assembly's  committee  had  got  returns  of 
217  stations  for  additional  schools,  where  an  average  of  perhaps 
60  scholars,  or  about  13,000,  might  be  expected  to  attend.  For 
the  more  scattered  15,000  remaining  of  the  28,000  from  6  to  20 
years  of  age  unprovided  with  means  of  instruction,  it  is  sug- 
gested that  167  ambulatory  schools,  to  itinerate  between  3  dif- 
ferent stations,  might  suffice.  For  the  support  of  these  384 
additional  schools,  the  requisite  expense  is  estimated  at  .£8700 
per  annum. 

In  some  of  the  towns,  as  Inverness,  Tain,  and  Fortrose, 
chartered  academies  have  for  a  considerable  time  been  founded  ; 
and  they  possess  numerous  private  seminaries.  Well  endowed 
educational  establishments  exist  in  the  neighbouring  coast  towns, 
Nairn,  Forres,  and  Elgin. 

28.  There  are  no  newspapers  published,  or  printing  presses, 
within  the  precise  confines  of  the  Highlands,  except  at  Inver- 
ness, where  there  are  three  weekly  papers,  and  one  now  at  Ding- 
wall  ;  and  Caithness  also  boasts  a  John-o'-Groat  Journal. 

The  English  works  translated  into  Gaelic  are  chiefly  Theo- 
logical. Original  Gaelic  productions  are  almost  wholly  of  a 
metrical  character :  of  other  literature  there  exist  hardly  any 
compositions.  It  appears,  however,  by  a  curious  catalogue  of 
Gaelic  books  (Bibliotheca  Scoto-Celtica),  published  some  years 
ago  by  John  Reid  of  Glasgow,  and  which  contains  a  short  ac- 
count of  each,  that  the  number  of  printed  works  in  the  Gaelic 
language  is  much  greater  than  is  generally  imagined. 

Several  Gaelic  dictionaries  have  issued  from  the  press  within 
the  last  dozen  years.  Previously,  the  only  work  of  the  latter 
description  in  existence,  excepting  Shaw's  Vocabulary,  and 
M'Donald's  Gaelic  and  English  Vocabulary,  both  old  works  and 
little  known,  was  Macfarlane's  Vocabulary,  first  published  in 
Glasgow  about  thirty  years  ago.  In  1828,  the  Highland  So- 
ciety of  Scotland  brought  out  a  large  dictionary,  in  two  thick 
quarto  volumes,  containing  a  translation  of  Gaelic  words  into 
both  English  and  Latin,  and  vice  versa.  This  valuable  compi- 
lation was  prepared  for  the  society,  principally  by  the  late  Mr. 
Maclachlan  of  Aberdeen,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Macintosh  Mackay, 
formerly  of  Laggan,  and  now  of  Dunoon.  About  the  same  time, 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Macleod  of  Campsie,  now  of  Glasgow,  and  Dr. 
Dewar  of  Glasgow,  now  of  Aberdeen,  commenced,  in  numbers, 


SECT.  I.  HIGHLAND   MUSIC.  39 

a  Gaelic  dictionary,  now  completed,  in  one  large  octavo  volume. 
Another  quarto  publication,  of  the  same  kind,  has  also  since 
been  edited  by  Mr.  Armstrong  of  London.  A  pocket  pronounc- 
ing edition  has  likewise  appeared,  by  Mr.  Macalpine,  parish 
schoolmaster  in  Islay,  to  which  is  attached  a  Gaelic  Grammar. 
The  only  Gaelic  Grammer  had  been  an  old  one  by  Shaw,  till 
about  thirty-five  years  ago,  when  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Stewart  of 
Dingwall,  afterwards  of  Canongate,  brought  one  out,  which  is 
rather  philosophical  than  practical,  and  has,  we  believe,  several 
defects.  A  useful  spelling-book  has  been  published  by  the  So- 
ciety for  Propagating  Christian  Knowledge ;  there  is  likewise 
Curries'  Principles  of  Gaelic  Grammar  ;  and  a  Primer,  and  also 
a  Grammar  by  Mr.  James  Munro,  parish  schoolmaster  of  Kil- 
manivaig.  But  we  believe  the  aid  of  a  teacher  is  almost  indis- 
pensable to  a  student  of  the  language,  and  that  to  throw  one's 
self  in  the  way  of  oral  intercourse  with  others  is  the  most  ap- 
proved mode  of  breaking  ground.  Mr.  Munro  has  published  a 
collection  of  Gaelic  poems  and  songs.  His  Gaelic  is  generally 
admitted  to  be  peculiarly  pure  ;  and  we  understand  an  applica- 
tion was  at  one  time  made  for  the  institution  of  a  Gaelic  Poet 
Laureateship,  representative  of  the  bards  of  old,  and  to  have  that 
honour  conferred  in  the  first  instance  on  him.  It  is  somewhat 
remarkable,  that  while  in  Wales,  with  a  population  of  700,000, 
there  should  be  no  less  than  1 7  periodicals,  of  various  kinds,  in 
the  Welsh  language,  the  Highlands  of  Scotland  possess  no  such 
appropriate  work.  In  1829,  a  monthly  sixpenny  miscellany, 
called  the  "  Gaelic  Messenger,"  was  set  on  foot,  edited  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Macleod  already  mentioned.  It  had  a  considerable 
circulation  at  first,  but  did  not  survive  above  two  years. 

29.  Highland  music,  we  need  hardly  remark,  is  highly  es- 
teemed, alike  for  its  tenderness,  simplicity,  and  sprightliness. 
The  native  melodies — of  which  the  best  collection  is  that  edited 
by  Captain  Simon  Fraser,  and  published  in  1816 — and  the 
tunes  called  strathspeys  and  reels,  will  ever  be  admired,  and 
are  now  again  regaining  favour  in  the  higher  circles.  The 
national  instrument,  however,  is  the  great  and  imposing  High- 
land bagpipe  ;  a  pipe  of  such  power,  in  point  of  loudness, 
from  the  size  of  the  chanter, — being  peculiar  to  the  Scottish 
Highlands.  Its  tones  are  bold,  full,  clear,  and  spirit-stirring  ; 
but  their  gradation  is  imperfect,  and  often  dissonant,  and  it  is 
essentially  an  out-of-door  and  warlike  instrument.  The  appro- 


40  HIGHLAND    CHARACTER.  SECT.  I. 

priate  music  of  the  bagpipe  is  the  pibroch,  a  wild  and  irregular 
composition,  alternating  from  a  slow  and  measured  cadence  to 
the  most  impetuous  rapidity  and  deafening  shrillness.  These 
pieces  generally  either  bear  allusion  to  the  battle-field,  or  are 
lamentations  for  the  dead.  Pipers  still  form  a  part  of  the  esta- 
blishment of  a  chieftain,  and  are  the  living  representatives  of 
the  bards  of  the  olden  time.  Highland  songs  are  full  of  poetic 
feeling,  and  the  Gaelic  language  is  highly  figurative  and  ex- 
pressive. The  violin  is,  and  apparently  for  a  couple  of  centuries 
at  least  has  been,  common  in  the  Highlands.  The  harp  has  now 
totally  disappeared ;  nor,  though  at  a  distant  period  not  un- 
known, does  it  seem  ever  to  have  been  in  general  use. 

30.  The  Highlanders  are  now  a  quiet  and  peaceable  people, 
of  warm  and  kindly  affections,  and  hospitable  character ;  they 
are,  happily,  strangers  to  many  of  the  vices  of  more  refined 
states  of  society.  Great  changes  have  taken  place  in  regard  to 
the  superstitious  notions  formerly  so  prevalent,  and  the  extra- 
vagant and  ostentatious  entertainments  common,  till  a  recent 
period,  at  marriages  and  funerals.  The  mass  of  the  people  are, 
however,  far  behind  in  the  habits  which  distinguish  advanced 
states  of  society  ;  but  they  are  gradually  improving.  They  are 
subjected  to  great  privations,  and  are,  therefore,  entitled  to  in- 
dulgent consideration  and  sympathy  ;  as,  from  their  remarkable 
contentedness  and  patient  endurance  of  penury  and  its  attendant 
ills,  they  justly  merit  respect.  The  population  has  increased 
considerably  of  late  years,  while  the  sheep  system  gives  them 
"  no  room "  to  spread  over  and  cultivate  the  land  ;  and  hence 
they  are  crowded  into  towns  and  villages,  where  it  is  too  often 
extremely  difficult  for  the  poor  Highlanders  to  sustain  their 
wretched  pauperized  existence. 

Among  the  causes  which  chiefly  retard  improvement  in  the 
condition  of  the  Highlanders,  are  also  chiefly  to  be  enumerated 
the  vast  extent  of  entailed  land,  and  the  difficulty  to  persons  of 
moderate  incomes  being  able  to  purchase  small  improveable 
estates,  or  of  even  getting  a  residence,  except  to  rent,  or  for 
payment  of  a  large  yearly  feu-duty.  A  system  of  conveyancing, 
still  needlessly  cumbersome,  also  prevails,  whereby  (especially 
in  towns  and  villages)  the  expense  of  securities  and  transfers 
of  property  is  very  oppressive  ;  and,  above  all,  the  difference  of 
language,  and  the  defective  education  of  the  poor  Highlander, 
operate  against  him  in  pushing  his  way  among  strangers  ;  while, 


SECT.  I.  HIGHLAND    CHARACTER.  41 

at  home,  the  warm  feelings  of  mutual  attachment  and  respect 
which  formerly  united  the  chief  and  his  clansmen  into  one 
family,  being  now  broken,  there  is,  in  many  cases,  but  little 
communication  or  interchange  of  friendly  offices  between  the 
proprietor  (too  often  an  absent  one)  and  his  tenants  and  cottars. 

N.B. — In  addition  to  our  observations  on  the  fisheries  (14). 
we  may  add  that,  for  the  last  twenty  years,  an  annual  sum  of 
,£2500  has  been  expended  by  the  Board  of  Fisheries  in  the 
construction  of  piers  and  other  works  for  the  protection  of  the 
fisheries  on  the  Scottish  coasts,  along  with  from  £1000  to 
.£1500  of  local  contributions  required  in  each  case. 


c  2 


42  APPROACHES   TO   EITHER  SECT.  II. 


SECTION  II. 

APPROACHES  TO  AND  TRAVELLING  IN  THE  HIGHLANDS,  HIGHLAND 
ROADS,    COACHES,    INNS,    STEAM    NAVIGATION,    ETC. 

Approaches  to  either  side  of  the  Island,  paragraph  1. — District  Roads  and  Statute 
Labour,  2. — Military  Roads,  3.— Parliamentary  Roads,  4. — Repair  of  Public  Roads, 
6. — Travelling  in  the  Eighteenth  Century,  6. — Public  Coaches,  7. — Highland  Inns, 
8. — Steam  Navigation,  9. — Posting,  &c.,  10. — Outline  of  the  more  interesting 
Routes,  11. — Expense  of  Travelling,  12. 

Approaches  to  the  Highlands. 

1 .  THE  main  approaches  to  the  Highlands  from  the  south,  are, 
1  st,  By  steam  from  London  or  Leith  to  Inverness,  by  the  Moray 
Firth,  at  any  of  the  ports  on  which  the  traveller  can  stop  and 
penetrate  into  the  "bowels  of  the  land,"  in  any  direction  he 
pleases.  2d,  By  the  coast  road  from  Aberdeen,  through  Elgin 
and  Nairn  shires.  3d,  By  the  great  Highland  road  across  the 
Grampians  from  Perth,  by  Athole  and  Badenoch  to  Inverness, 
and  by  branches  from  Dalwhinnie  and  Kingussie  to  Fort- Wil- 
liam. 4th,  Nearly  parallel  to  this  road,  but  more  to  the  east,  a 
new  line  of  communication  has  been  projected  from  Dunkeld  or 
Dundee  by  Braemar,  to  Grantown  in  Strathspey,  and  thence  to 
Forres  or  Elgin  ;  but  though  already  partially  made,  this  route 
has  not  yet  been  completed.  5th,  The  roads  leading  north-west 
from  the  lakes  of  Perth,  Stirling,  and  Dumbarton  shires,  which 
nil  either  join  between  Loch  Tay  and  Glencoe,  and  thence  de- 
scend through  that  romantic  gorge,  to  the  Linnhe  Loch  ;  or 
which,  passing  more  westerly  into  Argyleshire,  skirt  the  sides 
of  Loch  Awe,  and,  from  its  eastern  extremity,  descend  along  the 
lianks  of  Ben  Cruachan  by  Loch  Etive  to  Oban  and  Fort-Wil- 
liam. 6th,  The  great  western  approach  by  steam  from  Glasgow, 
by  the  Crinan  and  Caledonian  Canals ;  and  7th,  The  steamers 
from  Glasgow  and  Oban  to  Staffa  and  lona,  and  to  Skye  and 
Stornoway  in  the  outer  Hebrides,  which  perform  the  voyage 
twice  a-week  in  summer,  and  once  a  fortnight  in  winter  ;  and  to 
which  may  be  added  the  occasional  steamers  which  now  and 


SECT.  II.  SIDE    OF    THE    ISLAND.  43 

then  take  special  pleasure  trips  to  St.  Kilda  and  other  more 
remote  islands. 

On  the  eastern  coast,  a  splendid  mail-coach  road  proceeds 
along  the  shore  northward  from  Inverness  to  Thurso  in  Caithness. 
Beyond  Arisaig,  on  the  western  coast  of  Inverness-shire,  how- 
ever, it  is  impossible  for  the  traveller  as  yet  to  penetrate  by 
land,  without  interruption,  to  the  extreme  north-west  point  of 
Sutherlandshire.  Nor  is  there  much  likelihood  of  a  continuous 
line  of  road  being  projected  along  this  part  of  that  coast.  Be- 
sides the  numerous  ferries  to  be  crossed,  there  are  no  roads 
except  footpaths,  or  at  best  bridle  or  rather  break-neck  roads, 
through  the  rough  districts  of  Morar,  Knoydart,  and  Glenelg, 
in  Inverness.  A  carriage  road  from  the  head  of  Loch  Torridon 
by  Kinlochewe,  and  thence  down  the  west  side  of  Loch  Maree 
to  Poolewe,  has  lately  been  finished,  and  another  commenced 
from  Poolewe  by  Loch  Gruinord  and  Dundonald  to  Loch  Broom, 
and  one  is  projected  from  Shieldaig  along  Loch  Torridon,  which 
would  afford  a  continuous  coast  communication  from  Shiel 
House  to  Ullapool  ;  but  from  Ullapool  through  the  district  of 
Coigach  to  Loch  Inver,  in  Sutherlandshire,  there  is  as  yet  no 
public  road,  and  only  a  very  rough  one  across  the  country  to 
Bonar  Bridge.  Some  of  these  districts  in  which  the  communi- 
cation is  thus  cut  off,  are  so  exceedingly  rough  and  inaccessible 
—  so  remote  and  so  thinly  peopled,  that  public  money  has  not 
hitherto  been  laid  out  on  them  ;  but  the  proprietors  and  their 
tenants  are  exerting  themselves  to  form  what  are  styled  district 
roads  through  them.  Between  the  eastern  and  western  coasts, 
excellent  lines  of  communication  extend  from  Inverness  to  Fort- 
William,  and  branching  from  this  line  from  Invermoriston  to 
Kintail  and  Skye,  from  Invergarry  to  Loch  Hourn,  and  from 
Fort-William  to  Skye  ;  again  from  Dingwall  to  Skye,  and  round 
by  Loch  Duich  on  the  mainland  to  the  Invermoriston  road  ; 
from  Golspie  and  Bonar  Bridge  to  Tongue  and  Cape  Wrath,  and 
round  the  west  and  north-east  coast  of  Sutherlandshire.  To  the 
south,  again,  Perthshire  is  intersected  by  cross  lines  of  commu- 
nication along  Loch  Tay  and  Loch  Earn  ;  but  between  these 
and  the  Great  Glen,  the  country  is  one  pathless  waste,  "  by 
shepherds  only  trod."  It  will  be  prudent  in  the  traveller  to 
mark  the  portions  of  the  west  coast  along  which  he  cannot 
bring  his  own  conveyance,  or  trust  to  any  being  procured  in  the 
country. 


44  DISTRICT  ROADS  AND  STATUTE-LABOUR.    SECT.  II. 

With  these  general  remarks,  which  we  know  that  strangers 
will  be  the  better  of  keeping  in  view,  we  proceed  now  to  a  short 
historical  sketch  of  the  Roads,  modes  of  Conveyance,  Inns,  <fec., 
to  which,  if  our  readers  will  refer  occasionally  in  their  journeys, 
they  will  find  that  they  have  enabled  us  to  avoid  much  repeti- 
tion and  detail  in  our  subsequent  chapters.  Indeed,  the  progress 
of  improvement  in  the  Highlands  has  been  so  dependent  on 
their  being  made  accessible  by  roads  (for  previously  even  large 
armies  could  not  penetrate  them  except  by  sea,  or  by  burning 
down  the  native  forests),  that  the  present  state  of  the  country 
would  be  unintelligible,  except  by  first  glancing  at  such  an 
historical  retrospect. 

Roads. 

2.  By  the  old  acts  of  the  Parliament  of  Scotland,  it  would 
appear  that  the  legislature  anciently  interested  itself  only  in 
looking  after  the  highways  immediately  contiguous  to  market 
towns,  and  such  as  led  to  the  parish  churches,  and  scarcely  any 
thought  seems  to  have  been  employed  on  the  propriety  of  form- 
ing great  public  lines  of  road  through  the  country.  It  is  hence 
not  till  near  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  that  we  dis- 
cover the  first  germs,  in  the  public  enactments,  of  the  modern 
regulation  of  highways,  bridges,  and  ferries.  Several  excellent 
statutes  were  then  passed,  constituting  the  Justices  of  the 
Peace,  and  Commissioners  of  Supply  existing  in  each  county 
for  assessing  the  land-tax,  trustees  or  guardians  of  the  highways, 
and  vesting  them  with  ample  powers  for  their  regulation  and 
improvement.  They  are  in  particular  authorized  to  call  out 
annually  all  agricultural  tenants,  with  their  cottars  and  ser- 
vants, and  almost  all  other  male  persons,  to  perform  six  days' 
work,  with  their  horses,  carts,  or  sleds,  and  proper  tools,  for 
upholding  the  highways  ;  the  legal  breadth  of  which  is  twenty 
feet,  exclusive  of  the  ditch  on  either  side.  Power  also  was 
given  to  the  justices,  acting  as  road  trustees,  to  make  bridges, 
regulate  public  ferries,  alter  the  direction  of  the  roads,  and  shut 
up  useless  ones.  Subsequent  enactments  have  enabled  the  dif- 
ferent counties  to  convert  the  personal  services  required  from 
the  tenants  into  small  sums  of  money,  payable  annually.  In 
common  with  almost  all  other  male  persons,  they  are  subject  to 
a  small  direct  contribution,  or  capitation  tax,  and  were  liable  in  a 
further  sum,  proportioned  to  their  rents,  in  lieu  of  their  horses 


SECT.  II.  MILITARY   ROADS.  45 

and  carts,  and  payable  to  their  landlords,  who  are  assessed  to 
double  or  triple  the  amount.  Under  these  statutes  almost  all 
the  district  or  cross  roads  of  the  country  are  now  maintained  ; 
but  while  each  shire  has  a  local  road  act  of  its  own,  "  they  are 
all  subject  to  the  regulations  of  a  public  one  for  the  conversion 
of  statute  service  into  money,"  passed  on  the  21st  July  1845. 

3.  In  the  south  of  Scotland,  even  at  the  beginning  of  last 
century,  tolerably  good  roads  were  made  in  virtue  of  the  old 
laws  ;  but  it  is  questionable  whether  the  gentry  in  the  High- 
lands ever  availed  themselves  in  the  slightest  degree,  till  after 
the  rebellion  of  1745,  of  the  powers  thereby  put  into  their  hands 
for  opening  up  their  wild  and  inaccessible  estates.  During  the 
previous  rebellion  of  1715,  however,  the  expediency  of  rendering 
accessible  the  fastnesses  of  the  North,  became  apparent  to 
government,  as  a  measure  of  national  police.  The  royal  troops 
were,  at  that  time,  unable  to  penetrate  beyond  Blair  in  Athole  ; 
but  before  1730,  several  great  lines  of  road  were  commenced  by 
the  labours  of  the  soldiery,  which  were  finished  in  six  or  eight 
years  afterwards  ;  namely,  from  Callander,  near  Stirling,  to  Tyn- 
drum,  and  from  Luss,  on  Loch  Lomond  side,  both  by  the  head 
of  that  lake,  and  by  Inverary,  to  the  same  point,  and  thence  to 
Fort-William  by  Glencoe,  and  from  Fort-William  through  the 
Great  Glen  to  Fort-George ;  from  Crieff  and  from  Dunkeld  to 
Dalnacardoch,  thence  to  Dalwhinnie,  and  from  that  to  Fort- Au- 
gustus and  to  Inverness,  and  from  Cupar-Angus  by  Braemar  to 
Fort-George  ;  and,  besides  these  main  lines,  there  were  a  few 
cross  roads.  Latterly,  the  total  extent  of  these  military  roads 
was  about  800  miles  :  they  were  provided  with  upwards  of  1000 
bridges.  Some  parts  being  subsequently  abandoned,  or  taken 
under  the  charge  of  the  proprietors  through  whose  estates  the 
roads  proceeded,  the  length  of  road  requiring  the  aid  of  govern- 
ment for  its  repair  was  reduced,  at  the  close  of  last  century,  to 
599  miles. 

Those  roads  were  formed  by  parties  of  soldiers,  who  during 
the  working  season  received  a  small  increase  of  pay  :  each  party 
was  under  the  direction  of  a  master  mason  and  an  overseer,  who 
had  his  instructions  from  an  officer  called  the  baggage-master 
and  inspector  of  roads  in  North  Britain,  and  who  was  directly 
amenable  to  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  forces  for  Scot- 
land. 

Under  this  system  of  military  charge,  the  roads  had  con- 


46  MILITARY    AND    PARLIAMENTARY  SECT.  II. 

tinued  till  the  year  1799,  and  for  their  formation  and  support 
grants  were  made  by  parliament  of  from  ,£4000  to  ,£7000  a-year. 
Doubts  having  been  raised  in  parliament  as  to  the  propriety  of 
continuing  to  support  these  roads  out  of  the  public  purse,  the 
opinions  of  Sir  Ralph  Abercromby,  commander-in-chief,  and 
Colonel  Anstruther,  general-inspector,  were  taken  (in  1798)  on 
the  subject.  Both  of  these  officers  admitted  that,  as  military 
roads,  they  had  become  unnecessary  ;  but  the  latter,  in  parti- 
cular, contended  that  they  were  of  the  greatest  use  for  civil 
purposes  ;  and  that,  if  neglected,  the  Highlanders,  from  the 
progress  they  had  made  in  civilisation,  would  soon  relapse  into 
their  former  ignorance  and  slavish  dependence  on  their  chiefs, 
or  would  desert  their  country.  By  them  also,  and  by  the  High- 
land Society,  the  anomaly  was  explained  to  government  of  a 
country  not  being  able  to  support  its  own  roads  by  the  statute- 
labour  and  by  tolls,  in  consequence  of  the  thinness  of  its  popu- 
lation and  the  small  number  of  travellers  frequenting  it. 

4.  It  was  for  these  reasons  that  the  ministry,  in  1802  and 
1803,  when  they  began  to  attend  to  the  general  improvement 
of  the  Highlands,  resolved  to  continue  the  grants  for  keeping 
the  communication  open  with  the  low  country,  and  of  one  part 
of  the  Highlands  with  another.  Provision  was  further  made 
for  defraying  one  half  of  the  estimated  expense  of  such  addi- 
tional roads  and  bridges  as  might  appear  most  necessary  ;  the 
other  half  to  be  defrayed  by  the  proprietors  of  land,  or  other 
persons  who  would  be  benefited  thereby.  By  the  act,  commis- 
sioners were  appointed  to  insure  the  proper  expenditure  of  the 
public  money,  and  the  efficient  and  economical  performance  of 
the  works.  The  Highland  counties  were  prompt  to  the  call  of 
government  in  contributing  their  quota.  The  whole  amount  of 
parliamentary  advances,  including  interest,  has  been  ,£267,000, 
and  the  counties  assessed  themselves  in  about  ,£214,000,  towards 
the  construction  of  these  recent  roads  ;  being  only  liable  for 
half  the  expense  of  making  the  roads,  the  expense  of  general 
management  falling  on  the  public.  About  ,£60,000  beyond  these 
sums  have  had  to  be  defrayed  by  individuals  ;  so  that  about 
.£540,000  have  been  expended  on  the  Highland  parliamentary 
roads.  The  length  of  new  roads  formed  by  this  joint  fund  has 
been  875  miles,  and  the  number  of  bridges  of  all  kinds  1117, 
the  whole  of  which  were  completed  in  1820.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  148  miles  in  Argyleshire  and  Bute,  these  parliamentary 


SECT.  II.  ROADS,    AND    THEIR   REPAIR.  47 

roads  lie  almost  wholly  in  Inverness-shire  and  the  northern 
counties. 

5.  The  military  roads  had,  meanwhile,  continued  to  be  kept 
in  repair  entirely  at  the  public  expense,  at  a  cost  of  from  £4000 
to  £7000  per  annum,  and  under  the  charge  of  a  military  super- 
intendent till  1814  ;  when  this  being  considered  too  heavy  a 
burden,  considering  the  large  sums  advancing  for  the  formation 
of  new  roads,  the  grant  for  the  repairs  of  the  military  roads  was 
reduced,  for  six  years,  to  £2500.  In  consequence,  a  large  por- 
tion of  them  has  been  allowed  to  sink  into  neglect.  The  line 
from  Tarbet,  by  Inverary  and  Tyndrum,  to  Fort-William,  and 
thence  to  Fort-George,  and  that  from  Inverness  by  Badenoch  to 
the  confines  of  Perthshire,  with  a  portion  of  the  Strathspey 
roads  (in  all  about  260  miles),  are  now  alone  attended  to.  Since 
1819,  government  has  allowed  £5000  a-year  towards  the  ex- 
pense of  keeping  both  the  military  and  parliamentary  roads  in 
repair  ;  the  whole  being  put,  since  1814,  under  the  management 
of  the  commissioners,  and  extending  (including  138  miles  of  new 
county  roads  in  Caithness)  to  1286  miles.  Their  total  mainten- 
ance comes  to  about  £11,000  a-year,  of  which  about  four-fifths 
is  for  actual  outlay  on  the  roads.  The  counties  have  of  late 
years  begun  to  seek  some  relief  from  the  pressure  of  their  as- 
sessments by  the  erection  of  tolls  on  the  more  frequented  roads, 
the  proprietors  thereby  shifting  from  themselves  on  the  public 
a  considerable  annual  outlay.  Originally  it  was  intended  by 
government,  that,  as  in  Ireland,  the  roads  through  the  Highlands 
of  Scotland  should  be  toll  free,  owing  to  the  poverty  of  the 
people. 

It  appears  quite  unnecessary  for  us  to  detail  the  minute  dif- 
ferences, in  size  and  construction,  between  the  military  and  the 
new  roads.  The  former  were  narrow,  but  rarely  provided  with 
parapets  or  drains  ;  the  bridges  were  high  and  steep,  and  the 
roads  were  carried  over  every  inequality  of  surface  in  as  rectili- 
neal a  direction  as  possible — imperfections,  it  is  needless  to  add, 
not  chargeable  against  the  parliamentary  roads,  which  are,  in 
general,  well  engineered.  Many  of  the  old  military  bridges, 
however,  have  stood  the  severest  winter  floods,  in  consequence 
of  their  arches  being  highly  pointed,  few,  and  open,  and  having 
no  breastworks  of  stone  at  either  end.  In  some  instances  the 
road  has  been  often  swept  away  at  their  extremities,  and  their 
bare  gaunt  masses  left  spanning  a  wide  stream,  apparently  for 


48  PUBLIC    COACHES.  SECT.  II. 

no  useful  purpose.  Besides  the  public  roads,  there  are  nume- 
rous district  roads,  supported  by  the  statute-labour  to  which  we 
have  already  alluded. 

6.  Notwithstanding,  however,  that,  since  the  middle  of  the 
last  century,  the  communication  between  the  Highlands  and 
Lowlands  was  opened  in  several  directions,  yet  the  inhabitants 
were  extremely  slow  in  availing  themselves  of  the  advantages 
of  easy  and  expeditious  travelling.     For  a  considerable  time 
after  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion  of  1745,  the  great  High- 
land road  by  Badenoch  was  infested  by  gangs  of  desperate  rob- 
bers ;  and  so  unsafe  was  the  route  across  the  Grampians,  that 
many  persons  made  their  wills  before  undertaking  a  journey  be- 
yond their  own  neighbourhood.     Garrons,  or  little  Highland 
ponies,  were  then  used  by  gentlemen  as  well  as  by  the  peasan- 
try ;  inns  were  few  and  uncomfortable  ;  and,  even  when  post- 
chaises  were  introduced,  the  expense  of  hiring  one  was  thought 
on  for  weeks,  perhaps  months,  and  arrangements  made  for  di- 
viding it  among  as  many  individuals  as  it  would  contain.     If 
the  harness  and  springs  of  the  vehicle  kept  together,  the  tra- 
vellers were  introduced,  jaded  and  weary,  on  the  evening  of  the 
eighth  day  after  that  on  which  they  had  left  Inverness,  to  the 
High  Street  or  the  Grassmarket  of  Edinburgh. 

Public  Coaches. 

7.  No  regular  post  was  established  between  Inverness  and 
Edinburgh  till  after  the  Union  ;  and  for  fifty  years  the  letters, 
which  were  brought  only  once  a-week,  were  carried  by  foot- 
runners.      To  these  succeeded  riding-posts  and   single-seated 
cars.     In  the  year  1806,  the  Caledonian  coach  commenced  run- 
ning between  Inverness  and  Perth,  a  distance  of  115  miles,  and 
the  journey  was  performed  in  two  days.     This  undertaking  was 
looked  on  as  extremely  hazardous  to  the  parties  concerned  in  it ; 
and  was,  in  fact,  given  up  by  all  but  one  individual  (the  late 
Mr.  Peter  Anderson,  solicitor  in   Inverness),  who  for  a  long 
period  conducted  it  solely  at  his  own  risk.     This  road  is  now 
travelled  either  way,  every  day,  in  about  fourteen  hours,  by  a 
mail  coach  ;  while  in  summer,  one  or  two  other  daily  coaches 
are  put  on  the  road. 

In  the  year  1811,  a  mail  diligence,  drawn  by  two  horses, 
was  established  between  Aberdeen  and  Inverness,  a  road  on 


SECT.  II.  PUBLIC    COACHES.  49 

which  there  are  at  present  three  daily  four-horse  coaches,  the 
Mail,  Defiance,  and  Star. 

Various  attempts  were  made,  at  different  times,  to  extend 
the  coaching  system  to  Tain  and  the  northern  towns,  but  with- 
out success,  till  the  year  1819  ;  when  a  mail  diligence,  drawn 
by  two  horses,  and  under  a  special  contract  with  government, 
was  established  between  Inverness  and  Thurso,  and  which  has 
been  of  the  greatest  benefit  to  the  districts  through  which  it 
passes.  The  conductors  of  this  coach  have  handsome  allow- 
ances for  carrying  the  letters,  and  they  are  exempted  from  the 
usual  coach  duty.  It  is  now  driven  as  far  as  Tain  with  four 
horses,  to  which  place  also  another  daily  four-horse  coach  gene- 
rally runs  in  summer,  and  a  third  from  Inverness  to  Strath- 
peffer.  For  several  summers  an  enterprising  company  has  run 
a  large  daily  four-horse  coach  (called  the  Breadalbane)  all  the 
way  from  Glasgow  by  Lochlomond,  Glencoe,  and  Fort  William, 
to  Inverness,  along  a  route  unequalled  perhaps  in  Europe  for 
the  variety  and  magnificence  of  its  scenery.  The  journey  was 
performed  in  two  days.  Another  coach  by  the  same  route,  so 
far,  runs  to  Oban,  diverging  at  Tyndrum. 

The  other  Highland  districts  are  now  also  pretty  well  ac- 
commodated. There  is  a  coach  running  from  Dunkeld,  by  Kil- 
lin,  to  Loch  Lomond ;  and  another  from  Oban  to  Inverary  and  to 
Tarbet  on  Loch  Lomond,  by  Glencroe  ;  also  one  from  Inverary 
to  Loch  Goilhead  ;  several  between  Stirling  and  the  Trosachs  ; 
one  from  the  bridge  of  Carr  through  Strathspey  to  Elgin  and 
Fochabers  ;  and  in  the  extreme  north,  a  coach  from  Thurso  to 
Tongue,  on  Mondays,  Wednesdays,  and  Fridays,  returning  the 
intermediate  days.  Besides  these,  we  may  mention  the  open 
mail-gigs,  which  run  three  times  a-week  between  Dingwall  and 
Dunvegan  in  Skye,  and  proceed  twice  a-week  (on  Mondays  and 
Thursdays)  from  Golspie  both  to  Tongue  and  Assynt,  and  re- 
turn on  the  Wednesday  and  Saturday.  Each  of  these  convey- 
ances accommodates  three  passengers.  In  the  south,  a  mail 
phaeton  runs  daily  between  Dunkeld  and  Taymouth,  and  between 
Pitlochrie  and  Rannoch,  on  Mondays,  Wednesdays,  and  Fridays, 
and  various  public  conveyances  carry  crowds  of  passengers  to 
and  from  Perth  and  Blair  Athole. 


50  RAILWAYS.  SECT.  II. 

Railways. 

These  are  truly  the  links  and  chains  by  which  the  distant 
provinces  of  a  great  empire  like  ours  are  compactly  united 
together,  and  brought  near  to  the  capital  and  great  market 
towns,  whether  for  commercial  intercourse  in  times  of  peace,  or 
for  safety  and  mutual  protection  in  war.  It  is  impossible  at 
present  to  say  of  what  importance,  in  a  national  point  of  view, 
the  remote  districts  of  Scotland  may  be  to  the  rest  of  the  coun- 
try, or  how  requisite  it  may  yet  be  for  government  to  have  the 
means  of  speedily  concentrating  troops  on  our  northern  shores. 
But  from  the  depressed  state  of  the  railway  interests  it  is  obvi- 
ous that,  if  this  mode  of  completing  the  communication  between 
the  Highlands  and  the  south  is  carried  through,  it  must  be  after 
the  cost  of  constructing  and  maintaining  railways  has  been 
greatly  reduced,  and  most  probably  not  without  assistance  from 
government. 

In  the  year  1846,  two  opposing  companies  started  railway 
schemes,  one  to  connect  Inverness  coastways,  through  Elgin 
and  Aberdeen  shires,  with  the  series  of  railways  then  in  pro- 
gress along  the  eastern  counties  of  Scotland  ;  while  the  other 
proposed  to  carry  a  through  line,  67  miles  shorter,  by  the 
great  valleys  of  Strathspey,  Badenoch,  and  Athole,  direct  to 
Perth,  and  based  on  the  north  by  a  railway  between  Inverness 
and  Elgin,  which  was  to  communicate  by  short  branches  with 
the  ports  of  the  Moray  Firth.  Such  schemes  were  perhaps, 
though  grand  in  conception  and  well  engineered,  premature 
with  reference  to  the  present  cost  of  construction.  The  Aber- 
deen line  (to  be  called  the  Great  North  of  Scotland),  had  its  act 
passed,  but  the  works  have  not  yet  been  commenced.  From 
Inverness  to  the  Spey,  near  Fochabers,  their  construction 
would  not  be  expensive,  as  the  ground  is  throughout  level,  and 
composed  of  sand  and  gravel,  requiring  no  rock  cutting  ;  and 
the  traffic  along  this  portion  of  the  line  would  undoubtedly 
be  remunerative.  The  crossing  of  the  Spey  at  the  point 
selected  (a  short  way  above  Fochabers),  involved  most  formid- 
able works,  and  a  VIADUCT  on  high  arches,  of  more  than  a  mile 
nnd  a-half  in  extent.  And  accordingly,  it  is  understood  that 
the  projectors  are  to  abandon  this  portion  of  the  scheme,  and 
at  the  sacrifice  of  a  detour  of  some  miles  inland,  to  cross  the 
river  Spey  higher  up  by  means  of  a  bridge  thrown  from  the 


SECT.  II.  RAILWAYS.  51 

opposing  rocks  at  Craigeilachie.  The  route  thence  to  Aber- 
deen is  practicable,  but  in  many  parts  steep  enough,  the  ruling 
gradient  being  the  same  in  general  as  that  which  would  have 
occurred  in  the  rival  direct  line  to  Perth.  The  course  of  this 
latter  line  is  worthy  of  being  briefly  described.  Inverness  and 
Elgin  were  to  be  its  two  northern  termini,  and  from  the  vici- 
nity of  Nairn,  nearly  half  way  between  these  towns,  the  main 
line  was  to  ascend  along  the  sloping  ridges  which  bound  Strath- 
nairn  on  the  south,  and  was  to  cross  the  river  Findhom  at 
Dulsie  Bridge,  whence  it  was  to  skirt  the  base  of  the  Knock  of 
Brae  Moray,  and  passing  through  a  valley  south  of  Lochin- 
dhorbh,  was  to  reach  Strathspey  near  the  Kirk  of  Duthel.  Its 
course  thence  to  the  summit  level  of  the  country  in  the  pass  of 
Drumouchter,  was  remarkably .  straight,  and  almost  all  along 
gravel  plains  and  terraces,  and  the  altitude  there  attained  would 
be  about  1450  feet  above  the  sea,  with  slopes  on  either  side, 
each  of  about  sixty  miles  in  length.  The  steepest  gradient  to  be 
overcome  was  1  in  75  for  a  distance  of  eight  miles  from  the 
summit  on  the  descent  into  Athole  ;  and  another  ascent  from 
Nairn  to  the  river  Findhorn,  involved  a  gradient  of  1  in  84  for 
seven  miles,  which  two  acclivities,  it  was  computed,  would  have 
required  an  additional  cost  of  .£3000  a-year  for  extra  engines. 
It  is  believed  that  easier  gradients  would  ultimately  have  been 
discovered  ;  but  if  not,  evidence  was  given  by  the  most  eminent 
engineers,  that  the  inclinations  referred  to  were  nowise  formid- 
able in  themselves,  and  that  steeper  gradients  were  worked  in 
several  parts  of  the  kingdom,  especially  on  the  Carlisle  and 
Lancaster  line,  and  the  Caledonian  has  a  gradient  precisely 
similar  in  degree  and  in  extent.  The  Parliamentary  committee, 
without  going  into  any  inquiry  as  to  the  traffic  evidence, 
refused  the  bill,  "  having  arrived  at  this  result  (as  their  deci- 
cision  expressed  it),  solely  on  the  present  state  of  experience  as 
to  the  working  of  severe  gradients  of  considerable  length,  over 
great  altitudes,  and  are  not  to  be  taken  as  giving  any  opinion 
against  the  formation  of  the  Perth  and  Inverness  line,  should 
the  experience  of  the  working  of  railroads  now  in  progres  of 
formation,  or  of  others  of  a  similar  character,  support  the  prin- 
ciple upon  which  the  Perth  and  Inverness  is  proposed  to  be 
constructed.  Neither  is  it  the  intention  of  the  committee  in 
any  way  to  prejudge  the  question,  whether,  even  if  a  line  be 
constructed  from  Aberdeen  to  Inverness,  the  northern  counties 


52  RAILWAYS.  SECT.  II. 

of  Scotland  are  not  entitled  to  the  benefit  of  a  second  line  from 
Perth  to  Inverness."  As  railway  speculations  have  since  turned 
out,  this  decision  was  probably  a  fortunate  one  for  the  share- 
holders ;  but  the  reasoning  of  it  is  important,  and  should  still 
be  kept  in  view  with  reference  to  the  future  dealings  of  govern- 
ment for  developing  the  resources,  and  completing  the  defences 
of  the  kingdom. 

With  regard  to  traffic,  the  promoters  of  the  direct  line  to 
Perth  announced  that  they  were  prepared  to  prove,  that,  taking 
as  a  basis  for  calculation  the  great  number  of  persons  who  for 
business  or  pleasure  at  present  pass  through  the  Highland 
counties  every  summer  and  autumn,  there  was  reason  to  believe 
that  there  would  be  from  45,000  to  50,000  through  passengers 
by  the  railway  a-year  ;  that  about  140,000  sheep  would  annu- 
ally take  the  rails  at  various  points  ;  from  30,000  to  40,000 
lean  cattle  ;  about  2000  fat  cattle  at  the  least,  and  six  or  eight 
times  as  many  fat  sheep  ;  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  the 
merchandise,  now  sent  to  the  Highlands  by  sea,  would  arrive 
by  rail  in  preference,  while  the  products  of  the  country  would 
be  sent  south  by  it,  such  as  grain,  timber,*  game,  slates,  and 
building  stones,  and  the  products  of  the  distilleries  ;  and  that 
coals  and  lime  would  be  extensively  passed  along  the  line  for 
domestic  use  and  local  improvement,  and  perhaps  for  smelting 
the  lead,  iron,  and  copper  ores,  believed  to  be  existing  in  many 
parts  of  the  country.  If  the  data  on  which  those  calculations 
were  founded  were  at  all  correct,  and  they  were  very  similar  to 
those  adduced  by  the  supporters  of  the  Great  North  of  Scot- 
land, and  by  the  South  Aberdeen  Railway  Company  in  the 
year  1845,  it  would  appear  that  a  direct  railway  through  the 
centre  of  the  Highlands,  collecting  the  traffic  from  both  north 
and  south,  and  dispersing  it  at  its  termini,  and  on  all  sides  of 
it  in  its  course,  ought  to  yield  a  gross  annual  return  of  about 
£140,000. 

In  the  year  1847,  the  legislature,  on  the  representations 
chiefly  of  the  then  Lord  Advocate,  and  of  Lord  Breadalbane,  and 
with  the  view  of  giving  employment  to  the  destitute  Highland 
population,  sanctioned  the  laying  down  of  a  railway  from  Glas- 
gow to  Dumbarton,  and  the  lower  end  of  Loch  Lomond,  and  from 
the  further  extremity  of  this  lake  to  Oban.  Only  one  portion 

*  There  are  not  short  of  three  millions  of  tons  of  growing  timber  along  the  line, 
aud  60,000  acres  of  improveable  land. 


SECT.  II.  INXS.  53 

of  this  line  has  as  yet  been  formed  (viz.,  from  Bowling  Bay,  on 
the  Clyde,  to  Loch  Lomond),  which  will  greatly  improve  the 
means  of  communication,  but  it  is  not  probable  that  the  rest 
of  the  works  will  be  attempted  for  several  years  to  come. 

Inns. 

8.  On  the  state  of  the  inns,  that  momentous  topic  to  the 
traveller,  it  may  be  safely  asserted  that  accommodation,  in  this 
particular,  is  now  almost  universally  pretty  good — in  many  in- 
stances excellent.  In  the  south  Highlands,  where  they  are  all 
well  frequented,  the  inns  are  commodious,  and  in  every  respect 
well  conducted.  Along  the  line  of  the  public  coach  road  from 
Perth  to  Thurso  they  are  generally  roomy  and  comfortable  ;  and 
though  metropolitan  elegance  cannot  be  expected,  and  even 
much  of  low-country  snugness  is  at  times  awanting,  yet  the  tra- 
veller will  find  himself  necessitated  to  forego  but  few  of  "  the 
comforts  of  the  Saut-market."  On  most  of  the  other  roads  the 
inns  are  naturally  on  a  lower  scale.  In  the  Great  Glen,  and 
from  Fort- William  to  Stirling,  and  between  Dingwall  and  Por- 
tree,  they  are  generally  of  a  respectable  class  ;  and  on  all  the 
parliamentary  roads,  and  through  most  parts  of  the  Highlands, 
and  even  in  Sutherlandshire,  where  now  the  superior  character 
of  many  of  the  inns  will  agreeably  surprise  the  traveller,  at 
intervals  of  from  ten  to  fifteen  miles,  there  are,  if  not  in  all 
cases  exactly  falling  under  the  term  inn,  at  least  what  are 
called,  in  Scotland,  public-houses ;  buildings  consisting  chiefly 
of  two  storeys,  slated  and  floored,  and  containing  from  four  to 
eight  rooms.  The  latter  are,  perhaps,  in  some  few  instances, 
rather  scantily  furnished,  and  may  want  carpets  and  bed  cur- 
tains, but  they  are  generally  provided  with  both  ;  and  not 
unfrequently  the  tourist  will  be  gratified  by  the  unexpected 
savoir  vivre  he  will  meet  with.  Considering  the  recent  esta- 
blishment of  these  inns,  and  the  want  of  familiarity  on  the  part 
of  the  Highland  peasantry  with  the  more  refined  habits  and 
comforts  of  the  south,  the  business  of  innkeeping  has  fully  kept 
pace  with  the  other  improvements  of  the  country.  If  much  re- 
finement and  elegance  is  not  everywhere  to  be  seen,  there  is  at 
least  abundance  of  substantial  commodities  :  no  lack  of  black- 
faced  mutton  and  poultry,  with  the  addition  of  salmon,  and 
various  other  excellent  fish,  on  the  sea-coasts  ;  and,  indeed, 


54  INNS STEAM   NAVIGATION.  SECT.  II. 

scarcely  a  burn  but  affords  trout.  The  traveller  may  every- 
where calculate  on  the  luxuries  of  tea  and  sugar,  and  generally 
loaf-bread  or  biscuits  ; — eggs  and  milk,  with  whisky,  &c.,  always 
in  abundance  ; — not  unfrequently  a  good  bottle  of  wine,  in  suf- 
ficiently remote  localities.  The  wayfarer  need  be  under  no 
apprehension  of  Highland  eagles  banqueting  on  his  famished 
carcass,  or  of  being  subjected  to  any  pyroligneous  process  in 
chimneyless  hovels  surcharged  with  "  peat  reek."  There  is 
no  fear  as  to  fare  ;  but  the  tourist's  patience  is  sometimes  not 
a  little  taxed  by  the  tardiness  of  the  attendance,  arising  from 
the  comparatively  limited  intercourse  in  some  directions.  It 
must  also  be  confessed  that,  in  many  of  the  inferior  inns,  there 
is  a  lamentable  inattention  to  cleanliness,  at  least  in  the  stair- 
case and  passage,  and  about  the  doors.  The  rooms,  however, 
are  not  much  to  be  complained  of,  though  a  little  painting  and 
papering  would  greatly  improve  them,  and  care  is  almost  inva- 
riably observed  to  have  the  bedclothes  and  table-linen  unobjec- 
tionable. Though  we  have  experienced  very  little  reason  for 
the  precaution,  the  more  inexperienced  traveller  may  not  be  the 
worse  of  being  recommended  to  attend,  at  least  in  the  more  unfre- 
quented roads,  to  have  the  bedclothes  aired.  We  may  add,  that 
the  horse  will  be  as  well  off  as  his  rider ;  good  stabling  being 
seldom  wanting.  Neither  need  the  Saxon  be  apprehensive  of 
finding  himself  at  a  loss  to  make  his  wants  known,  as  it  very 
rarely  happens  that  individuals  are  not  now  met  with  who  un- 
derstand the  English  language. 

Steam  Navigation. 

Conveyance  by  steam  has  been  as  signal  in  its  effects  in  our 
northern  localities  as  elsewhere — annihilating  distance,  and 
pouring  a  tide  of  living  energies  through  scenes  heretofore  se- 
cluded. Steam  vessels  ply  daily  in  summer,  and  twice  a-week 
all  the  year  to  and  from  Inverness  and  Glasgow,  along  the  pas- 
sage between  the  west  coast  and  islands,  and  through  the  Cale- 
donian Canal  and  its  grand  series  of  lakes.  At  each  end  of  the 
Crinan  Canal,  as  also  at  the  west  end  of  the  Caledonian  Canal, 
the  passengers  and  luggage  are  now  transferred,  and  the  whole 
voyage  is  performed  in  summer  in  less  than  two  days.  The 
boats  from  Glasgow  reach  Oban  about  5  P.  M.,  and  Fort-William 
and  Bannavie  the  same  evening,  and  those  for  Glasgow  arrive 


SECT.  II.  STEAM   NAVIGATION.  55 

at  Bannavie  about  3  P.M.,  and  at  Oban  about  six  o'clock,  re- 
maining there  for  the  night.  In  connexion  with  or  independent 
of  these  boats,  others  diverge  from  Oban  between  May  and 
October,  now  daily,  weather  permitting,  to  Staffa  and  lona, 
making  the  circuit  of  the  Island  of  Mull.  Glencoe  can  also 
be  visited  every  day  from  Oban,  returning  in  the  evening,  or  pro- 
ceeding to  Bannavie.  Two  boats  ply  every  week  from  Glasgow 
to  Oban  and  Skye,  and  one  every  fortnight  proceeds  as  far  as 
Stornoway  in  Lewis.  These  make  the  voyage  round  the  Mull 
of  Cantyre,  calling  at  Port  Askaig,  in  Islay,  as  also  at  Loch 
Inver,  in  Sutherlandshire.  In  and  about  the  Firth  of  Clyde, 
steam-boats  are  innumerable  ;  and  steamers  ramify  from  it  in 
all  directions.  Two  sail  every  day  up  and  down  Loch  Lomond, 
which  the  tourist  can  visit  from  and  return  the  same  day  to 
Glasgow  ;  or  he  may  reach  it  also,  or  Edinburgh,  by  the  Tro- 
sachs  and  Stirling,  there  being  a  tiny  steamer  on  Loch  Catrine. 
Another  boat  also  forms  a  regular  communication  between  the 
head  of  Loch  Tarbet  and  the  Island  of  Islay.  On  the  east 
coast,  a  large  steamer  plies  every  alternate  Monday  between 
London  and  Inverness,  and  ports  in  the  Moray  Firth  ;  numer- 
ous steam  vessels  connect  the  metropolis  with  Edinburgh,  Dun- 
dee, Montrose,  and  Aberdeen.  Two  of  the  Leith  and  Aberdeen 
boats  proceed  weekly  to  Inverness,  leaving  Leith  on  Tuesday 
and  Thursday,  and  Inverness  on  Thursday  night  and  Monday 
morning  ;  and  between  all  these  places  there  are  regular  trad- 
ing smacks.  Of  these  steamers  one  alternately  visits  Aberdeen, 
and  thus  makes  the  voyage  in  twenty-four  hours  or  less.  Ano- 
ther steamer  from  Leith  visits  the  ports  on  the  Moray  Firth 
and  coasts  of  Sutherland,  coming  up  too  as  far  as  Inverness  ; 
while  a  small  Steamer  supplies  the  trade  from  Inverness  to  In- 
vergordon,  Findhorn,  and  the  Little  Ferry.  A  steam-boat  now 
likewise  plies  every  week  between  Leith  and  the  Orkney  and 
Shetland  Isles — from  Leith  on  Fridays,  and  from  Kirkwall  on 
Tuesdays.  The  passage  by  the  London  and  Inverness  boat  is 
performed  in  sixty  to  seventy  hours,  and  at  a  moderate  ex- 
pense. Two  regular  sailing  packets  ply  between  Leith  and 
Kirkwall,  and  one  from  Leith  to  Stromness.  The  communica- 
tion is  thus  once  a  fortnight.  Larger  and  better  vessels  sail 
also  once  a  fortnight  between  Leith  and  Shetland. 


56  OUTLINE    OF   THE  SECT.  II. 

Posting,  &c. 

10.  Besides  the  public  coaches,  steam-boats,  and  packet 
vessels,  travellers  can,  in  most  of  the  towns  on  the  east  coast 
and  the  southern  boundary  of  the  Highlands,  be  accommodated 
with  post-chaises,  open  cars,  and  four-wheeled  phaetons,  gigs, 
and  riding-horses,  and  with  post-horses  on  the  Highland  road 
from  Inverness  to  Perth.     On  the  west  coast,  common  carts, 
with  a  swing  seat  in  the  centre,  are  much  used  as  substitutes 
for  cars  or  gigs.    There  are  such  kept  for  hire  at  Fort-William, 
Ballachulish,  and  other  neighbouring  places  ;  while  at  Oban 
there  is  a  good  supply  of  vehicles  of  various  sorts. 

Outline  of  the  more  interesting  Routes. 

11.  It  may  not  be  unacceptable  to  the  tourist  to  have  an 
outline  given  of  the  most  interesting  routes  through  the  High- 
lands.    We  will  suppose  him  at  Inverness,  which  he  may  have 
reached  either  by  steam  from  London  or  Leith,  or  by  the  High- 
land road  from  Perth,  and  in  the  first  instance  not  purposing 
to  go  farther  north,  and  limited  in  time.    The  line  of  the  Great 
Glen  to  Fort- William,  and  thence  southwards,  will  be  most 
generally  followed  ;  and  we  would  recommend  the  traveller, 
should  he  be  journeying,  as  he  most  probably  will,  by  the 
steam-boat,  to  leave  it  at  Oban,  and  proceed  thence  by  coach 
round  the  head  of  Loch  Awe  and  Dalmally ;  and  thence  by 
Loch  Lomond  to  Glasgow  or  to  Inverary.     From  Inverary  he 
may  proceed  by  steam  down  Loch  Fyne,  and  through  the  Kyles 
of  Bute,  and  up  the  Firth  of  Clyde  ;  or  by  Loch  Goilhead,  Loch 
Long,  or  Loch  Eck,  to  Greenock  ;  or  by  Loch  Lo*mond,  or  the 
Gareloch,  to  Dumbarton  and  Glasgow.      By  the  public  con- 
veyances this  distance  from  Inverness  to  Glasgow  occupies  two 
days  in  summer,  and  three  the  rest  of  the  year.     Should  the 
traveller  be  pressed  for  time,  he  should  not  omit  visiting  Loch 
Lomond.     If  able  to  spare  an  additional  day,  let  him  follow 
either  of  the  other  courses  ;  and,  stopping  at  Dumbarton,  from 
thence  proceed  to  that  beautiful  lake,  and  diverge  to  the  Tro- 
sachs  and  Stirling,  from  whence  he  may,  if  bent  on  it,  reach 
Glasgow  or  Edinburgh  the  same  night.     But  if  he  have  more 
leisure,  there  are  many  objects  to  attract  the  tourist's  attention 
along  the  main  line. 


SECT.  H.  MORE   INTERESTING   ROUTES.  57 

First  in  importance  are  the  islands  of  Staffa  and  lona.  At 
Oban  he  will  remove  into  another  steam-boat,  which  will  con- 
vey him  round  Mull,  that  same  day,  to  Staffa  and  lona,  Tober- 
mory,  and  back  to  Oban.  Instead  of  returning  at  once  from 
Tobermory,  two  or  three  days  cannot  be  better  employed  than 
in  visiting  Skye,  by  the  steam-boats  which  ply  to  that  island. 
Next  in  interest  to  Staffa,  the  scientific  traveller  will  perhaps 
be  disposed  to  visit  the  Parallel  Roads  of  Glenroy.  This  he 
must  accomplish  previously  to  leaving  the  Great  Glen,  by  stop- 
ping at  Letterfinlay  on  Loch  Lochy,  or  at  Fort-William.  The 
former,  or  Spean  Bridge  midway,  is  most  convenient  in  point 
of  distance.  By  a  little  active  exertion  they  may  easily  be 
visited,  and  Fort-William  reached  the  same  night.  The  ascent 
of  Ben  Nevis  is  a  feat  which  most  people  feel  an  anxiety  to 
perform.  It  will  occupy  one  whole  day.  Should  circumstances 
permit,  we  would  suggest  the  Vale  of  Killean,  eight  or  nine 
miles  distant  from  the  Fall  of  Foyers,  as  well  worthy  of  a  visit 
on  foot  or  horseback,  in  connexion  with  the  fall ;  and,  instead 
of  going  through  with  a  boat,  let  the  traveller  cross  the  lake 
to  Urquhart,  and  proceed  four  or  five  miles  up  that  glen,  as 
far  as  Loch  Meiklie.  Returning  to  Drunmadrochet,  at  the 
mouth  of  Glen  Urquhart,  he  will  proceed  by  the  banks  of  Loch 
Ness  to  Invermoriston  ;  or,  landing  first  at  Urquhart,  he  can 
more  conveniently  be  ferried  over  to  Foyers  at  Ruisky,  and 
recross  the  lake  there  again.  A  delightful  excursion  may  be 
made  from  Invermoriston  up  Glen  Moriston,  and  along  Glen 
Shiel,  to  Loch  Duich.  From  hence  Skye  can  be  readily  reached. 
Or  the  pedestrian  may  cross  the  hill  to  Loch  Hournhead,  and 
from  that  return,  to  the  Great  Glen  at  Invergarry  ;  or  the  tour- 
istt  retracing"his  steps  up  Glen  Shiel  to  Cluany,  will  find  a  road 
leading  into  Glen  Garry,  at  Tomandoun.  The  larger  circuit 
from  Invermoriston  to  Invergarry  is  about  eighty  miles.  If 
not  disposed  to  make  this  whole  tour,  still  it  will  be  well  to 
ramble  for  five  or  six  miles  up  Glen  Moriston  aud  Glen  Garry. 
Loch  Arkaig  is  well  worthy  of  a  visit.  A  parliamentary  road 
leads  to  the  foot  of  the  lake  from  the  village  of  Corpach,  a  dis- 
tance of  nine  miles  ;  and  a  bad  country  road  also  communicates 
between  Highbridge  and  Gairlochy,  at  the  west  end  of  Loch 
Lochy.  The  traveller  will  likewise  find  an  excursion  of  two 
days  from  Fort- William  or  Corpach  to  Arisaig  well  repay  the 
trouble  ;  or  in  one  day  Loch  Shiel  and  Prince  Charles's  monu- 


58  OUTLINE    OF    THE  SECT.  II. 

ment  may  be  visited.  Glencoe  and  Loch  Leven  are  every  way 
worthy  of  having  a  day  devoted  to  them  ;  and  the  traveller  can 
proceed  from  Ballachulish  to  Oban,  either  by  water  or  land. 
He  will  be  highly  gratified  either  way.  Glencoe  is  a  daily  ex- 
cursion now  from  Oban.  Lastly,  the  tourist  may,  in  the  course 
of  a  few  days,  with  the  greatest  convenience,  visit  the  islands 
of  Isla  and  Jura,  Colonsay,  and  Oronsay  ;  and  he  can  be  at  no 
loss  in  reaching,  from  any  part  of  the  Clyde,  either  directly  or 
by  a  little  circuit,  the  Island  of  Arran — to  explore  whose  wild 
and  picturesque  scenery  and  remarkable  geological  structure 
will  be  found  of  no  ordinary  interest. 

To  perform  a  complete  tour  of  the  Perth  and  Stirlingshire 
Highlands,  the  traveller  should  proceed  to  Stirling  ;  thence,  if 
his  time  permit,  we  would  recommend  him,  instead  of  proceed- 
ing direct  to  Loch  Catrine,  to  go  round  by  Crieff  and  Comrie  to 
Lochearnhead.  From  that  to  Callander  by  Loch  Lubnaig.  This 
circuitous  route  to  Callander  from  Stirling  is  fifty-two,  the 
direct  road  only  sixteen  miles.  The  Trosachs  and  Loch  Catrine 
can  either  be  seen  in  one  day  from  Stirling  ;  or  the  visitor  may, 
from  the  upper  end  of  the  lake,  return  by  Loch  Ard,  Aberfoyle, 
and  other  scenes  celebrated  in  the  novel  of  Rob  Roy.  The  whole 
extent  of  this  excursion,  from  and  back  to  Stirling,  is  seventy- 
four  miles.  Should  it  be  found  impracticable  both  to  go  round 
by  Crieff  and  to  visit  Loch  Catrine,  preference  is  due  to  the 
latter  and  contiguous  scenery,  or  vice  versa,  and  the  round 
between  Glasgow  and  Stirling  accomplished  in  one  day.  It  can 
also  be  reached  from  Loch  Lomond.  From  Callander,  the  next 
stage  in  our  progress  northwards  is  Lochearnhead.  The  pedes- 
trian may  reach  it  from  Loch  Achray,  by  crossing  the  hill 
through  Glenfinlas.  Leaving  Lochearnhead  for  Loch  Tay,  we 
reach  Killin,  and  proceed  by  either  side  of  the  lake,  the  south 
preferable,  to  Kenmore,  thence  to  the  lower  part  of  Glenlyon, 
and  to  Fortingal.  But  the  tourist  ought  not  to  omit  a  visit  to 
the  Falls  of  Moness,  at  Aberfeldy.  Instead  of  pursuing  the 
course  of  the  Tay,  our  advice  is  to  cross  from  Fortingal  to 
Strathtummel,  either  at  Tummel  Bridge,  or  Kinloch  Rannoch, 
and  to  descend  that  valley,  either  crossing  at  the  bridge  of 
Garry,  or  by  boat  at  Pitlochrie,  farther  down.  Hence,  through 
the  romantic  pass  of  Killiecrankie,  we  enter  Blair  Athole. 
Having  examined  the  Falls  of  Bruar  and  Fender,  and  the 
beauties  of  Glen  Tilt,  the  traveller,  retracing  his  steps,  will 


SECT.  II.  MORE   INTERESTING    ROUTES.  59 

proceed  to  Dunkeld  and  Perth.  The  whole  length  of  the  devi- 
ous route  here  chalked  out  is,  from  Stirling  about  230,  from 
Glasgow  260  miles.  The  main  and  direct  line  from  Stirling  to 
Loch  Catrine,  Loch  Tay,  Strathtummel,  Blair,  Dunkeld,  and 
Perth,  is  about  150  miles. 

Reconducting  the  reader  now  to  the  north,  we  would  direct 
his  notice  to  the  high  claims  of  the  river  Findhorn,  and  of 
Strathspey,  to  a  share  of  the  tourist's  attention.  An  excursion 
from  Inverness  by  Fort-George  and  Cawdor  Castle  to  Forres, 
and  thence  up  the  Findhorn  to  Farness  ;  or  if  on  foot,  to  Free- 
burn,  and  from  either  of  these  places  to  Grantown  and  the  upper 
district  of  Strathspey,  will  be  found  full  of  interest.  The  distance 
from  Inverness  to  Forres,  Freeburn,  Bridge  of  Carr, Grantown,  Kin- 
rara,  and  back  to  Inverness,  may  be  about  140  miles ;  or,  proceed- 
ing straight  from  Forres  to  Grantown,  about  twenty  miles  less. 

If  desirous  of  becoming  acquainted  with  Ross-shire  and  the 
northern  counties,  the  traveller  may  make  an  agreeable  journey, 
of  150  miles,  from  Inverness,  by  Dingwall,  to  Loch  Carron, 
and  back  by  Dornie,  Shielhouse,  and  Loch  Ness.  We  would 
especially  recommend  him  to  diverge  from  Auchnasheen  to  the 
head  of  Loch  Maree,  and  after  satisfying  himself  with  the  wild 
beauties  of  this  fine  sheet  of  water,  whether  as  to  be  seen  at  its 
upper  extremity,  or  by  a  sail  to  its  numerous  islands,  or  to  the 
further  end,  let  him,  making  if  he  incline  a  circuit  by  Gareloch, 
(now  accessible  by  a  road  along  Loch  Maree)  proceed  from 
Kinloch  Ewe  to  the  head  of  Loch  Torridon  ;  there  to  send 
back  his  vehicle  to  Auchnasheen,  and  to  go  on  to  meet  him  at 
Jeantown,  while  he  takes  boat  for  the  village  of  Shieldaig,  and 
thence  walks  on  by  Kishom,  or,  better  still,  round  by  Apple- 
cross,  to  Jeantown  ;  where,  resuming  his  conveyance,  he  will 
pursue  the  course  indicated  by  Dornie  —  and  he  had 
better  take  Plockton  and  Balmacarra  by  the  way — to  Shiel- 
house and  Invennoriston,  devoting  a  day  at  Shielhouse 
to  visit  the  Falls  of  Glomack.  On  his  way  to  Loch  Ness  he  can 
cross  at  Foyers  to  the  Fall,  and  returning,  take  a  run  from  Drum- 
nadrochet  for  four  or  five  miles  up  Glen  Urquhart.  With  a 
gig,  this  excursion  will  occupy  about  seven  or  eight  days,  and 
we  could  hardly  point  out  a  more  varied  and  interesting  suc- 
cession of  scenery.  The  tourist  will  find  some  rich  and  fine 
scenery  between  Dingwall  and  Invergordon  ;  and,  if  an  admirer 
of  a  fertile  grain  country,  he  will  in  Easter  Ross,  between  the 


60  OUTLINE   OF   THE  SECT.  II. 

latter  place  and  Tarbet  Ness,  find  a  great  extent  of  land  in 
as  high  a  state  of  cultivation  as  any  in  the  kingdom.  In 
five  or  six  days,  the  active  pedestrian  may,  from  Strathgarve, 
on  the  Loch  Carron  road,  make  a  circuit  by  Loch  Broom  and 
Ullapool,  Poolewe  on  Loch  Maree,  Gareloch  and  Loch  Torridon, 
to  Jeantown,  a  stretch  of  wild  and  grand  scenery,  but  very 
little  known  ;  recently,  however,  much  opened  up  by  connect- 
ing lines  of  road,  wanting  only  a  few  miles  between  Strath 
Broom  and  Little  Loch  Broom,  to  complete  the  communication  ; 
or  from  Ullapool,  a  walk  of  twenty  miles  past  Achall,  conducts 
by  a  beautiful  route  to  Oikel  Bridge,  on  the  Assynt  and  Golspie 
road  ;  whence  the  traveller  can  shape  his  course  either  to  the 
north  or  east  coast  of  Sutherlandshire.  Whether  he  enters 
Ross-shire  or  not,  he  ought  to  visit  the  Falls  of  Kilmorack,  on 
the  Beauly  ;  and  he  will  not  be  disappointed  if  he  penetrate  to 
the  head  of  Strathglass  or  Glenstrathfarar,  or  to  Loch  Affrick  ; 
nor,  if  on  foot,  can  he  find  a  tract  more  worthy  of  being  explored 
than  the  shores  of  Benneveian  and  Loch  Affrick,  and  descending 
thence  into  Kintail,  past  the  stupendous  Fall  of  Glomak.  This 
indeed  is  a  route  which  will  well  repay  the  pedestrian  tourist's 
pains,  should  he  choose  it  in  connexion  with  that  indicated  by 
Dingwall,  Jeantown,  and  Shielhouse,  proceeding  thence  through 
Strath  Affrick  to  Strathglass,  instead  of  proceeding  from  Shiel- 
house by  Loch  Ness,  which,  with  Glenmoriston,  Urquhart,  and 
Foyers,  can  be  visited  with  equal  convenience  from  Loch  Ness. 
To  render  Lochs  Benneveian  and  Affrick  objects  of  more  frequent 
attraction  to  all  classes  of  travellers,  nothing  is  wanted  but  the 
connexion  of  the  head  of  Glen  Urquhart  and  Strathglass,  which 
requires  the  formation  of  only  about  three  miles  of  road,  and 
better  accommodation  at  Invercanich  in  Strathglass,  all  which  is 
projected,  and,  we  trust,  will  soon  be  accomplished.  This  would 
open  up  one  of  the  finest  drives  in  the  Highlands — say  from  Inver- 
ness, by  the  south  side  of  Loch  Ness  to  the  Pass  of  Inverfarikaig, 
Fall  of  Foyers,  Vale  of  Killean,  and  Fort- Augustus  ;  thence  to 
Invermoriston  (which  may  be  more  conveniently  approached 
along  the  north  side  of  the  lake,  crossing  to  Foyers  on  the  way, 
and  recrossing),  and  eight  or  nine  miles  up  the  glen — along 
Loch  Ness  side  to  Drumnadrochet,  and  up  Glen  Urquhart  into 
Strathglass  at  Invercannich,  seven  miles  above  Struy  Bridge — 
up  the  course  of  the  Glass  to  Loch  Benneveian,  to  the  end  of 
which,  eight  miles  above  Invercannich,  a  good  carriage  road 


SECT.  II.  MORE  INTERESTING  ROUTES.  61 

conducts,  and  beyond  it  the  way  must  be  found  by  boat,  on 
foot,  or  horseback.  Retracing  his  steps,  the  wayfarer  descends 
Strathglass  to  Struy,  Erchless  Castle,  the  Drhuim,  and  Falls  of 
Kilmorack,  to  Beauly  Bridge,  and  regains  Inverness  by  the  fine 
district  of  the  Aird.  At  Struy,  Glenstrathfarar  will  be  found 
well  worthy  of  attention.  The  whole  of  this  distance  may  be 
about  150  miles,  and  might  be  curtailed  by  omitting  some  of 
the  scenes.  Taken  in  connexion  with  the  round  from  Dingwall 
by  Loch  Carron,  Loch  Maree,  and  Shielhouse  (where  the  Falls 
of  Glomak  should  not  be  forgotten),  and  Invermoriston,  we  do 
not  think  it  possible  in  the  compass  of  ten  to  fourteen  days' 
travelling  for  the  stranger  to  select  a  more  admirable  route. 
But  for  the  present  the  little  hiatus  at  the  head  of  Glen 
Urquhart  mars  the  continuity. 

The  circuit  of  the  western  section  of  Sutherlandshire,  pre- 
senting a  succession  of  wild  and,  till  very  recently,  almost  inac- 
cessible scenes  from  Bonar  Bridge,  or  the  Mound  (each  about 
sixty  miles  from  Inverness),  to  Tongue,  Cape  Wrath,  and  round 
by  Assynt,  is  180  miles. 

From  the  Mound,  round  the  west  and  north  coasts  of  Suther- 
land and  of  Caithness  shires,  to  John-o'-Groat's  House,  and 
thence  by  the  east  coast  to  the  same  point,  the  distance  is 
rather  more  than  260  miles.  The  lover  of  cliff  scenery  will 
find  ample  gratification  in  this  tour.  An  additional  wefck  or 
less  will  make  him  acquainted  with  all  the  more  interesting 
features  of  the  Orkney  Islands. 

Expense  of  Travelling. 

12.  We  will  conclude  this  article  by  giving  a  few  particu- 
lars as  to  the  expense  of  travelling  in  the  Highlands.  The 
rate  of  posting  is  Is.  6d.  a  mile  ;  Is.  a  mile,  or  about  15s.  a-day, 
is  usually  charged  for  a  car,  or  four-wheeled  vehicle,  or  10s.  to 
12s.  with  the  horse's  keep  ;  and  10s.  for  a  gig,  under  the  same 
condition  ;  and  5s.  for  a  riding  horse  When  required  for 
several  days  together,  about  a  fifth  less  than  these  prices  will 
be  taken.  Nothing  additional  to  the  usual  gratuity  to  himself, 
and  his  living,  is  charged  for  a  lad,  if  required  to  take  charge 
of  the  vehicle.  A  horse's  keep  in  travelling  will  cost  4s.  to  5s. 
a-day.  The  charges  at  the  principal  inns,  in  towns,  are  pretty 
much  the  same  as  in  the  south,  viz.  2s.,  or  2s.  6d.,  to  3s.,  or  3s.  6d. 


62  EXPENSE  OF  TRAVELLING.  SECT.  II. 

for  dinner  ;  Is.  3d.  to  2s.  for  a  substantial  breakfast,  or  similar 
evening  repast  ;  Is.  to  2s.  6d.  and  3s.  for  a  bed,  for  which  a 
charge  is  seldom  made  when  the  traveller  has  a  horse.  Port 
and  sherry,  5s.  a  bottle  ;  malt  liquor,  8d.  or  lOd.  ;  brandy, 
with  warm  water,  at  the  rate  of  3s.  6d.  per  half  pint  ;  whisky 
about  one-half  that  price,  or  less.  In  the  country  inns,  the 
lower  rates  mentioned  above,  or  less,  are  charged.  Wine  and 
brandy  are  seldom  kept  in  the  inferior  inns,  nor  malt  liquor,  or 
it  is  of  indifferent  quality,  where  there  is  a  land-carriage.  Ser- 
vants in  the  best  inns  are  paid  4d.  to  6d.  a  meal,  by  persons  travel- 
ling singly  ;  in  the  inferior  inns,  they  do  not  expect  so  much. 
The  cabin  fare  by  the  steam-boats,  from  Glasgow  to  Inverness,  is 
£l :  Is. ;  from  Leith,  16s. ;  from  Aberdeen,  10s. ;  and  from  London 
to  Inverness,  £3  : 10s. ;  and  £2  :  2s.  steerage,  living  included ;  from 
Leith  to  Orkney,  £1  :  13s. ;  from  Glasgow  to  Oban,  10s.  6d. ;  and 
thence  to  Staffa  and  lona,  and  back,  21s. ;  and  to  Skye,  25s.,  steer- 
age, 8s. ;  passengers  paying  extra  for  their  eating.  Three  pounds 
are  charged  from  London  to  Aberdeen,  living  included.  The  pas- 
sage by  the  sailing  smacks,  between  London  and  Inverness,  is 
£l  :11 :6  ;  for  which  abundance  of  substantial  fare  is  provided, 
the  average  length  of  the  passage  being  seven  or  eight  days. 
A  berth  in  one  of  the  Leith  and  Orkney  packets  comes  to  25s., 
living  included.  These  reach  their  destination  occasionally  in 
thirty  hours  ;  sometimes,  though  seldom,  not  for  six  or  ten 
days.  An  inside  seat  in  the  coach,  from  Inverness  to  Perth 
(116  miles),  costs  35s.  ;  an  outside,  25s.  :  the  mail  10s.  and  7s. 
more.  From  Aberdeen  to  Inverness  (108  miles),  the  charge  is 
£2  inside,  and  21s.  outside.  Between  Inverness  and  Thurso 
(141  miles),  by  the  mail,  the  fare  is  £2  :  11  :  6 :  inside,  and 
£  1  : 1 7 :  6  outside ;  or  4£d.  and  3d.  per  mile.  The  mail  gigs  charge 
about  2£d.  per  mile.  Travellers  complain  with  much  reason 
of  the  burden  of  having  to  pay  coachmen  and  guards  in  Scot- 
land ;  each  of  the  former  still  occasionally  only  drives  one 
stage,  and  for  an  average  distance  of  eleven  or  twelve  miles 
looks  for  his  sixpence,  while  the  guard  expects  at  least  at  the 
rate  of  one-half  that  allowance  throughout  a  long  distance  ;  but 
the  English  fashion  has  brought  the  general  rule  into  use,  of 
being  driven  forty,  fifty,  or  sixty  miles  by  the  same  coachman, 
to  whom  Is.  to  Is.  6d.,  or  2s.,  is  the  customary  douceur.  The 
steamer  fares,  especially  on  the  west  coast,  fluctuate  from  occa- 
sional opposition. 


ROUTE  1.        CONTENTS  OF  ROUTE  I.  63 


SECTION  III. 

ROUTE  I. 
FBOM  GLASGOW  TO  OBAN,  FORT-WILLIAM,  AND  IXVEBXES9. 

Diversity  of  Routes,  and  their  Characteristics,  1. — By  Crinan  Canal. — The  River 
Clyde,  2.— Dumbarton  Castle,  3.— The  Frith  of  Clyde,  Greenock,  4.— Dunoon 
Castle,  5.— The  Ayrshire  Coast;  Battle  of  the  Largs,  G.— Toward  Castle,  7.— 
Rothesay,  and  Castle,  8.— Kyles  of  Bute,  9.— Argyle's  Expedition  in  1685,  10.— 
Loch  Fyne;  East  Tarbet,  11.— Crinan  Canal,  12.— Crinan  to  Oban,  13.— Whirl- 
pool of  Conyvreckan,  14. — Isle  of  Kerrera,  15. — Oban;  Dunolly  Castle,  16. — 
District  around  Oban,  17. — Glasgow  to  Oban  and  to  Fort-William,  by  Loch  Lo- 
mond.— Preferable  Route,  18. — Dumbarton,  19. — Vale  of  the  Leven,  20. — Loch 
Lomond,  21.— Ben  Lomond,  22.— Glen  Falloch,  23.— Battle  of  Glenfruin;  The 
Clan  Gregor,  24. — Robert  Brace's  encounter  in  Glen  Dochart,  25. — St.  FUlan's 
Pool,  96. — Tyndruni  to  Dalmally,  27. — Loch  Awe ;  Ben  Cruachan,  28. — Kilchurn 
Castle,  29.— The  Pass  of  Awe,  30.— Bunawe,  31.— Loch  Etive,  32.— Ardchattan 
Priory,  33. — Connel  Ferry,  34. — Dunstaffnage  Castle,  35. — Berigonium,  36. — Oban, 
37.— Glasgow  to  Fort-William,  by  Loch  Lo-aiond.—ljoch  Tollie;  The  Black  Mount, 
38.— Glencoe,  39.— Massacre  of  Glencoe,  40.— Loch  Leven ;  The  Serpent  River ; 
The  Falls  of  Kinlochmore,  41. — Ballachulish,  42. — From  Glasgow  to  Oban,  by 
Inrerary. — Different  Routes,  43. — By  Loch  Long. — Loch  Long,  44. — Glencroe; 
Glen  Lochan ;  and  Glen  Finlass,  45. — Loch  Fyne ;  Dunedera  Castle,  46. — Inver- 
ary,  47. — Loch  Fyne  Herring ;  Inverary  Castle,  48. — To  Itinerary,  by  the  Gare- 
loch,  Lochgoile,  and  Loch  Eck. — The  Gareloch,  49. — Carrick  Castle;  Lochgoile, 
50.— Holy  Loch,  51.— Loch  Eck,  52.— Glen  Aray,  53.— Loch  Awe ;  Port  Sonachan ; 
Glen  Nant,  54. — Oban  to  Inverness.  Loch  Linnlie,  55. — Island  of  lasmore ;  Auch- 
indown,  56. — Fort- William ;  Maryburgh,  57. — Ben  Nevis,  58. — Lochaber ;  Castle 
of  Inverlochy,  59. — Battle  at  Inverlochy  60. — Bannavie,  61. — Monument  at  Cor- 
pach,  62.— General  Character  of  the  Great  Glen,  63.— Tor  Castle,  64.— First  Skir- 
mish in  1745,  65. — Loch  Lochy;  Achnacarry;  Sir  Ewen  Cameron  of  Lochiel,  66. — 
Battle  of  Cean,  Loch  Lochy,  67. — Laggan;  The  Kennedies;  The  late  Glengarry,  68. 
—Loch  Oich ;  Invergarry  Castle,  69 ;  The  Well  of  the  Heads,  70.— Loch  Oich  to 
Fort  Augustus,  71.— Fort-Augustus,  72.— Loch  Ness,  73. — Invermoriston,  74. — Falls 
of  Foyers,  75. — Bolesltine;  Inverfarikaig,  76. — Bona,  or  Bonessia;  Loch  Doch- 
four,  77;  Dochfour  to  Inverness,  78. — Caledonian  Canal. — Adaptation  of  the 
Great  Glen  for  a  Canal,  79. — Survey  and  Report  by  James  Watt,  80. — Reasons  for 
the  formation  of  the  Canal;  Telford  and  Jessop's  survey,  81. — General  descrip- 
tion of  the  Canal,  82.— Cost  till  1827,  when  first  opened,  83.— Imperfect  state  of 
the  undertaking  at  this  period,  84. — Report  by  Mr  Walker  in  1838,  and  nautical 
investigation  by  Sir  W.  Edward  Parry,  85. — Completion  of  the  Works  by  Messrs 
Jackson  and  Bean  in  1843-7,  86. — Additional  outlay ;  Extent  of  accommodation 
for  vessels  and  of  traffic  now,  87. — Incorporation  with  the  Crinan  Canal,  and 
Commission  of  Management,  88. — Adaptation  of  Inverness  and  line  of  the  Canal 
for  Manufactories,  89. — Prospective  results  to  the  Commerce  of  the  Highlands, 
90. — Southey's  tribute  to  the  memory  of  Telford,  91. — Roads  along  the  Great 
Glen,  92. — Fort-Augustus  to  Invermoriston ;  Lower  part  of  Glenmoriston,  93. — 
Invermoriston  to  Drumnadrochet,  94. — Aultsigh  Burn;  Raid  of  Cillie-Christ,  95. 
Glen  Urquhart ;  The  Falls  of  Dhivach,  96. — Drumnadrochet  to  Inverness,  97. — 
Fort  Augustus  to  Foyers ;  Vale  of  Killin,  98. — Stratherrick ;  The  River  Foyers, 
99.— The  General's  Hut,  100.— The  Pass  of  Inverfarikaig,  101.— Inverfarikaig  to 
Dores,  102.— Dores  to  Inverness,  103. 


64  DIVERSITY   OF    ROUTES  SECT.  III. 

By  Crinan  Canal. 

Miles.  Miles. 

Glasgow  to  Greenock —  26 

Rothesay    19  45 

Tarbet  ". 27  72 

Lochgilphead   13  85 

Crinan  Canal    9  94 

Easdale 20  114 

Oban 15  129 

Appin 12  141 

Bannavie  21  162 

Loch  Lochy,  S.W.  end  7J  1694 

LochLochy  10  1794 

Fort-Augustus 11  190| 

Loch  Ness 23f  214| 

Muirtown  Locks  6f  221 

Inverness  1  222 

By  Loch  Lomond. 

Glasgow  to  Dumbarton 14          14 

Balloch 5          19 

Loch  Lomond  30  49 

Crianlarich    9          58 

Tyndrum  3J        61£ 

Dalmally  124. 

Taynuilt    12 

Connel  Ferry 6 

Oban 5 

From  Tyndrum 354, 

From  Glasgow  97 

Iriverouran    9          70- 

King's  House    9          79- 

BaUachulish      16          95 

Fort  William    14  109: 

%        Spean  Bridge   8  117- 

Letterfinlay , 8  12* 

Invergarry    74  133 

Fort-Augustus 7f  1404 

Invermoriston  7  147* 

Drumnadrochet   13  160* 

Inverness  14  174| 

By  Inverary. 

Glasgow  to  Dumbarton 14 

Luss  12$        264 

Tarbet    8          34| 

Arroquhar 1$        36 

Cairndow ..  14          50 


ROUTE  I.  AND    THEIR    CHARACTERISTICS.  65 

Miles. 

Inverary    9f 

Dalmally  16 

Taynuilt    12 

By  Portsonachan 21  £ 

Oban 11 


1.  THE  circuit  from  the  metropolis  of  the  west  of  Scotland  to  that 
of  the  Highlands,  by  the  coasts  of  Argyleshire  and  through  the 
Great  Glen,  is  the  route  most  frequented  by  the  crowds  of 
tourists  attracted  each  succeeding  season  to  the  north  of  our 
island.  In  this  tour  great  variety  of  choice  may  be  indulged, 
as  one  has  the  power  of  making  the  whole  journey  by  steamer, 
through  the  Kyles  of  Bute  and  the  Crinan  Canal — of  being 
transported  by  coach  either  to  Oban  or  Fort- William,  with  a 
water  trip  intervening  on  Loch  Lomond.  Or  the  traveller  may 
take  Inverary  on  the  way;  to  it  again,  selecting  as  it  may  be 
either  of  the  accesses  by  Loch  Lomond,  the  Gareloch,  Loch 
Long,  Loch  Goil,  Loch  Eck,  or  Loch  Fyne.  As  each  and  all  of 
these  lines  of  direction  are  replete  with  the  very  finest  features 
of  mountain  and  water  scenery,  and  converge  upon  the  western 
extremity  of  the  Great  Glen  of  Scotland,  with  its  chain  of  in- 
land lakes  connected  by  the  Caledonian  Canal,  and  uniting  the 
Moray  Firth  with  Loch  Linnhe,  which  respectively  at  either 
end  prolong  this  grand  valley  into  the  German  and  Atlantic 
Oceans,  the  attractions  of  this  favourite  route  can  be  readily 
understood.  There  is,  indeed,  certainly  nothing  within  the 
compass  of  the  British  islands  at  all  to  be  compared  with  it  in 
point  of  extent  of  continuous  grandeur,  diversity,  and  beauty. 
The  whole  is  singularly  magnificent,  and  far  from  palling  by 
repetition,  each  new  peregrination  will  be  found  to  add  fresh 
zest  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  incomparable  scenery  through 
which  we  are  conducted.  Now,  too,  the  steamers  and  other 
conveyances  are  of  a  much  improved  class,  and  large  and  com- 
modious inns  have  been  erected  at  Ardrishaig,  on  the  Crinan, 
and  at  Bannavie,  on  the  Caledonian  Canals  ;  the  access  to  this 
last  being  further  improved  by  the  construction  of  a  suspension 
bridge  across  the  river  Lochy,  near  Fort-William.  The  whole 
distance  is  accomplished  in  from  a  day  and  a  half  to  two  days 
— the  intermediate  night  (by  steamer)  being  spent  at  Bannavie 
on  the  way  north,  and  at  Oban  on  the  way  south.  Coaching 
between  Glasgow  and  Fort- William  or  Oban  makes  no  differ- 
D  2 


66  THE   RIVER   CLYDE.  SECT.  III. 

ence  in  time,  except  on  the  journey  north  by  Oban,  as  the  coaches 
do  not  arrive  in  time  for  the  same  day's  steamer.  The  Messrs. 
Burns  of  Glasgow,  into  whose  hands  the  great  bulk  of  the 
traffic  alongst  the  routes  in  question  has  passed — though  after 
all  but  a  trifling  branch  of  their  very  extended  establishments 
— are  laying  themselves  out  by  a  constant  adaptation  of  the 
resources  at  their  command,  to  the  increasing  demands  of  the 
public,  to  afford  accommodations  in  every  department  of  a 
superior  order,  and  to  provide  ample  facilities  of  communication 
in  every  eligible  direction,  and  at  very  moderate  charges. 
Of  these  different  routes,  that 

By  the  Crinan  Canal, 

as  longer  familiar  to  the  public,  may  with  propriety  take  pre- 
cedence. 

2.  This  route  is  entirely  a  marine  excursion.  There  is  no 
land  journey.  But  the  steamers'  pathway  is  so  completely 
landlocked,  that  there  are  no  high  seas  to  be  encountered,  though 
at  times,  in  passing  the  Slate  Islands,  the  swell  from  the  At- 
lantic in  fresh  weather  may  somewhat  discompose  unaccus- 
tomed constitutions. 

We  must  leave  to  others  the  description  of  the  great  empo- 
rium of  the  commerce,  wealth,  and  enterprise  of  Scotland. 
Wending  our  way  then  at  once  to  the  Broomielaw,  we  embark 
in  one  of  the  well-appointed  swift  steamers  which  now  daily 
during  the  season — besides  luggage  boats  all  the  year — convey 
their  respective  quota  of  passengers  to  Inverness  and  the  places 
intermediate.  The  channel  of  the  river  Clyde  being  now  deep- 
ened, so  as  to  admit  vessels  of  large  draught  up  to  Glasgow,  its 
wharves  are  found  crowded  with  shipping  and  steamers  of  all 
sizes  and  dimensions.  Along  the  river  banks  are  seen  the  hulls 
of  immense  iron  and  other  steam-vessels,  in  various  stages  of 
progress,  the  Clyde  shipbuilders  and  machinists  having  attained 
a  high  reputation ;  and  the  tall  receding  chimney  stalks  giving 
out  incessant  volumes  of  murky  smoke — that  of  St.  Rollox  far 
pre-eminent,  reaching  as  it  does  a  height  of  more  than  400  feet, 
continue  to  testify  to  that  manufacturing  industry,  of  which 
our  sojourn  in  the  city  had  already  furnished  perhaps  over- 
abundant proofs.  Imposing  lines  of  buildings  extend  in  the 
back  ground  on  the  north,  and  numerous  villas  bedeck  the  face 


ROUTFI.  DUMBARTON   CASTLE.  67 

of  tie  country  on  the  south  bank.  About  a  couple  of  miles 
dojm  the  river  the  villages  of  Govan  on  the  left,  and  of  Partick 
on  the  right  hand,  meet  the  eye.  On  either  hand  the  country 
is  low  but  fertile  ;  and  as  the  boat  passes  along,  some  fine  man- 
sions, as  Jordanhill  and  Scotstown,  Elderslie  and  Blythswood, 
claim  attention.  About  six  miles  down,  the  house  tops  of  the 
ancient  burgh  of  Renfrew  are  descried  on  the  left,  and  further 
inland  the  smoke  of  Paisley  indicates  its  position.  Some  miles 
on,  passing  the  villages  of  Old  and  New  Kilpatrick,  the  birth- 
place of  St.  Patrick,  we  come  to  Port  Dunglas,  and  the  re- 
mains of  its  Roman  fortress,  marking  the  western  extremity  of 
the  old  Roman  wall  or  Graham's  Dyke  which  extended  between 
the  two  firths,  and  to  Bowling  Bay,  at  the  termination  of  the 
Forth  and  Clyde  Canal.  Here  a  small  obelisk  commemorates 
the  enterprise  and  ingenuity  of  Mr.  Henry  Bell,  who  originated 
that  steamer  traffic  to  which  the  Clyde  owes  so  much  of  its 
opulence.  On  the  southern  shore,  as  we  near  Dumbarton,  Blan- 
tyre  House  (Lord  Blantyre),  a  princely  mansion,  commands 
admiration  from  its  extent  and  elegance,  and  finely  wooded 
parks.  On  the  north  the  Kilpatrick  trap  hills  run  in  upon  the 
water. 

3.  Dumbarton's  isolated  rock,  protruded  to  an  elevation  of 
upwards  of  200  feet,  at  the  confluence  of  the  Leven  and  Clyde 
on  the  north  side  of  the  latter  river,  with  its  bristling  batteries, 
forms  a  conspicuous  object  in  a  landscape  of  surpassing  rich- 
ness and  brilliancy.  It  is  basaltic,  and  in  many  place  colum- 
nar, and  is  split  into  twin  summits.  The  governor's  house 
stands  in  a  recess  on  the  south  side,  not  much  above  the  base 
of  the  rock  :  from  it  a  steep  ascent,  by  flights  of  steps  between 
a  narrow  gap,  conducts  to  the  confined  space  between  the  two 
summits,  at  the  further  end  of  which  are  erected  the  armoury 
and  the  barracks.  The  former  contains  1500  stand  of  arms  ;  the 
latter  can  accommodate  about  150  men.  Within  the  memory  of 
man,  the  entrance  was  by  a  footpath  up  the  sloping  bank  formed 
of  debris  on  the  north  side.  In  the  armoury  is  kept  Wallace's 
great  double-handed  sword,  an  interesting  memento  of  the 
mighty  dead.  The  guns  of  the  fortress,  sixteen  in  number,  are 
arranged  about  the  governor's  house,  in  the  face  of  the  highest 
roqk,  nearly  in  the  same  line,  and  pointing  down  the  firth, 
behind  the  barracks,  and  on  the  top  of  the  lower  eminence. 
A  very  old  fragment  of  masonry  remains  on  the  latter,  but 


68  DUMBARTON  CASTLE.  SiCT.  HI. 

coeval  with  what  period  tradition  gives  no  note.  In  ''  Bal- 
clutha's  walls  of  Towers,"  mentioned  by  Ossian,  we  recognise 
Dumbarton's  castellated  rock.  It  was  the  capital  of  the  Strath- 
clyde  Britons.  Alcluith  is  mentioned  by  Bede  as  urbs  muni- 
tissima  ;  and  the  possession  of  it  being  always  regarded  as  a 
matter  of  importance,  it  figures  repeatedly  in  the  stormy  his- 
tory of  our  country.  Still  it  was  not  one  of  the  four  principal 
fortresses  given  to  the  English  in  1174,  in  security  of  the  ran- 
som of  William  the  Lion,  and  it  is  believed  to  have  been  at 
that  time  only  the  principal  residence  of  the  Earls  of  Lennox, 
the  third  of  whom,  Maldwin,  surrendered  it  into  the  hands  of 
Alexander  II.  On  one  occasion  it  was  the  scene  of  a  most 
adventurous  exploit.  We  allude  to  the  perilous  but  successful 
escalade  by  Crawford  of  Jordanhill,  during  Queen  Mary's  reign. 
While  in  the  possession  of  her  partisans,  this  officer  of  the 
Regent  Lennox,  with  a  few  followers,  on  the  2d  May  1571, 
achieved  the  daring  enterprise  of  scaling  the  dizzy  precipice, 
under  cloud  of  night,  surmounting  in  their  progress  an  unex- 
pected and  a  very  embarrassing  difficulty.  One  of  the  party, 
in  ascending  a  ladder,  was  seized  with  a  fit  of  epilepsy.  As 
the  profoundest  silence  was  necessary,  the  most  imminent 
hazard  arose  of  their  being  discovered  by  the  man's  falling,  or 
the  noise  unavoidable  in  attempting  his  removal.  The  expe- 
dient however  was  promptly  adopted,  of  making  him  fast  to 
the  ladder,  which  was  then  turned,  and  his  comrades  were  thus 
enabled  to  pass,  and  reach  the  summit  unobserved. 

A  striking  picture  is  presented  as  we  pass  the  mouth  of  the 
Leven,  when  the  town  behind  the  castle,  and  its  ship-building 
yards,  and  its  glass-house  cones,  combine  with  the  castellated 
rock  as  a  foreground  to  the  fair  and  fertile  vale  of  Leven, 
bounded  in  the  distance  by  the  pyramidal  summit  of  "  the 
lofty  Benlomond."  The  panorama  from  the  top  of  the  castle 
rock  is  extensive,  varied,  and  beautiful,  of  the  river  and  Firth 
of  Clyde,  the  Leven,  and  the  Highlands  girdling  in  various 
but  unseen  fresh  and  salt-water  lochs.  An  eminence  ou  the 
elevated  ground,  intermediate  between  the  Leven  and  the  Gare- 
loch,  and  not  far  from  Dumbarton,  is  interesting,  as  the  site  of 
the  castle  in  which  Robert  Bruce  frequently  resided,  and  in 
which  he  died. 

4.  We  are  now  fairly  on  the  expanding  bosom  of  the  Firth, 
skirted  by  fertile  sloping  shores,  diversified  with  intermingling 


KOL'TE^I.         POET-GLASGOW GREENOCK,  ETC.  69 

woods.  At  Port  Glasgow,  now  somewhat  of  a  misnomer,  as  it 
continues  but  partially  to  fulfil  that  relation,  Newark  Castle, 
a  large  quadrangular  pile  by  the  sea,  with  numerous  chimney 
stalks  and  hanging  turrets,  momentarily  recalls  us  from  the 
busy  present  to  the  days  of  other  years.  On  the  opposite  coast 
the  long  extending  houses  of  Helensburgh,  one  of  the  favourite 
sea-bathing  villages  which  abound  on  the  Clyde,  mark  the 
entrance  to  the  Gareloch,  concealed  behind  the  wooded  penin- 
sula of  Roseneath,  on  which  may  be  descried  an  elegant  Italian 
villa,  a  seat  of  the  Argyle  family. 

Greenock,  the  birth  place  of  Watt,  is  an  important  and  bust- 
ling sea-port.  Its  prolonged  and  many-peopled  quay,  with  its 
spacious  and  handsome  custom-house,  backed  by  docks  filled 
with  shipping,  is  all  alive  with  the  hurry  of  arriving  and  depart- 
ing steamers. 

The  reach  of  the  Firth  to  the  Cloch  Light-house,  where  the 
coast  line  bends  to  the  south,  is  one  of  uncommon  character. 
On  the  north  its  waters  sweep  backwards  to  the  circling  hills, 
amongst  which  they  indent  themselves  in  the  embracing  arms 
of  the  Holy  Loch,  Loch  Goil,  and  Loch  Long.  Holy  Loch  is 
studded  with  an  uninterrupted  zone  of  neat  and  ornamental  and 
cheerful  villas,  forming  and  connecting  the  villages  of  Duncon 
and  Kilmun.  On  the  south  the  villas  adjoining  Greenock  and 
Gourock  equally  betoken  the  eager  concourse  of  the  teeming 
population  of  Glasgow  for  the  enjoyment  of  the  healthful  in- 
fluences of  salt  water  and  the  sea  breeze.  The  shores  around 
are  lined  with  one  beauteous  frame  of  cultivated  and  wooded 
slopes.  The  sterner  features  of  alpine  scenery  in  the  ranges 
of  high  and  rugged  mountains  to  the  north,  contrast  with  the 
softer  graces  impressed  by  the  hand  of  art  on  the  low  grounds. 
Steam-boats  glide  along  the  water,  while  trading  vessels,  with, 
it  may  be,  a  sprinkling  of  yachts  and  pleasure  boats,  with  less 
undeviating  speed,  are  fain  to  woo  the  uncertain  breeze.  It  is 
difficult  to  conceive,  without  witnessing,  the  thoroughfare  of 
steamers  which  the  Clyde  presents.  In  the  season  the  streets 
of  Glasgow  are  almost  literally  deserted  by  the  fairer  portion 
of  the  inhabitants,  who  flock  to  summer  quarters  on  the  Clyde, 
some  as  far  removed  as  Rothesay,  Largs,  Ardrossan,  and  Arran, 
distances  of  forty  to  fifty  miles  and  more,  while  their  lords  (of 
the  married  portion)  find  their  way  down  as  often  during  the 
week  as  circumstances  permit ;  but  on  the  Saturdays,  or  on 


70  DDNOON  CASTLE.  SECT.  III. 

Friday  afternoons,  they  literally  crowd  the  steamers'  dects,  as 
fully  bent  on  holiday  relaxation  as  when  in  schoolboy  days  they 
made  weekly  escape  from  restraint,  returning  to  their  several 
avocations  on  the  Monday  morning.  The  privilege  to  the  po- 
pulation of  such  a  ready  and  noble  outlet  is  unspeakable,  while 
the  consequent  enrichment  of  the  coast,  with  the  enlivening 
movement  of  this  living  tide,  co-operate  to  heighten  the  at- 
tractions of  this  magnificent  estuary,  which,  taken  all  in  all,  is 
unrivalled  in  the  three  kingdoms.  The  cabin  fares  are  less 
than  a  penny,  in  some  instances  not  exceeding  a  halfpenny,  a 
mile.  All  this  life  upon  the  water  is,  notwithstanding  the 
rivalry  of  a  parallel  line  of  railway  from  Glasgow  to  Greenock, 
another  by  Paisley  to  Ardrossan,  and  now  a  third  in  progress 
on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  to  connect  the  city  with  Loch 
Lomond. 

5.  On  a  green  rocky  knoll  projecting  from  the  centre  of  the 
village  of  that  name,  are  the  foundation  walls  of  the  ancient 
Castle  of  Dunoon,  which  seems  to  have  been  little  more  than  a 
single  tower.    It  originally  owned  the  hereditary  High-stewards 
of  Scotland  as  its  proprietors  ;    and  it  was  bestowed  on  the 
Argyle  family  by  the  crown  in  return  for  the  important  ser- 
vices rendered  in  aid  of  Robert  the  Steward,  in  Edward  II.'s 
reign,  by  Sir  Colin  Campbell  of  Lochow.     Dunoon  Castle  was 
taken  by  Edward  Baliol,  and  retaken  by  Robert  Stewart,  grand- 
son of  Robert  Bruce,  about  the  year  1334.     It  was  a  favourite 
place  of  resort  of  that  monarch  for  the  enjoyment  of  the  chase. 
On  one  of  these  occasions  an  attempt  to  surprise  him  was  made 
by  Aymer  de  Valence,  accompanied  by  1500  horsemen  ;  but  the 
Bruce  having  got  intimation  of  the  design,  encountered  and 
defeated  them  in  Glenderuel.     Dunoon  Castle  was  also  taken 
in  1544  by  the  Earl  of  Lennox,  after  a  gallant  resistance  by  the 
Earl  of  Argyle.     It  formed  the  residence  of  the  Argyle  family 
till  about  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century.      Dunoon  was 
also  a  Diocesan  residence  at  one  period.     It  is  now  one  of  the 
most  fashionable  bathing-places  on  the  Clyde. 

6.  The  steamer's  course  now  keeps  the  northern  or  western 
shore,  but  the  Ayrshire  coast  is  sufficiently  near  to  enable  us 
to  appreciate  the  range  of  low  beach,  surmounted  by  hanging 
woods,  verdant  pastures,  and  corn-fields.      Various  little  en- 
chanting indentations  as  at  Innerkip — where  Ardgowan,  the 
mansion  of  Sir  Michael  Shaw  Stewart,  peers  forth  from  an 


ROUTE  I. 


BATTLE  OF  THE  LARGS.  71 


affluence  of  foliage  mantling  the  hill-sides  ;  and  Wemyss  Bay, 
each  present  their  clustering  villas  ;  and  marine  residences  of 
manufacturing  and  commercial  magnates  continue  to  dot  the 
shore  line  on  either  hand.  At  the  Bay  of  Largs  there  is  a  vil- 
lage of  some  pretensions — another  at  Fairlie  of  smaller  size, 
but  almost  wholly  composed  of  handsome  residences,  with  en- 
closed garden-grounds  of  exuberant  vegetation,  and  those  near 
the  water's  edge  each  provided  with  its  appurtenance  of  a  boat- 
house.  But  these  places  are  barely  discernible.  Largs  is  re- 
markable as  the  scene  of  the  great  battle,  or  more  correctly,  of 
the  series  of  desperate  skirmishes,  in  which  Haco,  King  of  Nor- 
way, was  defeated,  with  great  slaughter,  in  1263,  and  the  power 
of  Norway  in  the  west  of  Scotland  irretrievably  broken  by  the 
Scottish  army  under  Alexander  III.  A  curious  sarcophagus, 
quite  entire,  formed  by  huge  and  undressed  slabs,  on  a  plateau 
immediately  above  the  extremity  of  Largs,  on  the  Fairlie  road, 
would  seem  to  indicate  the  thick  of  the  fray,  or  the  spot  where 
some  great  leader  fell. 

In  front  of  us,  as  we  advance,  the  Island  of  Bute  to  the 
north,  with  the  small  isles  of  the  Cumbrays  towards  the  Ayr- 
shire coast,  and  between  and  beyond  the  highly  imposing  ele- 
vation of  the  Island  of  Arran,  Goatfell,  and  contiguous  peaks, 
conspicuous  amongst  its  lofty  and  rugged  summits,  form  a  fine 
and  varied  screen.  In  the  remote  distance  we  may  detect  the 
conical  form  of  Ailsa  Craig. 

7.  On  to  the  Point  of  Toward,  the  extremity  of  the  penin- 
sula of  Cowal,  are  a  lighthouse  and  the  ruins  of  Castle  Toward, 
the  ancient  stronghold  of  the  Laments,  and  a  splendid  modern 
mansion  of  the  same  name,  the  seat  of Finlay,  Esq. 

Of  the  old  castle,  which  stood  on  a  detached  mound  in  front 
of  a  now  wooded  hill  a  little  westward  of  the  Point,  but  a 
single  tower  remains.  The  offices  of  the  modern  building  are 
erected  as  for  an  outwork  and  gate  of  entrance  to  the  castle,  of 
which  the  design  is  showy,  but  wanting  in  the  massiveness  and 
imposing  effect  of  the  gloomy  strongholds  of  the  olden  time. 
On  passing  the  east  coast  of  Bute,  Mount  Stewart,  the  seat  of 
the  Marquis  of  Bute,  comes  into  view.  Should  the  tourist's 
arrangements  lead  him  to  a  sojourn  on  the  island,  he  will  be 
much  gratified  by  the  great  growth  of  the  timber  and  extensive 
range  of  the  woods  about  this  seat,  and  he  will  find  here,  too, 
a  fine  collection  of  paintings. 


72  ROTHESAY.  SECT.  III. 

8.  The  Island  of  Bute  is  nearly  eighteen  miles  long  by 
five  broad.  Rothesay,  an  ancient  burgh,  is  a  favourite  resort, 
in  summer,  of  the  inhabitants  of  Glasgow.  Its  crescent-shaped 
and  deeply  imbedded  bay  is  well  protected  by  the  encircling 
hills.  The  population  is  about  4000  ;  and,  depending  partly 
on  letting  lodgings,  the  villas  about  are  numerous,  and  varied 
in  their  style  and  sizes,  and  much  attention  is  paid  to  the 
cleanliness  of  the  place,  while  its  fine  and  well-filled  •  harbour 
lends  it  unusual  animation  and  interest.  The  fineness  of  the 
climate  adds  a  fresh  charm  to  the  wayfarer  in  the  luxuriant 
shrubberies  fronting  the  bay — fuchsias,  in  particular,  attaining 
quite  a  remarkable  size  ;  while  its  salubrity  recommends  it 
to  the  invalid  for  the  invigorating  of  the  bodily  frame.  The 
principal  inns  are  the  Bute  Arms  and  the  Clydesdale.  This 
town,  in  addition  to  its  healthy  and  romantic  situation,  is  ren- 
dered interesting  by  the  ruins  of  its  magnificent,  old,  and  ivy- 
cased  castle,  which  is  supposed  to  have  been  built  in  the 
eleventh  century,  and  was  long  a  royal  palace,  and  the  scene 
of  the  death  of  Robert  III.  Rothesay  Castle  was  reduced 
by  Haco,  King  of  Norway,  in  his  expedition  in  1263,  and  was 
subsequently  held  by  Rudric,  one  of  his  officers,  whose  daugh- 
ter intermarried  with  the  Stewards,  its  previous  possessors. 
The  building  is  of  considerable  extent,  there  being  connected 
with  the  palace  a  spacious  circular  court,  about  140  feet  in 
diameter,  formed  by  high  and  thick  ivy-cased  walls  ;  on  the 
outside  of  which  a  terraced  walk  extends  around  the  castle, 
separated  from  the  adjoining  grounds  by  a  wide  and  deep 
ditch.  This  castle  was  partially  injured  by  Cromwell's  sol- 
diers ;  and  the  work  of  destruction  was  completed  by  a 
brother  of  the  Earl  of  Argyle  in  1685.  Close  by  the  castle 
is  a  large  new  jail  and  court-house.  Several  graceful  church 
spires  serve  to  make  up  a  most  striking  picture  from  the 
water,  especially  where  the  towering  ridges  of  Arran  come 
into  view  in  the  back  ground.  A  green  knoll  on  the  west 
side  of  the  bay,  surmounted  by  the  ruins  of  an  old  chapel, 
commands  a  view  of  a  low  valley  which  stretches  across  the 
island  to  Scalpsie  Bay  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  island,  and 
containing  the  waters  of  Loch  Fad,  but  slightly  elevated 
above  high  water  mark.  This  valley  is  finely  cultivated,  and 
intersected  by  large  ash,  sycamore,  and  beech  ;  and  on  a  ridge, 
descending  into  it,  stands  the  parish  church,  and  the  remains 


ROUTE  I.      KYLES  OF  BUTE ARGYLE*S  EXPEDITION.  73 

of  a  Roman  Catholic  chapel,  in  the  walls  of  which,  under  two 
canopied  recesses,  are  full-sized  effigies  in  stone,  which,  with 
one  in  the  centre  of  the  floor,  are  locally  held  to  represent  three 
brothers,  called  "  the  stout  Stewarts  of  Bute,"  companions  in 
arms  of  Sir  William  Wallace,  and  who  fell  at  the  battle  of  Fal- 
kirk.  The  shores  of  Loch  Fad  were  selected  by  Kean  the 
tragedian  as  a  place  of  residence. 

9.  The  Kyles  of  Bute,  in  their  general  character,  are  exceed- 
ingly pleasing,  as  they  wind  between  moderately-sized  hills  of 
undulating  and  unbroken   outline,  frequently  sinking   sheer 
upon  the  water,  and  seeming  to  landlock  the  passage  ;  heathy 
towards  their  summits,  but  verdant  below,  and  there  fringed 
with  irregular,  waving  lines  of  copse-wood  and  young  planta- 
tions and  stripes  of  cultivated  ground.     Mingled  agricultural 
and  pastoral  features,  with  successive  headlands  and  windings 
of  the  sea,  are  the  characteristics  which  thus  distinguish  the 
Kyles.     Yet,  from  want  of  any  marked  features,  perhaps  the 
general  impression  is  rather  one  of  disappointment.     At  the 
head  of  Loch  Strevan  we  perceive  the  terminating  chains  of  the 
Highland  mountains  disposed  in  several  lofty  rather  detached 
rounded  cones,  verdant  but  devoid   of  trees  ;  while   towards 
Toward  Point  the  softening  ranges  subside  in  wooded  and  culti- 
vated slopes.     About  two  miles  from  Rothesay  the  steam-boat 
passes  the  bay  and  village  of  Port  Bannatyne  on  the  Bute  shore 
at  the  east  end,  with  Kaims  Castle,  an  old  castellated  mansion, 
at  the  head  of  the  bay.    'Opposite  Rothesay  is  the  house  of 
Achinwillan. 

10.  At  the  entrance  of  Loch  Ridden,  on  the  right,  and 
about  the  centre  of  the  Kyles,  on  the  islet  of  Eilangreig,  are 
seen  the  ruins  of  a  castle  which  was  garrisoned  in  1685  by  the 
Earl  of  Argyle  in  his  unsuccessful  enterprise,  and  dismantled 
by  some  English  ships  sent  for  the  purpose. 

Argyle,  having  opposed,  and  afterwards  refused  to  subscribe, 
a  test  which  was  devised  by  government  against  the  free  prin- 
ciples cherished  by  the  more  determined  friends  of  Protestant- 
ism, had  been  tried  and  condemned  as  guilty  of  treason  ;  but 
he  contrived  to  effect  his  escape  from  Edinburgh  Castle,  and 
took  refuge  in  Holland.  Here,  with  other  disaffected  refugees 
of  distinction,  he  concerted  an  expedition  to  Scotland,  and  sailed 
from  Rotterdam  with  three  ships  and  about  300  men  ;  the 
Duke  of  Monmouth,  at  the  same  time,  taking  charge  of  a  similar 


74  LOCH  FYNE EAST  TARBERT.      SECT.' III. 

small  armament  to  make  a  descent  on  the  coast  of  England. 
Partly  from  want  of  due  precaution  in  the  Orkneys,  intelligence 
of  Argyle's  movements  and  force  was  furnished  to  government, 
so  that  adequate  preparations  were  made  to  oppose  him.  He 
however  collected  a  small  army  of  2500  of  his  own  and  other 
clans  ;  but,  remaining  too  long  inactive  in  Argyleshire,  he  was 
hemmed  in  by  superior  numbers  ;  and,  his  followers  being  even- 
tually obliged  to  disperse,  he  was  taken  prisoner  at  Inchinnan, 
near  Renfrew,  carried  to  Edinburgh,  and  beheaded  on  the  26th 
June,  1685,  meeting  death  with  distinguished  fortitude.  Mon- 
mouth,  equally  unfortunate,  suffered  a  like  fate  on  Tower  Hill. 
Argyle  had  deposited  his  stores,  to  the  amount  of  5000  stand 
of  arms,  and  300  barrels  of  gunpowder,  in  Eilangreig,  under 
the  charge  of  a  garrison  of  150  men,  who  abandoned  the  castle, 
without  offering  any  resistance,  to  a  royal  squadron,  which  also 
captured  Argyle's  vessels,  and  destroyed  the  fortifications. 

11.  Passing  on  the  left  the  dark  mountains  of  Arran,  from 
every  point  of  view  a  striking  group,  from  their  beetling  pre- 
cipices and  strongly  defined  outlines,  and  rounding  Ardlamont 
Point,  the  steamer  enters  Loch  Fyne.  Skipness  Castle,  to  be 
seen  on  the  coast  of  Cantyre,  was  one  of  the  most  capacious 
strongholds  in  the  Highlands  ;  being  surrounded  by  a  high  and 
extensive  wall,  and  the  area  subdivided  by  a  cross  wall  into 
two  compartments,  within  one  of  which  stands  the  ancient 
square  keep  of  four  storeys,  still  inhabited  ;  having  also  two 
other  small  projecting  square  towers.  The  shores  of  Cowal,  on 
the  right,  are  low  and  uninteresting,  and  the  hills  without  cha- 
racter; the  Knapdale  coast  pretty  high,  wild,  and  unattractive. 

East  Tarbert  Bay,  where  a  narrow  isthmus  joins  Knapdale 
with  Cantyre,  surrounded  with  exceedingly  bare,  rough,  rocky 
knolls,  with  the  frowning  ruins  of  its  castle,  is  uninviting,  so 
that  there  is  no  room  for  regret  that  we  are  denied  a  close 
inspection  ;  but  the  bay  is  a  secure  anchorage,  and  the  village 
a  flourishing  one,  and  contains  an  excellent  inn.  The  ancient 
keep,  of  four  storeys,  perched  on  a  high  rock,  near  the  entrance 
on  the  southern  shore,  with  the  hanging  ruined  outer  wall, 
which  encircled  a  very  irregular  area,  perhaps  two  acres  in 
extent,  and  within  which  may  have  been  a  whole  colony  of  huts, 
besides  the  garrison,  and  larger  buildings,  are  all  that  remain 
of  the  old  castle  which  was  built  by  Robert  the  Bruce.  Like 
Skipness  on  the  same  coast  of  Cantyre,  the  tower  has  its  stair- 


ROUTE  I.    CKINAN  CANAL CRINAN  TO  OBAN.          75 

case  in  the  heart  of  the  strong  thick  wall,  and  has  no  corner 
turrets :  the  rooms  were  small,  but  plastered  ;  and  the  outer 
screens  had  large  round  towers  at  intervals,  two  in  particular, 
between  which  was  the  main  approach,  but  none  entire.  Ivy 
and  rank  grass  overtop  the  whole.  A  scheme  was  of  late  years 
projected  for  uniting  East  and  West  Loch  Tarbert  by  a  canal, 
which  would  have  been  of  importance,  particularly  to  the  trade 
of  Islay.  For  the  present  it  is  in  abeyance. 

12.  Arrived  near  the  thriving  village  of  Lochgilphead,  a 
disembarkation  takes  place,  the  windings  of  the  Crinan  Canal 
having  to  be  threaded  in  a  light  track  boat.     The  process,  and 
of  re-embarkation  again  into  another  steam  vessel  at  the  fur- 
ther extremity,  occasions  a  rather  disagreeable  anxiety  for  the 
safe  forwarding  of  one's  luggage,  though  the  attendants  are  very 
careful  in  seeing  after  the  transmission  of  every  package.   Still, 
there  might  be  some  amendment  in  regard  to  such  small  articles 
as  may  take  injury,  yet  prove  rather  cumbersome  to  carry  one's 
self.     The  variety  of  conveyance  is  in  itself  a  pleasing  change. 
This  canal,  intersecting  the  root  of  that  long  promontory  known 
by  the  name  of  Cantyre,  is  about  nine  miles  in  length.     From 
the  dimensions  of  the  locks,  which  in  this  short  space  are  no 
fewer  than  fifteen  in  number,  each  ninety-six  feet  in  length,  by 
twenty-four  in  breadth,  and  the  sharp  windings  of  the  water- 
way, its  utility  in  saving  the  doubling  of  the  Mull  of  Cantyre, 
which  is  both  tedious  and  hazardous,  is  confined  to  vessels  of 
small  burthen.      Cut  out  of  banks  of  mica  slate,  which  are 
surmounted  by  brushwood  and  trees,  and  festooned  with  honey- 
suckle and  other  plants,  while  an  extensive  moorland  accom- 
panies us  on  the  right,  the  navigation  is  highly  pleasing  and 
picturesque.     This  is  especially  so  at  the  outset,  where  the 
grounds  of  Achindarroch  House   or  Oakfield  (Campbell)  lie 
alongside,  and  on  the  other  hand,  Kilmorie  Castle  (Sir  John 
Ord)  embellishes  the  view. 

13.  Arrived  at  the  further  end,  and  on  board  the  steamer 
in  waiting  there,  as  the  detention  at  the  locks  generally  in- 
duces a  good  deal  of  walking,  all  parties  find  themselves  pretty 
well  prepared  to  appreciate  the  well-ordered  appointments  of 
the  dinner-table.     Quitting  the  Bay  of  Crinan,  Duntroon — a 
modernized  castle  ( Malcolm),  forms  a  conspicuous  ob- 
ject.    The  run  hence  to  Ardincaple  Point,  south  of  Kerrera 
Sound,  is  an  interesting  part  of  the  voyage.     The  numerous 


76  WHIRLPOOL    OF   COKRTVRECKAN.         SECT.    III. 

detached  objects,  islands,  mountains,  headlands,  bays,  and  in- 
lets, broken  up  into  successive  compartments,  in  their  rapid 
transmutations,  keep  the  attention  excited.  The  lofty  conical 
mountains,  hence  called  the  Paps  of  Jura,  are  objects  too  strik- 
ing not  to  be  alluded  to.  Off  the  point  of  Craignish,  near  the 
Bay  of  Crinan,  are  several  beautiful  and  picturesque  islands ; 
and  along  the  coast  the  trap  dykes  assume  fantastic  castellated 
appearances.  Loch  Craignish,  an  arm  of  the  sea,  is  distin- 
guished by  a  chain  of  islands  in  its  centre,  stretching  longitu- 
dinally alongst  it  in  a  line  parallel  with  the  shores,  and  com- 
posing, in  their  varied  bold  rocky,  and,  in  some  places,  culti- 
vated and  wooded  spaces,  with  similar  flanking  coasts,  a  land- 
scape peculiar  and  striking,  of  which  a  glimpse  is  obtained. 

14.  Corryvreckan,  the  strait  between  the  northern  extremity 
of  Jura  and  the  mountainous  island  of  Scarba,  possesses  a  wide- 
spread notoriety.   The  commotion  of  the  tides  pouring  through 
this  narrow  passage  is  heightened  by  a  large  sunk  rock.     This 
dangerous  communication   is  studiously  avoided  by  vessels  ; 
and  to  small  craft  at  certain  times  it  would  prove  sure  destruc- 
tion.    The  author  of  the  old  Statistical  Account  of  Jura  gives 
us  the  following  graphic  picture  of  this  whirlpool  : — "  The  gulf 
is  most  awful  with  the  flowing  tide  ;  in  stormy  weather  with 
that  tide  it  exhibits  an  aspect  in  which  a  great  deal  of  the  ter- 
rible is  blended.      Vast  openings  are  formed,  in  which,  one 
would  think,  the  bottom  might  be  seen ;  immense  bodies  of  water 
tumble  headlong  as  over  a  precipice,  then,  rebounding  from 
the  abyss,  they  dash  together  with  inconceivable  impetuosity, 
and  rise  foaming  to  a  prodigious  height  above  the  surface.   The 
noise  of  their  conflict  is  heard  throughout  the  surrounding 
islands." 

"  On  the  shores  of  Argyleshire,"  says  Campbell  the  poet, 
"  I  have  oftened  listened  to  the  sound  of  this  vortex,  at  the 
distance  of  many  leagues.  When  the  weather  is  calm,  and  the 
adjacent  sea  scarcely  heard  on  these  picturesque  shores,  its 
sound,  which  is  like  the  sound  of  innumerable  chariots,  creates 
a  magnificent  and  fine  effect."  Mariners  never  choose  to  tempt 
the%angers  of  this  gulf.  Vessels  of  burthen,  however,  can 
make  the  passage ;  and  at  particular  times  it  is  tranquil  enough 
for  boats  to  venture. 

15.  Nearing  Loch  Feochan,  the  steamer's  course  lies  through 
intricate  groupes  of  islands,  Luing,  Sell,  Shuna,  Lunga,  Eas- 


ROUTE    I.         ISLE   OF    KERRERA — DUNOLLY    CASTLE.  77 

dale,  and  many  others,  on  which  there  are  excellent  slate 
quarries.  These,  with  the  workmen's  houses,  and  vessels  ship- 
ping cargo,  are  an  animated  scene.  They  are  near  the  shore, 
and  the  steamer  runs  between  and  across  the  opening  of  Loch 
Melford. 

The  dark  mountainous  Island  of  Mull,  with  its  iron-bound 
shores,  and  the  hills  of  Morven,  famed  in  song,  are  now  seen  to 
close  in  the  seaward  view.  But  in  entering  on  that  long  stretch 
of  inland  sea  called  Loch  Linnhe,  the  attention  is  diverted  to 
the  eastern  coast,  by  the  intervention  of  the  long  Island  of 
Kerrera,  distinguished  by  the  ruins  at  its  southern  termination 
of  the  Danish  Fort  Gylen.  To  the  geologist  this  island  is  of 
peculiar  interest,  as  exhibiting  singular  junctions  of  primary, 
secondary,  and  trap  rocks,  and  a  curious  angular  conglomerate 
or  breccia.  The  circumstance  of  its  being  the  spot  where  King 
Alexander  II.  died  on  his  memorable  expedition  in  1249,  and 
the  place  of  rendezvous  where  Haco  of  Norway  a  few  years 
afterwards  met  his  island  chieftains,  who,  crowding  with  their 
galleys  to  assist  him  in  his  descent  on  the  coasts  of  Scotland, 
augmented  his  fleet  to  160  sail,  will  ever  command  for  Kerrera 
the  attention  of  the  antiquary. 

16.  Kerrera  forms  a  natural  breakwater  to  the  Bay  of  Oban, 
stretching  right  across,  and  rendering  it  a  peculiarly  secure  haven. 
The  bay  is  not  capacious,  but  is  flanked  by  nearly  parallel  wooded 
rocks,  and  hemmed  in  by  a  higher  rocky  frontlet,  at  the  base  of 
which  stretch  the  houses  of  the  village — a  long  line  of  neat  build- 
ings, chiefly  of  two  storeys,  slated  and  white- washed,  fronting  the 
water,  and  presenting  a  very  cheerful  and  pleasing  appearance. 
On  a  high,  isolated  rock,  forming  the  northern  promontory  of 
the  bay,  girt  by  perpendicular  precipices,  and  accessible  only 
on  one  side,  stands  Dunolly  Castle,  an  ivy-clad  square  keep,  an 
ancient  seat  of  the  Macdougals  of  Lorn,  descendants  of  the 
mighty  Somerled  of  the  Isles.  It  is  four  storeys  high  ;  but, 
with  the  exception  of  the  vaulted  dungeon,  which  is  still  en- 
tire, the  building  is  now  a  mere  shell.  Portions  are  standing 
of  a  wall  which,  springing  from  two  opposite  angles,  ran  along 
the  brink  of  the  rock,  enclosing  an  irregular  court.  Conspi- 
cuous on  the  face  of  the  rising  ground  behind  the  village,  a 
tasteful  Free  Church,  of  light  early  English  architecture,  with 
a  low  Norman  Tower  and  pointed  spire,  after  a  design  by 
Mr.  Pugin  has  been  lately  erected.  Nearly  opposite  the 


78  OBAN.  SECT.    III. 

quay  a  larger  and  loftier  elevation  indicates  the  Caledonian 
Hotel,  a  very  commodious  and  well-conducted  establishment. 
There  are  two  or  three  other  inns  of  less  pretensions,  and  a 
large  proportion  of  the  inhabitants  lay  themselves  out  for  the 
accommodation  of  lodgers.  Oban  being  a  place  of  great  resort 
in  the  season,  it  is  the  centre  of  steam  communication  on  the 
west  coast.  One  is  hardly  prepared,  in  so  remote  a  corner,  to 
find  on  some  days  of  the  week  as  many  at  times  as  nine  or  ten 
steamers  arriving  and  departing  daily.  There  is  a  daily  steamer, 
and,  on  certain  days,  as  many  as  three  steamers  to  Glasgow. 
One  every  day,  and  two  on  alternate  days,  to  Fort- William  and 
Inverness.  One  thrice  a  week — indeed  almost  daily — to  Staffa 
and  lona,  and  round  the  Island  of  Mull,  and  two  every  week  to 
Skye,  and  one  to  Stornoway.  There  are  besides  two  daily 
coaches,  one  from  Glasgow  by  Loch  Lomond,  the  other  from 
Inverary.  It  is  also  a  favourite  sea-bathing  quarter  and  place 
of  summer  residence.  Indeed,  in  the  months  of  July  and 
August,  it  literally  swarms  with  strangers.  Yet,  for  sea-bath- 
ing it  is  not  well  adapted.  The  water  is  all  that  could  be  de- 
sired, and  the  beach  is  pretty  good,  but  the  ground  along  shore 
is  so  confined,  that  there  is  little  privacy,  and  there  are  no 
bathing  machines.  This  is,  indeed,  a  general  want  on  the  west 
coast.  On  the  Clyde,  however,  the  houses  often  lining  the 
roadway  along  the  bathing  ground,  persons  can  dress  and 
undress  in-doors,  though  it  is  anything  but  seemly  in  the 
fair  sex  in  their  bathing  gear  to  cross  the  public  way  so 
unconcernedly  as  they  do.  But,  indeed,  the  good  people  of 
Oban  are  singularly  behind  hand  in  meeting  the  requirements 
which  one  would  suppose  to  be  indispensable  to  the  suitable 
lodgment  of  their  migratory  visitors,  if  not  to  their  own  com- 
fort. The  ground-storey  of  the  houses  being  chiefly  occupied 
with  shops — some  of  them  very  good — a  peculiar  mode  of 
access  to  the  upper  floor  prevails,  viz.,  by  a  passage  right 
through  the  dwelling,  and  then  up  an  outside  back  stone  stair- 
case. Thus,  and  from  close  contiguity,  the  back  areas  are  dis- 
agreeably overlooked — in  one  part  of  the  town  the  exposure  is 
heightened  by  the  back-ground  being  to  the  water  side.  Many 
of  the  houses  are  disgracefully  deficient  in  some  of  the  arrange- 
ments essential  to  the  decencies  of  life,  and  preservation  of 
health.  A  drawback  to  the  well-being  of  the  place  is  the  limit- 
ed supply  of  fresh  water,  which  would  probably  call  for  consi- 


ROUTE    I.  OBAN.  79 

derable  expense  to  remedy  by  artificial  contrivances.  Some 
more  unexceptionable  houses  are  springing  up  at  the  north  end 
of  the  village.  The  furniture  is  very  commonplace,  and  the 
apartments  plain  enough.  But  the  charges  are  high.  There 
is  no  regular  butcher  or  vegetable  market ;  the  supplies  are 
uncertain,  and  mostly  of  inferior  quality,  even  the  mutton 
being  ill-fed  and  scraggy  ;  and,  what  will  seem  more  strange, 
thei-e  is  but  little  fish  to  be  had.  A  good  deal  of  salmon  and 
salmon-trout  at  times,  but  only  so,  and  herring ;  but  there  is  no 
white  fish  caught  in  the  bay — what  is  exposed  for  sale,  and  that 
in  but  moderate  quantity,  being  brought  chiefly  from  Loch  Etive. 
It  is  rather  surprising,  considering  the  steam  communication, 
that  abundant  supplies  of  all  eatables  should  not  flow  in  from 
other  places  for  general  consumpt.  The  inns,  of  course,  have 
their  own  source  of  supply.  No  mean  compensation  is  abundant 
and  capital  dairy  produce,  excellent  bread,  and  good  groceries. 
There  are  some  most  respectable  shops — among  others,  a  book- 
seller's, with  a  tolerable  library.  Will  it  be  believed  that  at 
this  time  of  day  there  is  no  direct  post  between  Oban  and 
Fort- William — a  distance  of  only  forty  miles — and  that  a  letter 
from  the  one  to  the  other  has  to  be  conveyed  round  by  In- 
verary,  Glasgow,  Perth,  and  Inverness,  and  the  answer,  of 
course,  to  make  the  same  extraordinary  roundabout  ? 

17.  Yet  with  these  drawbacks  a  few  weeks  can  be  spent 
delightfully  at  Oban.  The  scenery  around  is  in  the  highest 
degree  grand,  varied,  and  beautiful ;  indeed,  the  whole  features 
of  the  district  are  remarkable,  and  it  comprises  many  most 
noted  localities,  while  antiquarian  remains  of  great  interest 
abound  in  the  neighbourhood.  We  need  but  enumerate  StafFa, 
lona,  the  Sound  of  Mull,  Loch  Etive,  Loch  Creran,  the  Pass  of 
Awe,  Loch  Leven,  and  Glencoe,  Ben  Nevis,  Ben  Cruachan,  Dun- 
staffhage,  and  Dunolly,  Duart,  Ardtornish,  Arcs,  Mingarry, 
Loch  Alline,  Inverlochy,  Kilchurn,  Gylen,  and  other  castles ; 
Achendown,  the  Bishop  of  Lismore's  Palace,  and  Ardchattan 
Priory ;  Berigonium,  the  site,  at  least  reputed,  of  that  Pictish 
capital ;  memorials,  some  of  actual  monarchy,  others  of  the 
almost  regal  sway  of  those  great  princes,  the  Lords  of  the  Isles, 
and  rival  families  of  almost  equal  note.  And  these  are  very 
accessible  from  the  numerous  public  conveyances,  and  the  faci- 
lities of  transport  by  boat,  besides  which,  there  are  very  good 
vehicles  kept  for  hire.  In  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Oban 


80  OBAN.  SECT.  III. 

there  is  much  to  interest.  The  heights  above  command  splen- 
did views  across  the  water,  the  huge  sombre  mountains  of  Mull 
looming  above  the  intervening  green  and  rocky  Isle  of  Kerrera. 
From  an  agreeable  promenade  in  front  of  the  main  street,  we 
can  bend  our  steps  along  the  sides  of  the  bay — though  on  the 
north  the  limits  are  somewhat  confined  by  the  grounds  of 
Dunolly — or,  by  an  outlet  at  either  extremity  of  the  street,  find 
our  way  into  the  country  behind,  which  is  of  that  irregular  sur- 
face characteristic  of  a  trap  and  conglomerate  formation.  From 
Dunolly  the  prospect  is  very  fine.  The  drive  to  Loch  Feochan 
to  the  south  is  picturesque,  while,  in  the  opposite  direction,  an 
interval  of  four  miles  brings  us  to  Dunstafthage,  an  imposing 
pile,  the  residence  (though  not  the  existing  edifice)  of  our  early 
Scottish  kings ;  and  by  extending  the  excursion  as  far  again — 
from  the  low  rocky  eminence  on  the  opposite  bay  of  Ardnamuc- 
knish,  the  Selma  of  Ossian,  and  supposed  to  indicate  the  site  of 
Berigonium — a  panorama  of  mingled  mountain,  water,  rock,  and 
plain,  is  commanded,  of  great  expanse  and  most  striking  char- 
acter 

Here  we  may  add,  that  the  powerful  Staffa  and  lona  boats 
make  the  circuit  of  the  island  of  Mull,  and  regain  Oban  about 
six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  that  a  steamer  proceeds  to  Fort- 
William  and  Corpach  in  the  morning,  to  bring  on  the  passengers 
who  leave  Inverness  the  same  morning  by  the  canal  steamers. 
On  the  way  tourists  are  landed  at  Ballachulish,  where  there 
are  conveyances  up  Glencoe,  and  they  are  picked  up  again  on 
the  return  voyage  in  the  evening ;  or  they  can,  by  a  small  boat, 
join  the  Glasgow  boat,  which  passes  on  in  the  evening  to  Cor- 
pach, where  the  north-going  passengers  spend  the  night,  while 
the  northern  travellers  on  their  way  south  make  Oban  their 
resting  place. 

Having  conducted  the  reader  as  far  as  Oban,  we  retrace  our 
steps  to  carry  on  the  descriptions  of  the  other  routes  thus  far, 
before  proceeding  onwards. 

To  commence  with  that 


FROM  GLASGOW  TO  OBAN  AND  TO  FOKT-WILLIAM    BY  LOCH  LOMOND. 

18.  Though  each  of  the  different  routes  to  the  north,  by  the 
west  coast,  possesses  its  own  peculiar  attractions,  the  palm 
must  be  assigned  to  that  by  Loch  Lomond  and  Loch  Awe  to 


ROUTE  I.      DUMBARTON VALE    OF   THE   LEVEN.  81 

Oban,  or  by  Glencoe  to  Fort-William.  But  Glencoe  can  be 
conveniently  visited  on  the  way  from  Oban  to  Fort-William, 
which  itself  is  not  to  be  lost,  so  that  Oban  is  the  point  to  be 
preferred,  there  being  a  coach  to  Oban  and  another  to  Fort- 
William,  diverging  at  Tyndrum,  the  passengers  by  both  which 
are  conveyed  along  Loch  Lomond  by  steam.  The  space  to  Dum- 
barton is  traversed  sometimes  by  water,  at  others  by  coach,  as 
may  suit  either  company's  arrangements.  But  the  railway  from 
Bowling  Bay  to  Loch  Lomond  will  doubtless  cause  a  diversion 
in  the  stream  of  passenger  traffic. 

19.  Dumbarton,  a  few  hundred  yards  up  the  river  Leven, 
consists  chiefly  of  a  long,  crooked,  and  irregular  street,  at  the 
upper  end  of  which  a  bridge  of  four  arches  is  thrown  across, 
and  the  road  to  Loch  Lomond  proceeds  on  the  west  side  of  the 
stream.     The  brick  cones  of  extensive  and  long-established 
crown  and  bottle  glass  works  still  form  a  prominent  feature  in 
the  appearance  of  the  town ;  but  owing  chiefly  to  the  repeal  of 
the  duties  on  glass,  the  manufacture  has  been  almost  given  up 
here.     More  recent,  but  already  distinguished,  ship-building 
works  in  all  branches,  both  timber  and  iron,  also  characterise 
the  place ;  but  the  most  distinctive  feature  of  all,  is  its  pecu- 
liar and  renowned  castellated  rock,  already  described  in  this 
route.     The  population  in  1841  was  4453.    The  town  was  made 
a  royal  burgh  in  1222  by  Alexander  II.     A  remnant  of  privi- 
leges, much  more  extensive,  is  still  enjoyed  in  immunity  by 
the  burgesses,  from  dues  at  the  Broomielaw  and  every  other 
port  belonging  to  Glasgow,  with  the  right  of  free  navigation  of 
the  Clyde.     In  former  times  the  space  round  the  Castle  would 
seem  to  have  been  under  water  at  full  tide.     Besides  steamers 
direct  several  times  a-day  to  and  from  Glasgow,  and  twice  a-day 
to  and  from  Greenock,  there  are  ferry-boats  out  from  Dumbar- 
ton at  any  hour  to  meet  the  steamers. 

20.  The  Leven  is,  in  itself,  a  clear  winding  stream,  known 
to  fame  by  its  connexion  with  the  name  of  Smollett,  whose 
family  residence,  Bonhill  (now  Messrs.  Turnbull),  is  about  half- 
way between  the  Clyde  and  Loch  Lomond.     A  monument  has 
been  erected  to  his  memory  in  the  village  of  Ren  ton,  a  round 
column  on  a  square  die ;  but  it  is  shamefully  neglected,  the 
tablet  being  left  broken  and  defaced.     He  was  born  in  the  old 
farm-house  of  Dalquhurn,  taken  down  several  years  ago.     It 
stood  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  road  to  the  monument,  and  at 


82  LOCH   LOMOND.  SECT.  III. 

the  south  end  of  the  village.  On  either  side  of  the  valley  the 
ground  rises  in  continuous  and  very  gentle  slopes,  cultivated  to 
the  top,  with  a  large  quantity  of  wood  interspersed.  Amid 
these  peaceful  scenes  the  spirit  of  trade  has  found  a  local  habi- 
tation— numerous  public  works  for  bleaching,  dyeing,  calico 
printing,  and  the  manufacture  of  pyroligneous  acid,  or  white 
vinegar,  being  embowered  along  the  river  banks,  the  workmen 
belonging  to  which  inhabit  the  considerable  villages  of  Renton 
and  Alexandria  on  the  west,  and  Bonb.il!  on  the  east  side  of  the 
river.  Various  country  seats  fill  up  the  fertile  and  populous 
valley,  as  Cordale  House  (Stirling),  Levengrove  (Dixon),  Strath- 
leven  (Ewing),  Levenbank  (Stuart),  &c.  Nearing  the  Loch, 
Tillichewen  Castle  (William  Campbell,  Esq.,  one  of  the  great 
Glasgow  merchants),  a  handsome  Gothic  structure,  is  passed, 
and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  valley,  Balloch  Castle  ( —  Stott) 
shows  itself  above  the  foliage.  Omnibuses  ply  from  Dumbar- 
ton to  the  Loch  Lomond  steamers,  and  to  the  Suspension  Bridge 
at  Balloch,  at  the  foot  of  the  lake — soon  to  be  superseded  by 
the  railway  above  alluded  to,  in  progress,  to  Bowling  Bay,  near 
Port  Dunglas  on  the  Clyde,  whence  it  is  eventually  to  be  car- 
ried on  to  Glasgow.  The  line  has  been  leased  by  Messrs.  G.  & 
T.  Burns,  the  well-known  and  spirited  steam-boat  proprietors. 

21.  Loch  Lomond,  "  the  lake  full  of  islands,"  is  unquestion- 
ably the  pride  of  Scottish  lakes,  from  its  extent,  its  numerous 
islands,  and  the  varied  character  of  its  scenery.  At  its  lowest  ex- 
tremity, where  it  insinuates  its  waters  into  the  vale  of  Leven,  it 
is  for  a  space  quite  narrow  ;  it  then  expands  on  either  hand,  but 
especially  on  the  east  side,  and  attains  in  some  places  a  breadth  of 
seven  or  eight  miles,  and  measuring  thirty  miles  in  length.  Its 
banks  again  approach  towards  each  other,  and  thence  to  its  ter- 
mination the  lake,  winding  among  the  projecting  arms  of  pri- 
mitive mountains,  and  slightly  altering  at  intervals  its  general 
bearings,  alternately  contracts  and  dilates  its  surface,  as  it  meets 
and  wheels  round  the  impending  headlands,  among  which  it  at 
last  loses  itself  in  a  narrow,  prolonged  stripe  of  water.  The 
mountains,  in  general,  gradually  increase  in  height,  steepness, 
and  irregularity  of  surface  towards  the  head  of  the  lake.  Those 
on  the  west  are  intersected  by  successive  glens,  as  Fruin,  Fin- 
lass,  Luss,  Douglas,  Tarbet,  and  Sloy.  The  opposite  mountains 
are  more  unbroken.  Numerous  little  bays  indent  the  shores, 
their  bounding  promontories  consisting  at  the  lower  end  of  flat 


KOUTE  I.  LOCH   LOMOND.  83 

alluvial  deposits,  but  towards  the  upper  parts  of  the  lake  pass- 
ing into  inclined  rocky  slopes  and  abrupt  acclivities.  At  the 
lower  extremity  also,  there  are  large  tracts  of  arable  ground  ; 
while  above  Luss  they  occur  only  at  intervals  in  the  mouth  of 
the  glens,  at  the  bottom  of  ravines,  or  in  open  spaces  created 
by  the  partial  receding  of  the  hills.  Interrupted  masses  and 
zones  of  wood  and  coppice  diversify  the  face  of  the  hills,  oak 
coppice,  mixed  with  alder,  birch,  and  hazel,  predominating. 
In  the  broader  part,  the  surface  of  the  water  is  studded  with 
islands  of  many  sizes  and  various  aspects — flat,  sloping,  rocky, 
heathy,  cultivated,  and  wooded,  stretching  across  the  lake  in 
three  parallel  zones.  The  islands  are  about  thirty  in  number  ; 
and  of  these,  ten  are  of  considerable  size,  as  Inchconagan,  which 
is  half  a  mile  long  ;  Inchtavanach  and  Inchmoan,  each  three 
quarters  ;  Inchlonaig,  a  mile  ;  and  Inchmurren  (the  largest  and 
most  southerly)  two  miles  in  length.  These  two  last  are  used 
as  deer  parks  by  the  families  of  Luss  and  Montrose,  and  it  is 
still  the  practice  to  place  insane  persons  and  confirmed  drunk- 
ards in  some  of  the  islands.  Several  gentlemen's  residences, 
which  encompass  the  lower  end  of  the  lake,  are  surrounded  by 
richly-wooded  parks,  as  Batturich  Castle  (Findlay)  on  the  east 
side,  on  the  site  of  the  ancient  seat  of  the  Lennox  family;  and 
Ross  Priory  (Mrs.  M'Donald  Buchanan),  frequently  visited  by 
Sir  Walter  Scott ;  and  in  the  opposite  direction,  Cameron 
(Smollett)  ;  Bel  Retira  (Campbell)  ;  Arden  (Buchanan)  ;  and 
farther  up,  Rossdhu  (Sir  James  Colquhoun,  Bart.),  finely  situ- 
ated on  a  projecting  promontory ;  and  Camstradden  (also  Sir  J. 
Colquhoun).  An  obelisk  may  be  descried  on  the  south-east, 
raised  to  the  memory  of  the  celebrated  George  Buchanan  ;  and 
the  banks  of  the  Endrick  are  immortalized  by  the  sojourn  for 
many  years  of  Lord  Napier  of  Merchiston,  the  inventor  of 
logarithms,  and  the  ancestor  of  the  heroes  of  Acre  and  Scinde. 
The  whole  tract  of  country  on  the  east  side  of  Loch  Lomond 
and  Leven  belongs  to  the  Duke  of  Montrose,  whose  seat, 
Buchanan,  is  situated  at  some  little  distance  inland,  while  the 
west  side,  from  the  Fruin  water  to  Glen  Falloch,  is,  with  scarce 
an  exception,  the  property  of  Sir  J.  Colquhoun.  A  few  miles 
above  Luss,  we  have  to  admire  successive  mountain  slopes, 
rising  one  behind  another  in  rugged  acclivities,  feathered  with 
oak  coppice,  and  irregular  rocky  precipices  shooting  up  above  ; 
the  ample  sides  of  Ben  Lomond,  in  particular  extending  north 


84  LOCH   LOMOND.  SECT.   III. 

and  south  in  lengthened  slopes,  his  lofty  head — a  compressed 
peak — aspiring  to  the  clouds  ;  while  towards  the  head  of  the 
lake  the  towering  alps  of  Arroquhar  and  Glen  Falloch,  with 
their  bulky  forms,  abrupt  sides,  peaked  summits,  and  jagged 
outlines,  terminate  the  prospect.  A  couple  of  steam-boats  ply 
upon  Loch  Lomond,  and,  instead  of  proceeding  to  Oban  or  Fort- 
William,  the  tourist  can  be  conveyed  from  Glasgow  to  the  head 
of  the  lake  and  back  again  the  same  day,  or  he  may  reach 
Inverary,  if  not  Oban,  or  the  Trosachs,  or  Aberfoil  Inn  ;  the 
former  by  the  coach  or  by  cars  from  Tarbet,  the  two  latter 
from  Inversnaid  by  cart,  for  those  who,  coming  first,  are  first 
accommodated  in  the  vehicles  at  command  ;  others  by  ponies, 
always  in  readiness,  caparisoned  with  gentlemen's  and  side 
saddles  ;  for,  though  the  road  be  not  macadamized,  it  is 
now-a-days  quite  a  thoroughfare.  Indeed,  it  must  be  confessed 
that  the  rough  cart-track  is  only  fit  for  little  sure-footed  high- 
land ponies,  which  career  along  as  over  a  bowling-green.  At 
the  worst,  if  disappointed,  a  walk  of  five  miles  brings  one  to 
the  little  steamer  on  Loch  Catrine.  If  hurried,  he  will  find 
coaches  for  Stirling,  in  waiting,  at  the  further  end  ;  and,  if 
much  pressed,  may  reach  Edinburgh  or  Glasgow  the  same  night. 
It  must  be  observed,  that  it  is  proper,  if  for  Loch  Catrine,  to 
leave  the  boat  on  the  way  up  at  Inversnaid,  where,  as  at 
Tarbet,  Rowardennan,  and  other  spots,  there  are  excellent  inns. 
The  most  interesting  portion  of  the  sail  on  Loch  Lomond,  is 
after  rounding  the  most  southerly  group  of  islands  at  the  west, 
doubling  across  to  Baknaha  on  the  east,  then  recrossing  to  Luss 
on  the  western  shore.  Here  the  spacious  bosom  of  the  lake  is 
encircled  by  islands  of  various  character,  presenting  middle  dis- 
tances in  every  direction.  The  eye  courses  over  an  extensive  cir- 
cuit. To  the  south  the  ground  declines,  and  the  outlines  are  soft 
and  low,  and  almost  horizontal ;  and  the  aspect  of  nature  fertile 
in  the  highest  degree.  The  upper  boundaries  are  mountainous, 
lofty,  and  exceedingly  varied.  Not  a  point  of  the  compass  is 
deficient  in  interest ;  the  panorama  is  in  every  part  complete, 
and  in  all  splendidly  beautiful.  Viewed  in  favourable  circum- 
stances, be  they  a  hot  and  sultry  sun,  a  breathless  air,  and 
cloudless  atmosphere,  when  every  object  is  resplendent  with 
light,  and  every  leaf  pencilled  as  in  a  mirror  ;  or  a  cloudy  day, 
when  the  overburthened  heavens  recline  their  masses  on  the 
mountain  sides,  or  the  restless  vapours  flit  along  their  surface, 


ROUTE   I.  BEN   LOMOND.  85 

and  when  receding  hollow,  and  projecting  cliff,  advancing  pro- 
montory, and  retiring  bay,  or  mountain-cleaving  ravine,  in 
mingled  light  and  shade,  are  contrasted  in  strong  relief,  it  may 
fairly  be  questioned  whether  a  Lacustrine  expanse,  so  magnifi- 
cent, so  lovely,  and  so  entirely  perfect,  is  anywhere  to  be  seen. 

22.  Ben  Lomond  has  perhaps  been  ascended  by  a  greater 
number  of  tourists  than  any  other  of  our  Highland  mountains. 
The  general  view,  however,  from  its  summit  cannot  compare 
with  that  from  many  others,  there  being  but  few  openings 
through  the  mass  of  mountains  which  stretch  around.     But  the 
bird's-eye  view  of  Loch  Lomond  itself,  as  seen  from  the  shoulder 
of  the  hill,  amply  repays  the  labour  of  the  ascent, — so  remark- 
ably lively  and  diversified  is  the  aspect  of  its  bespangling 
islands,  the  strong  contrast  between  the  general  character  of 
its  upper  and  lower  portions,  the  sinuosities  of  its  shores,  the 
mountains  which  overhang  its  waters,  or  flank  its  glens,  and 
the  rich  blush  and  glittering  smile  of  its  waving  fields  and 
cultivated  spots.   From  opposite  Tarbet,  the  ascent  (here  rather 
steep)  generally  occupies  two  hours.     At  Rowardennan,  oppo- 
site Inveruglass,  five  miles  further  down  the  loch,  it  is  more 
tedious,  but  considerably  more  easy,  and  this  is  the  route  most 
commonly  followed.     The  waters  of  Loch  Lomond,  like  those 
of  Loch  Ness,  are  said  to  have  risen  and  been  much  agitated 
at  the  time  of  the  great  earthquake  at  Lisbon,  and  on  the 
occurrence  of  several  slight  earthquakes  since  felt  in  various 
parts  of  Scotland  ;  their  depth  in  the  upper  division  of  the 
lake  being  also  in  several  places,  as  in  the  other  lake  just  men- 
tioned, upwards  of  a  hundred  fathoms.     It  is  much  less  than 
this  towards  the  lower  or  eastern  end — a  farther  distinguishing 
peculiarity  of  the  opposite  extremities  of  Loch  Lomond. 

23.  At  Luss,  where  the  Rev.  Dr.  Stewart,  the  translator  of 
the  Gaelic  Bible,  officiated,  there  are  slate  quarries.     Three 
miles  above  Tarbet  is  a  small  wooded  island  called  Inveruglass, 
and  about  two  miles  further,  another  called  Eilan  Vhou,  on 
each  of  which  are  the  ruins  of  a  stronghold  of  the  family  of 
Macfarlane.     In  a  vault  of  the  latter,  an  old  man  of  the  name, 
who  died  not  long  ago,  lived  a  hermit's  life  for  a  considerable 
number  of  years.     Nearly  opposite  Inveruglass  island,  about  a 
mile  distant  from  the  lake,  are  the  ruins  of  Inversnaid  fort,  on 
the  way  to  Loch   Catrine,   an   old  military   station,   chiefly 
designed  to  keep  the  clan  Gregor  in  check.     At  Tarbet  the 


86  GLEN  FALLOCH.  SECT.  III. 

mountains  to  the  west,  at  the  head  of  Loch  Long,  present  a 
fantastic  appearance,  from  which  they  are  known  by  the  name 
of  "  The  Cobbler  and  his  Wife."  The  head  of  Loch  Lomond  is 
eight  miles  from  Tarbet ;  and  six  miles  from  the  latter  place 
a  huge  mass  of  rock  will  be  observed  by  the  road  side,  in  which 
a  small  chamber,  secured  by  a  door,  has  been  hewn  out  to  serve 
as  a  pulpit  to  the  minister  of  Arroquhar,  whose  duty  it  is  to 
preach  occasionally  in  this  part  of  the  parish.  At  the  head  of 
the  lake  is  Ardlieu,  a  good  inn.  The  lake  is  succeeded,  at  its 
upper  extremity,  for  about  two  miles  and  a-half,  by  a  level 
tract  of  meadow  and  arable  ground.  Behind  the  inn,  where 
hardwood,  spruce,  and  larches  occupy  the  valley,  the  resem- 
blance to  many  Swiss  scenes  is  said  to  be  remarkable.  Inter- 
mediate behind  this  and  Strathfillan  is  a  wide  elevated  valley, 
called  Glen  Falloch,  rising  in  undulating  slopes,  unadorned  save 
by  a  few  scattered  firs,  and  flanked  on  the  east  side  by  flattened 
broadly  conical  mountains,  separated  by  wide  corries.  From 
hence,  the  river  Falloch  descends  through  a  shelving  rocky 
channel.  It  forms  an  obtuse  angle  with  the  lake,  from  the  end  of 
which  the  road,  following  the  course  of  the  river,  inclines  to  the 
right,  and  thus  looking  back,  as  we  ascend  to  the  upper  portion 
of  Glen  Falloch,  the  bulky  mountains  at  the  head  of  the  lake, 
separated  by  deep  hollows,  are  seen  disposed  in  a  vast  semi- 
circle, and  form  a  most  imposing  alpine  prospect. 

24.  Glen  Fruin,  near  the  southern  extremity  of  Loch  Lomond, 
was  the  scene  of  a  well-known  sanguinary  clan  conflict  (in  the 
commencement  of  the  seventeenth  century),  which  entailed  on 
the  clan  Gregor  a  long  series  of  unexampled  persecution  and 
blood-thirsty  cruelty.  Before  adverting  to  the  particulars  of 
the  affray,  which  jealous  and  powerful  neighbours  succeeded  in 
converting  into  the  source  of  a  legalised  warfare  of  extermina- 
tion against  this  unfortunate  race,  in  connexion  with  it  the  cir- 
cumstances may  be  reviewed  of  a  barbarous  incident,  which  had 
excited  James  VI.  to  very  harsh  measures  against  them,  and  in 
all  probability  induced  him  to  make  the  battle  of  Glen  Fruin 
the  signal  for  every  species  of  oppression  and  wrong.  The  act 
alluded  to  was  of  a  nature  so  revolting  as  to  justify  the  most 
rigorous  punishment ;  but  it  must  be  considered,  that  the  Mac- 
Gregors'  share  in  the  transaction  was  but  secondary  ;  and  even 
in  those  barbarous  days,  the  spectacle  was  rare,  of  government 
yielding  to  those  revengeful  impulses  which  among  families 


ROUTE  I.  THE  CLAN  GREGOR.  87 

perpetuated  to  future  generations  a  deadly  quarrel  as  an  heir- 
loom. Some  young  men — Macdonalds  from  Glencoe,  having 
been  found  trespassing  on  the  king's  deer-forest  of  Glen  Artney, 
to  the  north  of  Loch  Achray,  by  the  under-forester,  Drummond 
of  Drummondernoch,  had  had  their  ears  cropped  for  their 
offence.  Their  kinsmen  in  retaliation  slew  Drummond,  when, 
by  his  majesty's  special  directions,  providing  venison  for  the 
occasion  of  Anne  of  Denmark's  arrival  in  Scotland  ;  and,  having 
cut  off  his  head,  they  repaired  to  the  house  of  his  sister,  Mrs. 
Stewart  of  Ardvorlich,  on  the  side  of  Loch  Earn.  Her  husband 
was  from  home  ;  and  Mrs.  Stewart,  giving  them  but  a  cold 
reception,  laid  only  bread  and  cheese  before  them.  While  she 
was  out  of  the  room,  they  placed  Drummondernoch' s  bloody 
head  upon  the  table,  with  a  piece  of  the  bread  and  cheese  in 
the  mouth.  The  ghastly  sight  drove  her  insane  ;  and  leaving 
her  home,  she  long  wandered  in  a  state  of  mental  aberration 
through  the  mountains  ;  and,  to  add  to  the  catastrophe,  she 
was  soon  to  become  a  mother.  The  murderers  hied  them  from 
Ardvorlich  to  the  neighbouring  church  of  Balquhidder,  where 
the  MacGregors,  with  their  chief,  laying  their  hands  on  the 
head  of  Drummond,  swore  at  the  altar  to  shelter  and  defend 
the  authors  of  the  deed.  This  took  place  about  the  year  1590. 
Letters  of  fire  and  sword  were  issued  against  the  MacGregors, 
and  they  henceforth  underwent  the  most  unrelenting  treatment 
at  the  hands  of  their  powerful  neighbours,  who  gladly  availed 
themselves  of  the  countenance  of  Government  to  harass  them 
to  the  utmost.  One  of  the  most  active  of  their  enemies  was 
Sir  Humphry  Colquhoun  of  Luss,  who  directed  his  persecution 
against  the  MacGregors  of  Balquhidder.  With  him,  Alexander 
of  Glen  Strae,  at  the  head  of  Loch  Awe,  was  particularly  anxi- 
ous that  a  reconciliation  should  be  effected  ;  and  for  that  pur- 
pose, having  solicited  a  conference,  he  repaired  with  two  hun- 
dred of  his  clan  to  a  place  appointed  in  the  valley  of  the  Leven. 
On  their  return  homewards  from  the  meeting,  they  were  trea- 
cherously assaulted  in  Glen  Fruin,  by  Luss,  with  eight  hundred 
of  his  retainers  and  neighbours.  MacGregor  had,  however, 
been  apprised  of  the  meditated  attack,  and  his  men  were  on 
their  guard.  They  fought  so  obstinately  as  to  come  off  victors 
in  the  contest,  slaying  two  hundred  of  the  name  of  Colquhoun, 
besides  others  of  their  opponents,  and  making  many  prisoners. 
A  tragic  incident,  of  a  peculiar  nature,  added  seriously  to  the 


88  BATTLE    OF    GLEN   FRUIN.  SECT.  III. 

loss  of  the  discomfited  party,  and  was  very  probably  the  chief 
means  of  the  battle  of  Glen  Fruin  being  followed  by  such  cala- 
mitous consequences  to  the  MacGregors.  In  the  adjoining  town 
of  Dumbarton,  the  principal  part  of  the  youth  of  the  Lennox 
were  being  educated  at  the  time  :  curiosity  had  led  about  eighty 
of  them,  hearing  of  the  meeting  of  their  parents  and  friends,  to 
repair  to  the  neighbourhood  of  the  scene  of  action.  It  was 
deemed  advisable,  when  hostilities  commenced,  to  confine  them 
in  a  barn.  They  all  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  MacGregors,  who, 
while  they  followed  up  the  pursuit,  set  a  guard  over  them,  by 
whose  act,  or  by  some  unfortunate  mischance,  the  building  was 
set  on  fire,  and  the  poor  children  destroyed.  A  partial  repre- 
sentation of  all  these  occurrences  was  made  to  the  king  (James 
VI.),  and  to  excite  him  still  more  effectually,  a  procession  was 
got  up  of  sixty  widows,  whose  husbands  had  been  slain  on  the 
occasion,  mounted  on  white  palfreys,  and  Bearing  on  long  poles 
upwards  of  two  hundred  bloody  shirts  of  the  slaughtered  Col- 
quhouns.  Henceforth  the  clan  Gregor  were  treated  little  bet- 
ter than  wild  beasts.  Their  lands  were  confiscated,  their  very- 
name  was  proscribed ;  and,  being  driven  to  such  extremity,  they 
became  notorious  for  acts  of  reprisal,  and  famous  as  systematic 
leviers  of  black-mail.  Their  services  in  Montrose's  wars  first 
induced  some  relaxation  of  the  enactments  against  them,  but 
till  a  much  later  period  they  continued  hi  a  peculiar  position 
with  the  clans  around  them,  and  endured,  though  not  with 
tame  submission,  along  with  chastisement,  at  times  deserved, 
much  unjust  and  unmerited  persecution. 

25.  Proceeding  northwards  we  join  the  main  road  from  Stir- 
ling to  Fort-William  at  Crinlarich,  between  eight  and  nine  miles 
from  the  head  of  Loch  Lomond,  and  between  three  and  four 
miles  from  Tyndrum,  the  first  stage.  There  Ben  More,  with 
its  associated  hill-tops,  form  a  noble  group.  We  are  now  in 
Strathfillan,  to  the  east  of  which  is  Glen  Dochart,  nearly  in  a 
line  with  Loch  Tay.  At  the  foot  of  Ben  More  lies  Loch-an-Our, 
and  further  to  the  east  Loch  Dochart. 

This  locality  is  memorable  for  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
passages  in  the  life  of  Robert  Bruce.  After  his  defeat  at  Meth- 
ven,  near  Perth,  he  had  endeavoured,  with  a  few  hundred  men- 
at-arms,  to  find  his  way  into  the  Argyleshire  Highlands,  but 
was  encountered  in  Strathfillan  by  a  superior  body  of  highland- 
ers  under  Allaster  Macdougal  of  Lorn,  son-in-law  of  John,  the 


ROUTE  i.   BRUCE'S  ENCOUNTER  IN  GLEN  DOCHART.   89 

Bed  Comyn,  whom  Bruce  had  slain  at  Dumfries,  and  conse- 
quently his  inveterate  enemy.  The  battle  field,  which  lies  im- 
mediately below  Tyndrum,  is  still  called  Dairy,  or  the  King's 
Field.  The  Bruce  was  obliged  to  retreat.  In  covering  the  rear 
of  his  forces  at  a  narrow  pass  on  the  edge  of  Loch-an-Our, 
three  of  Lorn's  men,  who  had  by  a  short  cut  got  ahead  of  the 
king,  simultaneously  assailed  him.  While  one  seized  the  bridle, 
another  laid  hold  of  a  leg  and  stirrup,  and  the  third  leapt  be- 
hind him  on  the  horse's  back  ;  but  his  undaunted  presence  of 
mind  and  uncommon  bodily  prowess,  enabled  him,  unhurt,  to 
rid  himself  of  this  formidable  superiority  of  numbers.  It  is 
said  that  the  first  had  his  arm  hewn  off,  and  the  second  wag 
thrown  down  by  the  King  putting  spurs  to  his  horse.  Mean- 
time, having  extricated  himself  from  the  grasp  of  his  third 
assailant,  he  threw  him  to  the  ground,  and  cleft  his  skull,  and 
then  too  killed  his  prostrate  foe  with  his  sword.  "  Methinks," 
said  Lorn,  addressing  one  of  his  followers,  "  he  resembles  Gol- 
mac-morn  protecting  his  followers  from  Fingal."  It  was  on 
this  occasion  that  Bruce 

"  Hardly  'scaped  with  scathe  and  scorn, 
Left  the  pledge  with  conquering  Lorn  " — 

the  brooch  of  his  mantle,  which  unloosed.  This  precious  relic 
was  lost  about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  after 
passing  through  various  hands,  was,  after  an  interval  of  nearly 
200  years,  restored  to  and  preserved  in  the  family  of  Lorn. 
This  style  of  brooch,  of  a  circular  form,  has  a  raised  centre 
cairngorm  or  other  stone,  and  half  a  dozen  little  cylinders  pro- 
jecting from  the  outer  circlet  studded  with  smaller  stones  of 
different  hues,  and  is  a  favourite  and  very  beautiful  shoulder- 
fastening  for  the  plaid. 

26.  About  half-way  between  Crinlarich  and  Tyndrum  there 
is  a  linn  in  the  river,  called  the  Pool  of  St.  Fillan's,  which  is  to 
this  day  at  times  the  scene  of  the  observance  of  a  degrading 
superstitious  rite.  At  every  term  day,  but  chiefly  Whitsunday 
and  Lammas,  it  was  and  still  is  occasionally  customary  to  im- 
merse persons  insane  or  of  weak  intellect  at  sunset.  They  are 
then  bound  hand  and  foot,  and  laid  all  night  in  the  churchyard 
of  St.  Fillan's,  within  the  site  of  the  old  chapel.  A  heavy  stick 
is  laid  on  each  side ;  round  these  is  warped  several  times  a  rope 
passing  over  the  patient's  breast,  and  made  fast  in  a  knot, 

2E 


90  LOCH    AWE BEN   CRUACHAN.  SECT.  III. 

which,  if  found  loosed  in  the  morning,  a  recovery  may  be  looked 
for  ;  if  not,  the  case  is  supposed  to  be  desperate. 

27.  At  Tyndrum  the  roads  to  Fort- William  and  Oban  diverge. 
In  the  hill-face  a  lead-mine  is  wrought,  in  which  the  propor- 
tion of  silver  is  considerable.     The  stretch  of  country  between 
Callander  and  the  Western  Sea  is,  for  the  most  part,  almost 
bare  of  trees,  but  to  Dalmally,  at  the  head  of  Loch  Awe,  our 
way  lies  through  a  succession  of  fine  pastoral  valleys,  flanked 
by  lofty  hills,  characterized  by  their  pleasing  verdant  covering, 
though  not  distinguished,  except  occasionally,  as  at  the  Pass 
of  Leni  and  Lochearnhead,  by  any  very  marked  features.   There 
is  a  considerable  descent  to   Loch  Awe.     The  inn,  churches, 
and  manses  of  Dalmally  (13  miles  from  Tyndrum)  are  delight- 
fully nestled  among  trees  at  the  opening  of  Glenorchy,  which 
leads  to  the  Black  Mount.     The  churchyard  of  Dalmally  was 
the  burying-place  of  the  Macgregors,  many  of  whose  memorial 
stones  are  still  to  the  fore. 

28.  Loch  Awe  is  about  thirty  miles  in  length,  and  varies 
from  one-half  to  two  and  a  half  miles  in  width.     It  discharges 
its  water  by  the  river  Awe,  which  issues  from  a  lateral  offset  of 
the  lake,  branching  off  at  no  great  distance  from  its  eastern  ex- 
tremity, and  extending  from  three  to  four  miles  into  the  valley 
connecting  with  Loch  Etive,  the  outlet  being  thus  somewhat 
peculiarly  close  by  the  main  feeding  streams.     Ben  Cruachan's 
gigantic  bulk  occupies  the  space  bounded  by  the  valley  and  the 
portion  of  the  lake  to  the  eastward.     Its  towering  proportions 
give  quite  a  distinctive  character  to  this  end  of  Loch  Awe,  dif- 
ferent from  the  remainder  of  the  lake,  which  is  bounded  by 
numerous  chains  of  hills  of  elongated  outline,  rising  tier  above 
tier,  and  presenting  to  the  eye  a  great  expanse  of  mountainous 
ground,  ascending  in  a  gradual  inclination.     Ben  Cruachan  is 
the  focus  of  the  lofty  ranges  which  line  Glen  Strae  and  Loch 
Etive.      It  presents  a  front  of  several  miles  to  the  river  Awe 
and  its  parent  offset  of  the  lake,  while  its  huge  flanks  are  of 
corresponding  proportions.     In  all  points  of  view,  the  aspect  of 
this  mountain  is  peculiarly  massive,  stately,  and  imposing. 
The  sloping  shores  of  the  lake  are  well  cultivated  and  wooded, 
and  the  streams  which  fall  into  it  exhibit  many  pleasing  cas- 
cades.    About  twenty-four  little  islets  are  scattered  over  Loch 
Awe,  chiefly  towards  the  eastern  extremity,  some  of  them  beau- 
tifully crowned  with  dark,  nodding  pines.     On  one  of  these 


ROUTE  I.  LOCH   AWE — KILCHURN    CASTLE  91 

islands,  Inishail,  or  the  Beautiful  Isle,  are  the  ruins  of  a  small 
nunnery  of  the  Cistertian  order  ;  and  on  Fraoch  Elan  (the  hea- 
ther isle),  those  of  a  castle,  which  was  granted,  in  1267,  to  Gil- 
bert Macnaughten,  by  Alexander  III.  This  latter  isle  was  the 
Hesperides  of  the  country,  and  is  named  also  from  Fraoch,  an 
adventurous  lover,  who,  attempting  to  gratify  the  wishes  of  the 
fair  Mego  for  the  delicious  fruit  of  the  isle,  encountered  and 
destroyed  the  serpent  by  which  it  was  guarded,  but  fell  himself 
a  victim  to  his  temerity. 

29.  The  conjoined  waters  of  two  rivers,  descending  from  the 
respective,  nearly  parallel,  glens,  Strae  and  Orchy,  disembogue 
themselves  into  Loch  Awe  at  its  eastern  extremity,  and  at  the 
base  of  Ben  Cruachan.  A  spacious  tract  of  meadow  ground 
terminates  the  lake  ;  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  on  a  point 
of  land  between  its  waters  and  a  prolonged  sweep  of  the  lake, 
on  a  slightly  protruding  rock,  stands  an  imposing  pile  of  ruins, 
those  of  Kilchurn  Castle,  or  Caolchairn,  the  "  Castle  of  the 
Rock."  They  compose  a  square  oblong  building,  with  one 
truncated  angle  ;  and  a  large  square  keep,  flanked  by  round, 
hanging  turrets,  occupies  one  corner.  The  remaining  buildings 
are  of  varying  elevations  ;  but  the  whole  of  each  side  of  an 
uniform  height,  thus  affording  at  once  variety  and  simplicity 
of  outline,  while  the  general  form  is  set  off  by  a  round  tower  at 
each  of  three  angles.  All  the  exterior,  and  greater  part  of  the 
interior  walls  are  entire  ;  and  thus  the  castle,  as  a  whole,  forms, 
from  its  size,  a  prominent  and  striking  object.  The  square 
tower  was  built  in  1440,  on  the  site  of  an  old  castle  of  the  Mac- 
gregors,  by  Sir  Colin  Campbell,  the  Black  Knight  of  Rhodes, 
third  son  of  Duncan,  lord  of  Lochow,  and  founder  of  the  Breacl- 
albane  family, — a  man  of  distinguished  character.  He  acquired 
by  marriage  a  considerable  portion  of  the  estates  of  the  family 
of  Lorn,  and  the  territories  of  his  descendants  extend,  uninter- 
ruptedly, for  100  miles  inland  from  the  western  sea.  One  of 
the  best  points  of  view  is  from  the  east — the  river  and  meadow- 
ground  in  the  fore,  and  the  prolonged  waters  of  the  lake,  stud- 
ded with  wooded  islands,  the  back  ground.  The  drive  round 
the  base  of  Ben  Cruachan  is  singularly  fine.  The  bend  of  the 
mountain  is  skirted  with  oak  woods,  above  which  its  giant  sides 
rise  with  rapid  inclination.  On  the  other  hand,  the  water  is 
bounded  by  a  chain  of  richly  wooded  eminences,  divided  into 
separate  islands. 


92  THE    PASS  OF   AWE.  SECT.  III. 

'  30.  The  river  Awe  is  bounded  by  a  narrow  stripe  of  flat 
ground ;  but  the  offset  of  the  lake,  which  precedes,  occupies  the 
whole  of  the  bottom  of  the  valley.  For  about  a  mile  and  a 
half  next  the  river  it  is  not  a  gunshot  across  ;  beyond  this 
gorge  it  widens  considerably  to  the  main  expanse.  At  the  nar- 
row part  of  the  opposing  hills,  the  eastern  one,  the  base  of  Ben 
Cruachan,  rises  sufficiently  abrupt,  while  the  western  ascends 
from  the  brink  of  the  water  in  an  acclivity  all  but  perpendicu- 
lar, strewed  below  with  finely  powdered  alluvium,  mixed  with 
verdure,  and  terminating  at  top  in  a  continuous,  grim,  and  fur- 
rowed precipice.  Where  the  arm  of  the  lake  widens,  the  west- 
ern bank  declines  in  a  lengthened  slope,  affording  an  exquisite 
position  for  the  residence  and  grounds  of  Upper  Inverawe, 
while  the  opposite  one  increases  in  steepness  ;  and  the  road, 
amidst  the  foliage  of  clambering  birch  and  oak,  skirts  the  dark 
waters,  which  lie  deep  and  still  beneath.  This  spot  is  called 
the  Pass  of  Awe,  or  the  Brander,  and  is  altogether  a  piece  of 
magnificent  scenery.  The  prolonged  narrow  vista  of  water, 
hemmed  in  by  impending  precipices,  with  the  wooded  islets  at 
its  termination,  form  a  splendid  landscape  of  singular  grandeur, 
richness,  and  beauty.  At  this  pass  John  of  Lorn  made  an  un- 
successful attempt  to  withstand  Brace's  advance  into  his  do- 
mains, when  the  tide  of  fortune  having  turned,  he  came  to  pay 
off  old  scores.  Lorn  unwarily  left  his  enemy  an  opportunity  of 
attaining  a  vantage  ground,  a  chosen  body  of  archers,  under 
James  of  Douglas,  Sir  Alexander  Eraser,  and  others,  having 
ascended  the  hill  face,  which  led  to  the  discomfiture  of  the 
Argyle  men  with  great  slaughter. 

The  view  from  the  top  of  Ben  Cruachan  is,  perhaps,  as  in- 
teresting as  is  to  be  obtained  from  any  of  our  Highland  moun- 
tains, offering  a  peculiar  intermixture  of  land  and  water  in  one 
section  of  the  panorama,  and  overlooking  a  most  extensive  maze 
of  mountains  in  the  other. 

31.  Near  the  mouth  of  the  Awe  and  the  ferry  at  Bunaw  on 
Loch  Etive,  an  extensive  iron  furnace  has  been  wrought  since 
the  middle  of  last  century,  by  a  Lancashire  company,  who  took 
long  leases  of  the  adjoining  woods  for  the  smelting  of  English 
iron  ore.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  Inverawe  House, 
belonging  to  Campbell  of  Monzie,  lies  at  the  foot  of  Ben  Crua- 
chan, amid  sheltering  trees.  A  rude  slab  has  been  erected  near 
the  little  inn  of  Taynuilt,  commemorative  of  the  thrill  of  pride 


KOUTE  I.       LOCH    ETIVE ARDCHATTAN   PRIORY.  93 

felt  even  in  the  remotest  localities  of  our  common  land  in  the 
name  of  Nelson. 

32.  Loch  Etive  is  a  beautiful  navigable  inlet  of  the  sea, 
about  fifteen  miles  in  length,  divided  into  two  distinct  com- 
partments of  very  different  characters  at  the  ferry  of  Buuaw, 
Of  the  western   section,  framed  by  hills   comparatively  low. 
the  shores  alternately  widen  and  contract,  projecting  into  fre- 
quent low  promontories.      Wood  and  heath  clothe  the  high 
grounds,  while  their  borders  are  diversified  by  cultivated  fields. 
The  view  up  the  lake  is  terminated  by  intersecting  chains  and 
the  far-spreading  sides  and  towering  broadly-peaked  summit 
of  Ben  Cruachan.     But  above  the  ferry,  where  the  waters  of 
the  ocean  have  insinuated  themselves  amid  the  recesses  of  the 
towering  mountains,  stretching  from  Ben  Cruachan  towards 
Glencoe,  the  scenery  assumes  a  character  of  severe  and  striking 
grandeur — a  long  vista  of  bare  and  noble-looking  mountains 
sinking  sheer  upon  a  sheet  of  water,  which  but  for  the  rise  and 
fall  of  the  tide,  we  might  take  for  an  inland  lake.     We  heartily 
recommend  the  tourist  to  hire  a  boat  to  carry  him  into  the  heart 
of  this  solitude ;  and  if  he  will,  following  the  road  on  the  north 
side  of  Loch  Etive  for  a  couple  of  miles  downwards,  cross  over 
to  Bercaldine  House  on  Loch  Creran,  and  thence  proceed  to 
Oban  by  the  ruins  of  Bercaldine  Castle  and  by  Connel  Ferry, 
he  will  be  much  gratified  by  the  detour.    Occasionally  a  steamer 
takes  a  run  from  Oban  up  Loch  Etive,  and  parties  ought  by  all 
means  to  avail  of  any  such  opportunity. 

33.  On  the  north  side  of  Loch  Etive,  about  midway  to  Con- 
nel Ferry,  the  ruins  of  Ardchattan  Priory,  and  the  high-roofed 
prior's  house,  still  inhabited,  both  encased  with  luxuriant  ivy 
and  o'er-canopied  by  trees,  with  the  rich,  ascending,  undulating, 
and  wooded  parks  behind,  merit  attention.     Ardchattan  is  a 
name  familiar  and  interesting  to  all  acquainted  with  Highland 
annals.     The  Priory  was  built  by  Duncan  Macdougal,  a  rela- 
tive of  the  Lord  of  Lorn,  in  or  about  the  year  1230,  and  it  was 
burned  during  Montrose's  wars  by  Colkitto.     Little  of  it  is  now 
left  except  the  entrance  gable.     Ardchattan  belonged  to  the 
order  of  Valliscaulium,  a  branch  of  the  Benedictines.     It  was 
connected  with  the  family  of  Ergadia  (Macdougal),  as  the 
Abbey  of  Saddell,  in  Cantyre,  was  with  that  of  The  Isles.     The 
Prior  of  Ardchattan's  is  one  of  the  signatures  to  the  Bagman's 
Roll  in  1296.     The  church  was  a  simple  oblong,  66  feet  by  27. 


94  DCNSTAFFNAGE   CASTLE.  SECT.  III. 

The  piscina  is  of  a  peculiar  form — of  three  unequal  early  Eng- 
lish arches,  over-arched  by  a  round  arch,  with  several  mould- 
ings resting  on  corbels.  There  are  two  tombs,  one  under  the 
north  wall — the  other  under  the  piscina — the  former,  of  which 
the  stone  coffin  remains,  of  Duncanus  et  Dugattus,  Priors  of  the 
Monastery,  and  of  their  father  and  mother,  with  the  date  1502 
— the  other  of  Rodenius  Alexandri,  rector  of  the  isle  of  -Fun- 
nani,  in  Loch  Leven.  The  first  of  these  has  six  figures  in  relief, 
each  under  a  crocketted  canopy ;  above  these  two  female  figures, 
and  between  them  the  image  of  death,  with  a  toad  between  the 
knees ;  and  below  two  armed  figures,  and  between  them  an  eccle- 
siastic.* Robert  Bruce  held  a  parliament  here — one  of  the  last 
at  which  the  business  was  conducted  in  the  Gaelic  language. 
(For  a  short  account  of  the  order  established  here,  see  that  of 
Beauly  Priory,  Route  IV.) 

34.  At  Connel  Ferry,  half-way  to  Oban  from  Taynuilt,  from 
the  narrowness  of  the  passage  and  a  reef  of  sunken  rocks,  a  very 
turbulent  rapid  is  occasioned  at  particular  states  of  the  tide, 
especially  at  half  ebb,  when  the  agitation  and  noise  of  the 
shelving  current  form  a  perfect  cataract,  believed  to  be  the 
Lora  of  Ossian. 

35.  At  the  entrance  of  Loch  Etive,  the  very  ancient  ruins 
of  Dunstaffiiage  Castle  form  a  prominent  and  imposing  object. 
They  occupy  the  summit  of  a  perpendicular  conglomerate  mass, 
varying  from  ten  to  thirty  feet  in  height,  near  the  extremity  of 
a  low  peninsular  flat  projecting  from  the  southern  shore.     The 
entrance  is  reached  by  a  narrow  outer  staircase.     The  castle  is 
an  irregular  four-sided  structure,  with  a  round  tower  at  each  of 
three  angles,  the  remaining  angle  being  also  rounded  ;  but,  on 
the  inner  area  of  one  of  the  towers,  a  square  structure  of  three 
storeys  has  been  erected,  seemingly  at  no  very  distant  period. 
Of  this  last,  the  roof  remains  entire,  and  the  flooring  is  not 
much  decayed  :  a  small  house  within  the  walls  (of  date  1 725) 
is  still  inhabited.     The  smallest  of  the  round  towers  is  only  nine 
paces  in  diameter.     The  circumference  of  the  whole  building 
is  about  400  feet,  and  the  walls  from  thirty  to  fifty  feet  high, 
and  ten  feet  thick.     Dunstafihage,  at  least  the  present  edifice, 
is  supposed  to  have  been  built  about  the  end  of  the  thirteenth 
century,  though  we  think  it  quite  as  likely  to  be  coeval  with 

*  See  a  very  interesting  series  of  papers — "  The  Ecclesiastical  Antiquities  of  Ar- 
•ryleshire,  in  Parts  2  and  8  of  Transactions  of  the  Cambridge  Camdcii  Society. 


ROUTE  I.  DUNSTAFFNAGE    CASTLE,  95 

the  Lorn  family,  which  branched  off  from  that  of  the  Lords  of 
the  Isles  in  the  twelfth  century  But  Dunstaffnage  connects 
with  a  much  more  remote  antiquity  than  this ;  for  the  received 
opinion  is  that,  latterly  at  least,  it  was  the  residence  of  the 
Dalriadic  race  of  Scottish  kings,  who  ruled  over  the  Scots  from 
their  first  location  in  503,  in  Cantyre,  till  850,  when  Kenneth 
Macalpin  united  the  Scottish  and  Pictish  kingdoms  into  one, 
and  removed  the  seat  of  monarchy  to  Forteviot.  The  lordship 
of  Lorn,  with  the  castle  and  lands  of  Dunstaffnage,  passed,  in 
the  fourteenth  century,  into  the  hands  of  the  Stewarts  of  Inner- 
meath,  by  the  marriage  of  the  heiress  to  John  Stewart,  com- 
monly called  John  of  Lorn,  and  in  the  fifteenth  century  into 
those  of  the  Campbells  of  Glenorchy — M'Dougal  of  Dunolly 
becoming  chief  of  the  clan.  Dunstaffnage  was  inhabited  by  the 
Lords  of  Argyle  till  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  ;  and  was  taken 
possession  of  by  Bruce  after  his  victory  over  the  Lord  of  Lorn 
in  the  Pass  of  Awe.  There  is  a  highly  interesting  specimen  of 
an  old  chapel  close  by.  Its  architectural  decorations,  the 
most  elaborate  of  any  chapel  in  Argyleshire,  seems  to  belong  to 
the  thirteenth  century.  The  original  building,  which  is  only 
twenty-four  yards  by  eight,  is  defaced  by  a  more  modern  room 
erected  at  the  east  end,  thus  obscuring  the  altar  window  or 
windows,  which  seems  to  have  been  very  beautiful,  of  strictly 
early  English  form,  with  banded  shafts,  and  the  dog-tooth  orna- 
ment. %!  triple  tablet  runs  all  round  the  chapel  under  the 
windows.*  The  spot  on  which  it  is  erected  is  distinguished 
by  an  echo  of  singular  distinctness. 

Our  present  locality  is  generally  admitted  to  be  the  imme- 
diate one  from  which  the  celebrated  stone,  standing  on  which 
our  Scottish  monarchs  were  wont  to  be  crowned,  was  transported 
to  Scone,  and  the  preservation  of  which  is,  or  was,  a  matter  of 
such  importance  in  the  eyes  of  every  true  Scot  ;  as  such,  of 
course,  placing  undoubting  faith  in  the  well-known  couplet, — 

"  M  fallat  fatum,  Scoti  quocunque  locatum, 
Invenient  lapidem,  regnare  tenentur  ibidem." 

As  is  well  known,  this  precious  relic  was  removed  to  England 
by  Edward  Longshanks,  and  is  safely  deposited  beneath  one  of 
the  coronation  chairs  in  the  chapel  of  his  namesake  the  Con- 
fessor, in  Westminster  Abbey.  One  or  two  brass  guns  re- 

*  See  Cambridge  Camden  Transactions,  Part  2. 


96  BERIGONIUM  SECT.  III. 

covered  from  a  vessel  of  the  Spanish  Armada,  which  was  lost 
in  the  Sound  of  Mull,  are  to  be  seen  on  the  castle  wall.  The 
best  view  of  Dunstaffhage  is  from  the  Oban  road,  where  it  is 
seen  to  rest  on  the  water,  beyond  which  the  bay  and  wooded 
promontory  of  Ardnamucknish,  backed  by  the  hills  of  Morven. 
Opposite  the  Castle  of  Dunstaffhage,  on  the  further  side  of 
Loch  Etive,  will  be  observed  a  magnificent  set  of  cliffs,  called 
the  "  Cragan  High,"  or  King's  Rocks,  formed,  as  the  geologist 
will  remark,  of  an  extremely  hard  and  singular  conglomerate, 
composed  of  a  great  variety  of  primitive  and  trap  rocks  ;  and 
about  400  yards  in  advance,  and  to  the  north-west  of  these 
cliffs,  close  on  the  pebbly  beach  of  the  fine  circular  Bay  of 
Ardnamucknish,  is  the  little  double-topped  rocky  eminence,  on 
which  and  the  contiguous  plain,  conjecture  has  for  a  long  time 
back  been  pleased  to  fix  as  the  site  of  Berigonium,  the  ancient 
Pictish  capital,  which  probably  early  waned  before  the  advanc- 
ing fortunes  of  the  Scottish  adventurers  ;  as  St.  Columba  is  said 
to  have  gone  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ness  (now  Inverness)  to 
convert  Brudoeus,  king  of  the  Picts,  towards  the  close  of  the 
sixth  century.  It  is  near  the  shore,  and  only  two  miles  distant 
from  Connel  Ferry,  and,  by  visiting  it,  the  traveller  will  be 
gratified  at  least  by  the  inspection  of  a  very  good  and  accessible 
vitrified  fort.  Both  the  flattened  summits  are  girt  with  a 
vitrified  wall,  strongly  defined,  and  in  some  parts  exposed,  to 
a  height  of  eight  feet.  This  rock  is  vulgarly  called  Dun  Mac 
Snichan.  Either  area  is  an  irregular  oblong,  measuring  respec- 
tively 160  and  100  paces  circumference.  They  are  separated 
by  an  interval  of  120  paces.  The  rock  is  barely  accessible, 
except  at  one  end,  where  it  is  defended  by  a  second  wall,  and 
at  another  spot  about  the  middle  of  one  side,  where  a  broad 
gap  affords  a  steep  approach.  The  adjoining  cliff  is  called  Dun 
Bhail  an  High,  "  the  hill  of  the  king's  town."  From  the  foot 
of  the  cliffs  a  straight  raised  way,  said  to  have  been  at  one  time 
paved,  and  called  Straidmharagaid,  "  the  market  street,"  pro- 
ceeds along  the  top,  and  at  a  few  yards'  distance  from  the  edge 
of  the  steep  green  bank  which  lines  the  beach  leading  to  Dun 
Mac  Snichan.  It  is  about  ten  feet  broad,  and,  where  best 
defined,  of  a  like  height.  Some  years  ago  a  stone  coffin,  an 
urn,  and  a  sandal,  were  found  in  the  ground  behind.  A  hollow 
log  of  wood,  turned  up  at  an  early  period,  was  readily  construed, 
by  the  sticklers  for  the  regal  associations  fondly  attached  to 


ROUTE  I.  THE  BLACK  MOUNT.  97 

this  spot,  into  a  remnant  of  the  water-pipes  of  the  city.  At 
the  base  of  the  cliff  is  a  small  burying-ground  and  ancient  cell 
or  chapel,  from  which  the  "  street "  or  paved  way  communicated 
most  likely  with  the  sea-shore  opposite  Dunstaffhage,  or  with 
the  vitrified  site,  and  which,  therefore,  was,  in  all  likelihood,  only 
a  procession  road  during  Christian  times  to  the  religious  sanc- 
tuary. The  distinction  is  farther  claimed  for  this  place  of  being 
the  Selma  of  Ossian.  "  Selma  "  signifies  "  beautiful  view,"  in 
which  respect  the  identity  may  readily  be  admitted.  As  we 
have  elsewhere  observed,  the  range  under  the  eye  from  this  spot 
is  alike  extensive  and  diversified.  The  ruins  of  Bercaldme 
Castle  are  at  no  great  distance.  The  view  here  is  also  fine. 
Intermediate  is  the  house  of  Lochnell,  General  Campbell. 

37.  Oban  comes  suddenly  in  sight  when  close  upon  it,  quite 
a  bird's  eye  view  presenting  itself  from  the  heights  above  of 
the  somewhat  bowl-shaped  road-stead,  with  its  small  comple- 
ment of  shipping  and  boats,  and  the  respectable  looking  range 
of  white-washed  houses  fronting  the  harbour. 

If  the  reader  will  now  suppose  himself  again  at  Tyndrum, 
where,  as  already  mentioned,  the  Oban  and  Fort-William  roads 
diverge,  we  will  take  up  the  thread  of  description  at  that  point 
of  the  route  as  from 

GLASGOW    TO    FORT-WILLIAM    BY    LOCH    LOMOXD. 

38.  The  stage  of  eighteen  miles  from  Tyndrum  to  King's 
House,  is  bleak  and  sterile.      Half  way  the  shores  of  Loch 
Tollie  or  Tulla  are  rather  picturesque,  being  garnished  with 
some  fine  specimens  of  Scotch  pine.     Its  margin  forms  a  pleas- 
ant site  for  a  shooting  lodge  of  the  Marquis  of  Breadalbane, 
whose  adjacent  forest  on  the  Black  Mount  is  distinguished  foi 
its  stock  of  deer.     There  is  here  also  a  small  public  house, 
Inverouran.      Between  and  King's  House,  a   solitary  inn  of 
moderate  pretensions,  standing  in  the  midst  of  a  bleak  and 
extensive  moor,  the  road  makes  a  prolonged  and  tiresome  ascent 
across  the  shoulder  of  the  Black  Mount  ;  the  view  from  which 
has  a  peculiarity  in  its  way,  ranging  over  the  moor  of  Rannoch, 
a  vast  expanse  of  heath  intermixed  with  rocks  and  moss-water 
lochs — the  largest  waste  of  the  kind  in  Scotland. 

39.  Intermediate  between  King's   House  and  Loch  Leven 
lies  Grlencoe,  of  historical  notoriety,  and  no  less  known  to  fame 
for  its  own  intrinsic  features.    It  bends  in  the  centre.   The  lower 


98 


GLENCOE. 


SECT.  III. 


division  near  Loch  Leven  is  covered  with  rich  verdure,  and  the 
course  of  the  river  marked  by  alder  and  birch  trees  spreading 
up  the  face  of  the  lower  slopes  of  the  mountains,  which  ter- 
minate in  naked  and  furrowed  acclivities,  of  a  singular  inter- 
mixture of  colours.  The  character  of  the  other  division  of  the 
glen  is  that  of  unmingled  wildness  and  grandeur.  On  the  north 
side  porphyritic  ranges  rise  into  a  continuous  series  of  high, 
naked,  sharp-edged,  and  serrated  precipices.  The  mountains 
which  form  the  southern  boundary  are  more  rounded,  yet  loftier 
and  more  bold,  and  they  project  unequally  into  the  glen,  gashed 
with  many  a  grizzly  furrow.  From  these  inaccessible  fastnesses 


numerous  torrents  descend  into  the  plain  ;  the  streams  are  so 
rapid,  and  carry  so  much  stony  matter  along  with  them,  that 
they  cannot  be  conducted  by  drains  under  the  road,  which  thus 
possesses  many  inequalities,  and  is  frequently  rendered  almost 
impassable  by  the  quantities  of  debris  lodged  upon  it.  A  small 
lake,  Treachtan,  occupies  the  lower  part  of  this,  the  upper  por- 
tion ;  above  which  the  glen  ascends  with  a  rapid  inclination  to 
its  extremity.  The  impending  gloomy  precipices  of  this  wild 
glen  are  of  a  nature  to  strike  the  most  unreflecting  mind  with 
awe  ;  their  ragged  outlines  and  bold  fronts,  seamed  with  tor- 
rents and  shattered  by  storms,  form  a  scene  not  only  wonderful 


ROUTE  I.  MASSACRE    OF    GLENCOE.  99 

but  terrific.  The  rugged  and  desolate  grandeur  of  Glencoe  and  its 
peculiar  intensity,  compressed  close  around  the  spectator,  is  ac- 
knowledged by  all,  and  by  none  more  than  those  who  have  had 
opportunities  of  seeing  many  of  the  most  remarkable  scenes  on  the 
Continent  of  Europe.  We  have  been  struck  by  the  unqualified 
admiration  of  Glencoe  expressed  by  parties  familiar  with  Swit- 
zerland, more  especially  by  foreigners,  who  seemed  peculiarly 
alive  to  the  impression  of  its  complete  desolation  and  unrelieved 
austerity  of  character. 

In  the  mountains  of  Glencoe  there  are  some  very  dangerous 
passes,  the  terrors  of  which  few,  but  the  shepherds  who  are 
familiarised  to  them,  would  willingly  encounter.  The  moun- 
tains on  the  north  side  of  the  glen  terminate  so  sharply  as,  at 
one  particular  spot,  for  a  space  of  some  yards,  to  resemble 
exactly  the  roof  of  a  house.  To  surmount  this  critical  obstacle, 
requires  no  little  nerve  and  resolution,  for  the  only  way  to 
advance  is  to  sit  astride,  and  crawl  cautiously  alongst  the  nar- 
row ridge  ;  yet  many  fox-hunters  do  not  hesitate  to  perform 
this  trying  adventure,  burdened  with  both  dog  and  gun.  Nor 
is  this  the  whole  of  the  exploit ;  for  a  little  further  on  they 
have  to  leap  a  height  of  about  ten  feet  from  the  top  of  the 
precipice,  to  where  the  slope  becomes  so  gentle  as  to  make  this 
practicable  by  care  and  dexterity.  A  pass  of  a  different  nature, 
and  more  avoided,  because  safety  depends  less  on  skill  than 
accident,  is  in  the  face  of  the  Pap  of  Glencoe.  It  is  a  very 
steep  gully,  the  sides  of  which  are  covered  with  loose  stones, 
which  any  slight  disturbance  brings  tumbling  down  in  great 
quantities.  Here  a  shepherd  lost  his  life  some  years  ago  ;  yet 
many  recollect  an  old  woman  who,  to  a  very  advanced  age, 
almost  daily  followed  her  small  flock  of  goats  up  this  dreaded 
hollow,  unconcernedly  engaged  in  spinning  with  her  old- 
fashioned  roke  and  distaff.  Glencoe  possesses  a  few  farm- 
houses, as  Invercoe,  Auchnacone,  Auchteriachtan,  and  some 
huts  in  the  lower  portion  of  the  glen,  and  one  solitary  farm- 
house at  the  side  of  Loch  Treachtan. 

40.  The  well-known  massacre  of  Glencoe,  which  cast  so 
signal  a  stain  on  King  William's  reign,  renders  the  glen  a 
locality  of  no  little  interest  in  an  historical  point  of  view. 
This  tragic  incident  seems  to  have  had  its  immediate  rise  in  the 
disappointment  felt  by  the  Secretary  of  State,  Sir  John  Dal- 
rymple,  master  of  Stair,  and  the  Earl  of  Breadalbane,  at  the 


100  MASSACRE   OF   GLENCOE.  SECT.  III. 

failure  of  a  project  to  organize  the  Highland  clans  into  a  force 
for  the  support  of  Government.  In  the  negotiations  for  the 
purpose,  too,  the  earl  had  been  provoked  by  Mac  Ian,  chief  of 
the  Macdonalds  of  Glencoe,  who  insinuated  that  he  had  appro- 
priated to  his  own  use  part  of  a  sum  of  money  entrusted  to 
him  for  distribution  among  the  chiefs.  The  Macdonalds  alto- 
gether stood  in  the  way  of  the  attempted  arrangements,  and 
those  of  Glencoe  were  ever  looked  upon  with  an  evil  eye  by 
their  neighbours  the  Campbells, — a  disposition  heightened  by 
the  Glencoe  men's  share  in  the  defeat  of  the  latter  by  Montrose 
at  Inverlochy.  On  the  unsuccessful  issue  of  the  project  of  con- 
ciliation, Government  issued,  in  1691,  a  proclamation,  enjoining 
the  submission  of  all  the  chiefs  before  the  1st  of  January  1692, 
by  taking  a  formal  oath  of  allegiance.  All  the  chieftains  had 
complied  except  Mac  Ian  of  Glencoe  ;  and  he,  too,  a  few  days 
before  the  expiry  of  the  appointed  period,  repaired  to  Fort-Wil- 
liam, and  tendered  his  oath  to  Governor  Hill,  who,  however,  was 
not  the  proper  authority,  and  he  found  himself  necessitated  to 
proceed  to  Inverary  to  the  sheriff  of  Argyle,  Sir  Colin  Campbell 
of  Ardkinglass.  A  storm  of  snow  prevented  his  arrival  within  the 
prescribed  time  ;  but  the  oath  was  administered,  and  the  certifi- 
cate forwarded,  with  an  explanatory  letter.  On  the  llth  of  the 
month,  directions  to  proceed  to  the  extremity  of  fire  and  sword, 
with  all  who  might  have  neglected  the  proclamation,  were  signed 
by  King  William ;  and  on  the  1 6th  he  issued  a  second  set  of 
orders,  but  containing,  like  the  first,  a  reserved  power  to  extend 
the  indemnity  to  such  as  might  have  delayed  to  comply  for 
some  little  time  beyond  that  originally  specified,  yet  expressly 
excepting  the  Macdonalds  of  Glencoe,  who  were  directed  to  be 
extirpated.  The  Sheriff  of  Argyle's  letter  was  not  produced  to 
the  council,  and  the  certificate  was  cancelled.  Instructions  of 
the  most  savage  nature  were  committed  by  Stair  to  Governor 
Hill ;  and  a  detachment  of  the  Earl  of  Argyle's  regiment  was, 
under  a  plausible  pretext,  quartered  in  the  glen,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Captain  Campbell  of  Glenlyon,  whose  niece  was  mar- 
ried to  one  of  Mac  lan's  sons.  The  soldiery  were  most  hospit- 
ably entertained  for  a  fortnight  by  their  intended  victims,  whom, 
on  a  winter's  morning  in  February,  they  proceeded  to  murder 
in  cold  blood.  Another  party,  under  the  command  of  Major 
Duncanson,  was  to  have  occupied  the  eastern  pass  ;  but  having 
been  prevented  by  the  snow  from  arriving  in  due  time,  an  op- 


ROUTE  I.       LOCH   LEVEN THE    SERPENT    RIVER.  101 

portunity  of  escape  was  presented  to  the  majority  of  the  miser- 
able inhabitants,  of  whom,  consequently,  the  number  killed  was 
only  thirty-eight,  but  who  were  murdered  under  circumstances 
of  most  wanton  barbarity.  It  is  related  of  the  principal  actor 
in  this  tragedy — Campbell  of  Glenlyon — that  having,  some 
years  afterwards,  to  superintend  a  military  execution  of  a  sol- 
dier, for  whom  a  reprieve  had  arrived,  he,  at  the  time  for  pro- 
ducing it,  inadvertently  instead  dropped  his  handkerchief,  the 
fatal  signal  to  fire.  Horror-struck,  he  exclaimed,  that  the  curse 
of  Glencoe  hung  about  him,  and  in  deep  despondency  imme- 
diately retired  from  the  service. 

41.  We  now  reach  Loch  Leven,  a  long  but  narrow  arm  of 
the  sea,  extending  in  a  straight  line  between  the  counties  of 
Inverness  and  Argyle.  It  contracts  twice  to  a  very  narrow 
width  :  at  Ballachulish  Ferry,  and  three  or  four  miles  beyond, 
at  another  strait,  called  the  Dog's  Ferry,  above  which  it  con- 
tinues for  about  three  miles.  Dr.  Macculloch,  with  truth,  re- 
marks, that,  "  from  its  mouth  to  its  further  extremity,  Loch 
Leven  is  one  continued  succession  of  landscapes."  Amongst 
the  singular  and  lofty  porphyritic  mountains  on  the  south  side, 
which  form  the  entrance  to  Glencoe,  the  eye  is  peculiarly  at- 
tracted by  the  Pap  of  Glencoe — a  huge  conical  mountain  over- 
hanging the  loch.  The  naked  surface,  abrupt  acclivities,  and 
varied  colours  of  the  porphyritic  masses  which  line  the  glen, 
form  a  striking  contrast  to  the  green  sloping  shores  of  the  loch. 

In  the  basin  between  Ballachulish  and  the  Dog's  Ferry  are 
several  islets.  One  of  these,  called  St.  Mungo!s  Isle,  has 
been  used  as  a  burying-place.  It  consists  of  two  knolls,  one  of 
which  is  appropriated  to  the  district  of  Glencoe,  and  the  other 
to  the  people  of  Lochaber.  On  the  latter  are  the  ruins  of  a  small 
Roman  Catholic  chapel,  in  which  the  body  of  Mac  Ian,  the  Laird 
of  Glencoe  above  alluded  to,  was  originally  interred.  Some  of 
his  descendants,  unwilling  that  the  bones  of  their  ancestor  should 
repose  anywhere  but  among  those  of  their  own  clansmen,  had 
them  removed,  not  many  years  ago,  to  the  Glencoe  portion  of 
the  isle.  They  were  of  great  size.  As  he  was  a  remarkably 
powerful  man,  his  assassins  were  careful  to  pour  a  simultaneous 
volley  on  him  as  he  lay  asleep,  and  all  the  balls  lodged  between 
his  shoulders.  He  was  called  Mhic  Ian  Vohr,  "  the  son  of  John 
the  Great,"  whence  several  of  those  who  escaped  the  massacre 
took  the  name  of  Johnson. 


102  BALLACHULISH.  SECT.  III. 

At  the  upper  end  of  Loch  Leven  are  two  objects  which  are 
frequently  visited  by  strangers — the  Serpent  River,  and  the 
Falls  of  Kinloch  More — both  on  the  north  side  of  the  loch. 
The  Serpent  River  near  its  mouth  falls  over  a  cascade  about 
twenty  feet  high,  and  is  then  hurried  through  a  series  of  low 
natural  arches,  forming  a  dark  and  almost  subterranean  chan- 
nel. A  vertical  hole  in  the  rock  (communicating  with  the  river) 
admits  the  spectator  close  to  the  base  of  the  fall ;  the  sheeted 
water  of  the  cascade  throws  an  uncertain  light  over  the  rocky 
cavern  ;  and  the  successive  openings  of  the  roof  give  us  partial 
glimpses  of  the  inky  stream,  threading  its  way  through  the  in- 
tricacies of  the  tortuous  labyrinth.  The  Falls  of  Kinloch  More 
are,  as  the  name  implies,  at  the  head  of  the  loch  ;  their  height 
appears  about  100  feet,  but  they  are  formed  merely  by  a  small 
burn,  tumbling  over  the  face  of  a  perpendicular  range  of  cliffs, 
the  birch  trees  at  the  base  of  which  conceal  the  lowest  part  of 
the  fall,  and  thus  lessen  the  effect  which  its  great  height — its 
sole  remarkable  feature — would  otherwise  certainly  produce. 
The  trees  below  and  along  the  brow  of  the  precipice,  however, 
bestow  an  airiness  and  beauty  on  the  spot,  which,  with  the  gene- 
ral grandeur  of  the  loch,  and  the  tunnelled  course  of  the  Ser- 
pent River,  amply  repay  the  trouble  of  a  few  hours'  excursion 
on  the  water. 

42.  There  is  a  good  public-house  or  inn  on  either  side  of 
Ballachulish  Ferry,  sixteen  miles  distant  from  King's  House. 
The  view  from  the  north  side  is  worthy  of  special  mention. 
The  celebrated  slate  quarries,  which  are  about  two  miles  from 
the  ferry,  give  employment  to  about  200  people.  Near  them 
there  is  a  neat  Episcopal  chapel,  half  a  mile  beyond  "  the  sound- 
ing Cona,"  which  the  road  crossing,  leads  along  the  shores  of 
the  loch  to  the  ferry.  The  adjacent  district  of  Appin  has  al- 
ways been  a  stronghold  of  Episcopacy.  It  is  worthy  of  remark 
that  the  number  of  communicants  at  the  Ballachulish  chapel 
has  at  times  been  as  large  as  300,  being  probably  more  than  in 
any  provincial  Episcopal  congregation  north  of  the  Tweed. 

From  Ballachulish  to  Fort- William,  a  distance  of  fourteen 
miles,  the  road  runs  chiefly  along  the  eastern  shore  of  Loch  Eil. 
At  Goran  Ferry,  which  connects  Loch  Linnhe  with  Loch  Eil, 
the  sides  of  the  firth  approach  very  near  each  other.  The  op- 
posite shore  is  here  laid  out  into  plantations  and  corn-fields  : 
further  down  is  seen  the  house  of  Ardgour,  surrounded  with 


ROUTE  I.  GLENCROE.  103 

woods,  parks,  and  meadow  grounds ;  and  the  sloping  hills  are 
elsewhere  occasionally  adorned  with  plantations  of  birch,  and 
cottages,  most  of  them  humble  enough,  but  surrounded  with 
clumps  of  old  trees. 

Having  thus  disposed  of  the  routes  to  Oban  by  the  Crinan 
Canal  and  Loch  Lomond,  and  also  by  the  latter  to  Fort-William, 
it  becomes  our  business  to  follow  up  these  by  some  account  of 
the  remaining  lines. 

FROM  GLASGOW  TO  OBAN  BY  INVERARY. 

43.  Of  these  there  is  a  considerable  choice.    We  need  merely 
allude  to  the  access  by  steam  through  the  Kyles  of  Bute  and 
Loch  Fyne.     The  route  by  Tarbet  on  Loch  Lomond  may,  from 
the  head  of  Loch  Long,  be  taken  in  connection  with  that  by  the 
latter,  which,  with  the  direction  by  Loch  Goil  Head,  are  the 
most  frequented,  though  Loch  Eck  is  also  deserving  of  notice, 
and  the  Gareloch  perhaps  still  more  so ;  but  by  these  the  tourist 
must  look  more  to  private  means  of  conveyance. 

44.  Steamers  are  constantly  plying  to  the  head  of  Loch 
Long,  Loch  Goil  Head,  and  Gareloch  Head.      Loch  Long,  as 
its  name  imports,  is  a  lengthened  indentation  or  offset  of  the 
waters  of  the  Firth  of  Clyde,  which  possesses  much  character. 
Its  mountains  send  down  into  the  loch  a  series  of  inclined  arms 
or  ridges  of  irregular  and  indented  outlines,  closing  in  towards 
the  centre  of  the  vista.     Their  lower  portions  are  covered  with 
coppice  or  brought  into  culture,  while  above  they  exhibit  a 
pleasing  mixture  of  grey  rock,  purpling  heath,  and  verdant 
pasture.     One  of  the  mountains  at  the  head  of  Loch  Long  pos- 
sesses a  remarkably  bold  and  fantastic  outline,  which  has  obtained 
for  it  the  designation  of  "  The  Cobbler."     Persons  inclined  to 
hazardous  adventure  are  not  unfrequently  induced  to  try  their 
skill  and  nerve  in  surmounting  its  dizzy  precipices  ;  but  few 
have  succeeded  in  gaming  the  utmost  summit.     The  glen  com- 
municating between  the  inn  of  Arroquhar  at  Loch  Long  Head, 
and  Tarbet  on  Loch  Lomond  side  (a  distance  of  a  mile  and  a- 
half ),  is  open,  the  bottom  cultivated,  the  sides  of  moderate  incli- 
nation, and  heathy.   During  the  memorable  invasion  of  Scotland 
by  Haco,  King  of  Norway,  in  1263,  a  squadron  of  sixty  ships, 
commanded  by  Magnus,  King  of  Man,  sailed  up  Loch  Long. 
Dragging  their  boats  across  the  isthmus  connecting  it  with 


104  LOCH  FTTNE.  SECT.  III. 

Loch  Lomond,  his  followers  laid  waste  the  shores  of  this  latter 
lake  and  its  islands,  in  which  numbers  of  the  neighbouring 
inhabitants  had  sought,  as  they  imagined,  a  secure  refuge. 

4o.  Glencroe,  which  with  Glen  Lochan  and  Glen  Kinglass 
in  succession,  communicates  with  the  head  of  Loch  Fyne, 
resembles  Glencoe,  but  softened  down  ;  and  with  these  just 
named,  is  much  and  deservedly  admired.  It  is  a  winding  valley, 
with  an  occasional  narrow  stripe  of  cultivated  ground  at  the 
bottom,  flanked  by  rapid  slopes  broken  by  protruding  masses  of 
rock,  and  rising  into  precipitous  acclivities,  the  hills  split  into 
separate  summits  of  varied  form,  and  exhibiting  a  jagged  ser- 
rated outline.  Passing  into  the  small  elevated  glen,  called 
Glenlochan,  the  mountains  are  found  disposed  above  a  short 
acclivity,  in  a  range  of  dark  perpendicular  rock,  mingled  with 
scarce  less  perpendicular  grassy  slopes,  ascending  to  a  consider- 
able height,  and  terminating  in  a  sharp,  rugged,  and  serrated 
outline.  About  eight  or  nine  miles  from  Arroquhar  Inn,  at  the 
top  of  the  ascent,  a  well-known  stone  by  the  way-side  invites 
the  weary  traveller  to  "  Rest  and  be  Thankful,"  words  inscribed 
on  it,  with  the  date  1748,  by  the  soldiers  who  formed  the  road. 
It  also  bears  the  latter  inscription — "  Repaired  by  the  23d 
Regiment,  1768."  An  easy  descent  down  Glen  Kinglass,  a  fine 
pastoral  valley,  with  hills  rising  from  the  edge  of  its  stream  in 
a  steep  verdant  slope,  and  also  shooting  at  top  into  distinct  but 
elongated  roundish,  though  somewhat  rocky  summits,  conducts 
us  to  the  inn  of  Cairndow,  with  Ardkinglass  House  adjoining, 
near  the  head  of  Loch  Fyne. 

46.  In  general  character  Loch  Fyne  possesses  no  particular 
interest.  Along  the  upper  pait  of  the  loch,  which  is  very  nar- 
row, the  hills  rise  steeply,  and  immediately  from  the  water  : 
above  the  lower,  occasional  zone  of  coppice  and  cultivation,  they 
are  covered  with  a  very  rich  verdure,  but  their  outline  and  sur- 
face are  rather  monotonous,  but  still  of  somewhat  conical  cha- 
racter. Below  Inverary  the  coasts  are  yet  more  tame,  and  devoid 
of  any  striking  feature,  but  a  good  deal  wooded,  and  for  several 
miles  contiguous  to  that  point  the  hills  are  completely  covered 
with  trees.  Much  in  Highland  scenery  of  all  others,  as  every 
one  knows,  is  dependent  on  the  weather,  and  we  have  witnessed 
as  fine  effects  as  could  be  wished  on  Loch  Fyne,  looking  down 
upon  it  in  a  sunshiny  day  ;  or,  again,  in  a  thunder-storm,  not 
so  close  at  hand  as  to  be  unpleasant,  but  the  muttered  thunder 


ROUTE  I.  INVERARY.  105 

rolling  deliberately  along  the  mountain  sides,  and  their  summits 
partially  enveloped  in  broken  clouds. 

47.  Four  miles  above  Inverary,  on  the  same  side,  Dunedera 
Castle,  a  square  tower,  still  inhabited,  the  property  and  former 
residence  of  M'Naughton  of  M'Naughton,  stands  perched  upon 
a  projecting  piece  of  terraced  ground.     About  ten  miles  from 
the  head  of  Loch  Fyne,  a  slight  indentation  of  some  extent 
occurs  along  the  western  shore :  at  the  lower  end,  Glen  Aray, 
and  at  the  other  extremity,  Glen  Shira,  a  more  flat  and  culti- 
vated valley,  cut  through  the  hills  at  nearly  right  angles  to  the 
shores  of  the  loch.     A  bridge  crosses  the  stream  issuing  from 
each,  at  their  respective  mouths.     The  town  of  Inverary  is  built 
at  the  lower  end  of  the  elongated  indentation  or  bay,  looking 
partly  across  it,  and  partly  fronting  the  loch.    On  a  level  space 
in  front  of  Glen  Aray,  on  the  south  bank  of  the  river,  and 
slightly  elevated  above  the  sea,  stands  the  castle.     The  hills 
separating  Glens  Aray  and  Shira  terminate  in  the  steep  escarp- 
ments of  Duniquoich,  which  shoots  up  a  conical  head  above  the 
contiguous  range,  presenting  an  ample  precipitous  front  to  the 
town  and  castle,  yet  completely  shrouded  with  varied  hardwood, 
and  forming  a  vertical  screen  of  peculiar  richness.     From  the 
town  a  wide  avenue  of  truly  magnificent  beech  trees  proceeds  in 
a  straight  line  parallel  with  the  shore  ;  and  turning  to  the  right, 
the  drive  conducts  to  the  base  of  the  skirting  hills,  and,  amid  a 
profusion  of  stately  timber,  leads  backwards  towards  the  castle, 
approaching  which  it  leads  through  a  double  row  of  full-grown 
lime  trees.    Other  noble  trees  are  scattered  round  the  immediate 
precincts  of  the  ducal  pile  ;  and,  altogether,  the  extent  of  the 
woods,  despite  of  many  and  sore  thinnings,  with  the  beauteous 
scenery   of   Loch   Fyne,  with   its   hilly   shores,  justly  entitle 
Inverary  to  a  proud  place  in  the  list  of  distinguished  localities 
in  Scotland.     We  rejoice  to  see  the  little  valley  of  Essachosan, 
a  sequestered  spot,  through  whose  dense  oaks  even  a  meridian 
beam  could  not,  and  even  now  can  scarcely  penetrate,  speedily 
regaining  much  of  its  wonted  character. 

48.  The  modern  seat  of  M'Callujtn  More,  inferior  to  the  old 
castle,  which  it  represents,  is  a  somewhat  sombre-looking  em- 
battled structure,  of  two  storeys  and  a  sunk  floor,  flanked  with 
round,    overtopping    towers,    and    surmounted    by   a   square, 
winged  pavilion.      The  rooms  are  fitted  up  with  tapestried 
hangings  and  furniture,  panellings  and  ceilings  gaily  painted 


106  LOCH  FVNE  HERRING.  SECT.  III. 

with  fruit  and  flowers,  and  rather  showy  than  stately.  In  the 
saloon  about  150  stand  of  arms,  used  by  the  Campbells  at  the 
battle  of  Culloden,  are  arranged  on  either  hand,  and  above  the 
doorway  fronting  the  entrance  ;  several  of  the  rooms  are  hung 
with  much-admired  tapestry,  and  others  are  tastefully  decorated 
with  well-executed  designs. 

The  town  of  Inverary  consists  of  about  sixty  houses,  the 
greater  number  of  which  are  large  and  commodious  ;  and  the 
inhabitants  amount,  by  last  census,  to  1052.  A  row  of  houses 
fronts  the  bay,  from  which  the  principal  street  diverges  at  right 
angles  ;  and  in  the  centre  of  the  latter  stands  the  church,  a  new 
structure,  surmounted  by  a  small  spire,  sedulously  armed  with 
a  lightning  conductor,  a  precaution  suggested  by  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  former  edifice  a  few  years  ago  by  the  electric  fluid. 
Opposite  the  church  there  is  a  neat  building  by  the  waterside, 
containing  the  court-house  and  other  public  offices.  There  is  a 
very  commodious  and  well  conducted  hotel.  In  a  garden 
beside  the  church  there  is  a  small  obelisk,  commemorative  of 
the  execution,  in  this  place,  in  1685,  of  several  gentlemen  of  the 
name  of  Campbell,  among  the  last  individuals  who  suffered  for 
their  unflinching  opposition  to  Popery  ;  and  near  the  quay,  a 
beautiful  stone  cross  from  lona  has  been  set  up. 

The  staple  commodity  of  Inverary  is  herrings  ;  those  of 
Loch  Fyne  being  celebrated  for  their  unmatched  excellence. 
The  delicious  consistency  of  the  Loch  Fyne  herring  fresh  out 
of  the  water  must  be  practically  tested  to  be  duly  appreciated. 
They  taste  really  as  of  a  peculiar  variety  of  the  fish,  otherwise 
there  must  be  something  remarkable  in  the  fishing  ground. 
They  sell  for  about  three  half-pence  a  piece  in  the  Glasgow 
market.  Three  or  four,  and  at  times  so  many  as  800  boats  are 
to  be  seen  in  pursuit  of  this  fish  immediately  opposite  the  town. 
It  is  highly  interesting  to  watch  the  boats  silently  taking  up 
their  positions  towards  nightfall ;  or  to  look  upon  the  tiny  fleet 
darkling  in  the  silvery  moonbeams. 


TO  INVERARY  BY  THE  GARELOCH,  LOCH  OOIL,  LOCH  ECK. 

It  may  be  best  to  introduce  here,  the  few  words  we  have  to 
offer  on  the  routes  to  Inverary  by  the  Gareloch,  Loch  Goil,  and 
Loch  Eck,  before  concluding  the  rest  of  the  way  to  Oban. 

49.  Both  the  Gareloch  and  Loch  Eck,  of  which  the  first  is 


ROUTE  I.     CARRICK  CASTLE HOLY  LOCH.          107 

a  salt  water  inlet,  the  other  a  fresh  water  lake,  are  very  pecu- 
liar in  character.  The  Gareloch,  intermediate  between  Dum- 
barton and  Loch  Long,  transports  one  in  imagination  to  southern 
climes,  where  we  picture  numerous  villas  as  a  natural  adjunct 
of  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water.  Here,  with  much  softness  of 
natural  features,  we  have  congregated,  at  least  on  one  side,  all 
the  way  from  Helensburgh,  a  large  and  regular  sea-bathing  vil- 
lage, to  Gareloch  Head,  one  long  and  uninterrupted  series  of 
villas  of  varied  architecture — not  a  few  of  them  sumptuous  in 
their  pretensions,  many  exhibiting  much  taste,  and  the  effect 
not  only  of  the  whole  landscape  certainly  extremely  attractive, 
but  highly  indicative  of  the  modern  wealth  of  St.  Mungo's  an- 
cient city.  These  cluster  at  points,  as  Ardincaple,  The  Row, 
and  Shandon,  into  closer  groups.  About  the  Duke  of  Argyle's 
handsome  seat  of  Roseneath — of  Italian  design — there  is  some 
fine  timber,  and  there  is  great  luxuriance  in  the  vegetation  of 
the  whole  locality.  Two  silver  firs,  of  very  large  dimensions,  a 
little  off  the  road,  and  not  far  from  the  quay,  are  worthy  of 
special  notice,  and  also  an  avenue  of  aged  yew  trees.  A  walk 
of  a  couple  of  miles  from  the  very  neat  and  pretty  sheltered 
village  of  Gareloch  Head,  which  is  within  about  ten  miles  of  the 
inn  and  hamlet  of  Arroquhar,  at  the  head  of  Loch  Long,  brings 
us  to  the  summit  of  the  intervening  range,  and  overlooking 
Loch  Long  at  its  junction  with  Loch  Goil — the  square  mas- 
sive walls  of  Carrick  Castle  keeping  sullen  ward  upon  the  fur- 
ther shore. 

50.  This  sombre  pile — a  single  high,  square,  or  rather  ob- 
long keep,  with  an  irregularly-shaped  high  wall,  enclosing  a 
portion  of  the  projecting  rock  on  which  it  stands,  by  the  side  of 
Loch  Goil — and  a  previous  scene  of  a  different  complexion, 
where  the  house  of  Ardintenny  (Earl  of  Dumnore)  and  the 
pretty  adjoining  village  lie  in  a  sunny  recess,  encircled  by 
wooded  hills,  and  opening  upon  a  closely-embowered  ravine,  are 
the  most  prominent  individual  objects  on  the  sail  up  Loch 
Goil.  As  already  noticed,  the  approach  by  the  Firth  of  Clyde 
to  Loch  Long  and  Loch  Goil  is  exceedingly  attractive  ;  the  ex- 
tended panorama  characterized  by  great  variety  and  strong  con- 
trasts ;  and  by  spaciousness,  without  such  remoteness  as  at  all 
to  injure  the  effect  of  any  one  of  the  boundaries.  The  steamers 
for  Loch  Long  and  Loch  Goil,  and  for  Kilmun,  come  down  the 
Firth  as  far  as  Gourock,  before  reaching  across.  Loch  Goil  is 


108  LOCH  ECK — GLEN  ARAY.  SECT.  III. 

distinguished,  like  Loch  Long,  by  high,  rough,  and  boldly-out- 
lined mountains,  with  steep  green  acclivities,  having  a  consi- 
derable dash  of  rocky  spaces  interspersed.  At  Loch  Goilhead, 
Drumsainy  House  is  surrounded  by  fine  woods.  From  the  vil- 
lage of  Loch  Goilhead,  where  there  is  a  good  inn,  a  coach  starts, 
on  the  arrival  of  the  steamer,  for  St.  Catharine's  Ferry,  on  Loch 
Fyne,  about  eight  miles  distant,  and  opposite  Inverary,  crossing 
a  high  ridge  through  a  fine  pastoral  valley,  lined  by  lofty  hills 
clothed  with  brilliant  verdure,  and  known  by  the  startling  cog- 
nomen of  "  Hell's  Glen."  The  ferry  is  plied  by  a  small  steamer. 

51.  Numerous  and  cheerful  white-washed  villas,  and  sea- 
bathing quarters,  extend  along  the  opposite  shores  of  Holy 
Loch,  on  the  Clyde,  which  is  deeply  embayed  amidst  mountains 
of  considerable  elevation.     A  square  burial  vault  at  Kilmun — 
so  called  from  St.  Mun — forms  the  resting-place  of  the  bones  of 
the  family  of  Argyle.    The  villas  which  bedeck  the  shore  extend, 
with  little  interruption,  all  round  the  loch.     At  the  western 
termination  of  the  bay,  another  cluster  of  houses  commences 
another  series,  stretching  in  a  single  row  along  the  coast,  and 
almost  connecting  with  the  village  of  Dunoon  ;  a  bright  and 
lively  shore  line  thus  lying  in  immediate  contact  with  heathery 
and  unreclaimed  sloping  braes.     A  small  portion  of  the  ruins 
remains,  at  Kilmun,  of  a  collegiate  church  founded  in  the  middle 
of  the  fifteenth  century. 

52.  Loch  Eck,  flanked  by  the  mountain  chains  within  whose 
embrace  the  waters  of  Holy  Loch  insinuate  themselves,  possesses 
as  strongly-marked  and  picturesque  boundaries  as  any  of  our 
Highland  lakes.     It  is  eight  or  nine  miles  in  length,  but  gene- 
rally not  many  hundred  yards  wide,  encompassed  by  abrupt  hills 
of  mica  slate,  rising  sheer  from  the  water,  roughened  with  many 
perpendicular  faces  of  rock,  and  carpeted  between  with  the 
brightest  verdure  ;  of  considerable  still  moderate  height,  sepa- 
rated by  deep  ravines,  and  of  indented  and  bold  outlines.     The 
margin  of  the  lake  is  not  unadorned  with  trees.     But  for  the 
white  walls  of  a  few  respectable  houses  Loch  Eck  wears  all  the 
secluded  air  of  a  loch  in  the  remote  Highlands,  while  the  boldly- 
defined  forms,  yet  verdant  character  of  its  hills,  constitute  it  a 
most  pleasing  link  between  the  truly  alpine  and  more  properly 
lowland  lakes.      It  resembles,  indeed,  in  many  respects,  the 
lakes  of  the  north  of  England,  closely  embosomed  in  their  own 
compacted  mountains,  verdant,  closely  cropped,  yet  of  unex- 


ROUTE  I.  PORT  SONACHAN — LOCH  LINNHE.  109 

pectedly  steep  and  bold  acclivity,  and  with  outlines  more  inde- 
pendent and  remarkable  than  those  of  the  Scottish  mountains, 
yet  with  margents  green  and  wooded  shores  incomparably  sweet. 
About  half-way  between  Kilmun  and  Strachur,  on  Loch  Fyne, 
a  road  strikes  past  Whistlefield  inn,  across  a  rather  steep  hill  to 
Ardintenny.  From  Loch  Eck,  the  road  to  Inverary  conducts 
through  a  cultivated  valley,  and  passing  the  grounds  of  Strachur 
House,  and  by  the  sheltered  inn  of  that  name,  about  half-a-mile 
from  the  shore. 

IJfVERARY    TO    OBAN. 

53.  The  road  from  Inverary  to  Oban  proceeds  up  Glen  Aray, 
passing  through  a  part  of  the  ducal  policies.     As  we  ascend, 
the  sides  of  the  glen  are  found  rising  immediately  from  the 
brink  of  the  small  river  Aray,  and  disposing  themselves  into 
numerous  irregular  eminences,  all  enveloped  with  luxuriant 
woods,  chiefly  of  oak  and  birch     The  ascending  valley  of  trees — 
the  clambering  arrangement  of  the  series  of  eminences  composing 
the  sides  of  the  glen — the  diversity  and  undulations  of  surface — 
the  varied  density  of  the  forest,  and  its  variegated  foliage — the 
magnitude  of  the  timber,  and  its  unequal  age  and  height — the 
whole,  enlivened  and  embellished  by  a  pleasing  stream,  combine 
to  form  exquisite  woodland  scenery. 

54.  The  descent  to  Loch  Awe  is  accomplished  by  a  series  of 
most  rapid  inclines,  setting  at  defiance  all  notion  of  easy  gra- 
dients.    We  reach  the  low  ground  at  Clady,  where,  besides  an 
inn,  there  is  a  small  collection  of  black  houses.     Here,  one  road 
to  the  right  leads,  by  Dalmally,  (sixteen  miles  from  Inverary,) 
round  the  head  of  Loch  Awe,  while  another,  in  the  opposite 
direction,  conducts  to  the  ferry  of  Port  Sonachan,  three  miles 
from  Clady,  crossing  at  which  the  distance  is  shortened  by 
about  six  miles.     The  former,  from  Dalmally,  has  been  already 
described.     At  Port  Sonachan,  the  shores  of  the  lake  are  found 
beautifully  diversified  with  wood  and  cultivated  ground,  and 
embellished  by   several   respectable-looking  residences.      The 
landscapes,  from  the  successive  lateral  outlines,  present  every- 
where a  variety  of  distances.      The  upland  opening  towards 
Loch  Etive  is  bare  and  cheerless — Ben  Cruachan  and  the  adjoin- 
ing ranges,  however,  preserving  their  majestic  character,  while 
we  descend  through  a  pleasing  little  glen — Glen  Nant — of  some- 


110  LOCH  LINXHE.  SECT.  III. 

what  peculiar  character  ;  the  sides,  rising  for  some  miles  imme- 
diately from  the  burn,  being  covered,  with  scarce  a  break  of 
rock  throughout,  with  a  thick  young  coppice  of  hazel  and 
dwarf  birch. 

OBAN    TO    IXVEBSESS. 

55.  We  know  of  nothing  to  surpass  the  sail  from  Oban  to 
Fort- William.  Bordered  on  both  sides  by  lofty  mountains, 
there  is  yet  a  striking  contrast  on  either  hand.  On  the  one,  the 
Morven  and  associated  ranges  line  the  waters  in  one  continuous 
rampart,  cleft,  it  is  true,  by  an  occasional  ravine-like  opening, 
and  several  of  the  individual  mountains  are  distinctive  by  their 
fine  forms.  On  the  other,  a  series  of  far  indented  inlets  of  the  sea, 
though  but  partially  visible  from  Loch  Linnhe,  indicate  a  dis- 
position of  the  mountain  masses  ranging  inland  from  the  coast, 
thus  exhibiting  themselves  to  the  eye  of  the  spectator  at  vary- 
ing distances  and  in  multiform  shape,  outline,  and  grouping, 
while,  the  broken  character  of  the  shore  and  its  diversified  sur- 
face, greatly  heighten  the  effect.  A  lieautiful  green  is  the  pre- 
vailing livery  ;  but  in  the  revelations  made  of  mountain 
summits  of  great  elevation,  rising  into  peaks  or  circled  with 
precipitous  corries,  as,  for  instance,  the  hoary  guardians  of 
Glencoe,  the  bare  rock  contrasts,  according  to  its  respective 
ingredients,  its  varying  more  sombre  or  neutral  hues  and  tints, 
with  the  warmer  colouring  of  the  pasture,  heath,  and  foliage. 
Objects  of  great  interest,  though  different  in  kind,  occupy  the 
nearer  ground,  in  the  numerous  strongholds  in  ruins,  attesting 
the  importance  which  the  surrounding  districts  held  at  former 
periods  of  our  country's  history,  when  the  Lords  of  the  Isles  and 
their  Scandinavian  predecessors  ruled  paramount  amid  their 
remote  fastnesses.  Of  these  Dunolly  Castle,  at  the  entrance  of 
the  Bay  of  Oban  ;  Dunstaffnage,  at  the  opening  of  Loch  Etive  ; 
the  vitrified  rock,  the  reputed  site  of  Berigonium  the  Pictish 
capital,  on  the  opposite  coast  of  the  Bay  of  Ardnamucknish ; 
Duart  Castle,  the  stronghold  of  Maclean,  on  the  coast  of  Mull  ; 
Shuna,  on  the  island  of  that  name  ;  Eilean  Stalker,  a  fortalice 
of  the  Stewarts  of  Appin,  on  a  little  islet  off  the  Appin  shore, 
are  the  most  prominent.  Many  gentlemen's  seats,  surrounded 
by  pleasure-grounds  beautified  with  full-grown  trees,  adorn  this 
romantic  coast.  Lochnell  (General  Campbell)  lies  within  the 
wooded  promontory  of  Ardnamucknish,  which  extends  from  the 


ROUTE  I.  LISMORE — FORT- WILLIAM.  Ill 

opening  of  Loch  Creran  to  that  of  Loch  Etive.  The  house  of 
Airds  is  situated  at  the  mouth  of  Loch  Creran.  ArdshieJ 
(Stewart)  presents  itself  at  the  entrance  of  Loch  Leven  ;  and 
intermediate  between  them  lies  Appin  House  (Downie).  The 
Appin  coast  is  diversified  with  numerous  rocky  knolls  and 
eminences,  which,  with  the  lower  mountain  slopes,  are  girt 
with  rich  woods  of  oak  and  birch.  One  of  the  finest  points  is 
the  opening  of  Loch  Leven,  where  the  aspect  of  the  towering 
Alps  of  Glencoe,  and  of  the  bright  emerald  acclivities  near  hand, 
is  really  imposing  ;  and  the  pre-eminent  bulk  of  Ben  Nevis,  as 
we  advance,  attracts  attention,  and  is  an  object  one  looks  out 
for  with  some  interest,  as  being  the  monarch  of  British  moun- 
tains, now  holding  a  sort  of  divided  sway  with  Ben  Mhac  Dhui 
in  the  heights  of  Aberdeenshire. 

Loch  Linnhe,  as  it  spreads  out  towards  the  ocean,  where  the 
widening  vista  is  closed  by  the  brown  heathy  mountains  of 
Mull,  encompasses  with  its  waters  a  few  large  and  several 
smaller  islands.  Of  these,  the  principal  is 

56.  Lismore,  a  very  fertile  island,  about  ten  miles  long  and 
two  broad,  in  which  is  carried  on  a  considerable  trade  in  lime- 
stone, of  which  it  is  entirely  composed.     At  Killichearen,  on 
the  east  side  of  the  island,  is  a  small  establishment,  till  lately 
made  use  of  for  the  education  of  Roman  Catholic  priests,  and 
called  the  College  of  Lismore,  which  was  under  the  charge  of  a 
bishop.     It  consists  of  a  small  chapel,  with  a  two-storeyed  dwel- 
ling-house on  each  side,  and  protected  from  the  winds  by  a  few 
ash  trees.     This  seminary  has,  of  late  years,  been  abandoned, 
and  removed  to  Aberdeenshire.     The  number  of  students  was 
generally  nine  or  ten.     None  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  island 
are  Romanists.     This  island  was  anciently  a  possession  of  the 
Bishops  of  Argyle  and  of  the  Isles,  who  were  thence  frequently 
styled  Episcopi  Lismorenses.     On  the  west  side  of  the  island 
the  remains  of  their  palace  of  Auchindown  still  exists  in  the 
shell  of  a  large  square  structure  with  lofty  walls,  which  enclose 
a  court  on  one  side  of  the  building  ;  the  whole  being  rather 
securely  placed  on  a  rock  in  front  of  a  terraced  space  with  a 
precipitous  seaward  front. 

57.  Fort-William  and  the  contiguous  village  of  Maryburgh 
stand  at  a  bend  of  Loch  Eil,  as  the  extremity  of  Loch  Linnhe 
is  called,  which  here  suddenly  turns  its  course  to  the  north- 
west.    The  fort  was  erected  in  King  William's  reign.     It  is  an 


112  FORT-WILLIAM.  SECT.  III. 

irregular  work,  mounted  with  1 2  twelve-pounders,  and  defended 
by  a  ditch,  glacis,  and  ravelin.  It  contains  a  bomb-proof  maga- 
zine, and  the  barracks  are  intended  to  accommodate  2  field- 
officers,  2  captains,  4  subalterns,  and  96  privates.  We  appre- 
hend its  worth  as  a  protection  to  shipping,  its  only  conceivable 
use  now  a  days,  to  be  very  small,  if  of  any  account  at  all.  Like 
Fort-Augustus,  it  was  designed  as  a  garrison  for  troops,  to  keep 
the  Highlanders  in  check  when  their  loyalty  was  a  divided  one, 
and  with  the  occasion  their  serviceablencss  has  passed  away. 
A  mere  handful  of  men  now  compose  the  garrison.  Mary- 
burgh  consists  of  a  long  straight  street,  close  to  the  edge  of  the 
water,  with  several  short  intersecting  lanes,  and  contains  about 
1500  inhabitants  ;  two  respectable  inns,  the  Caledonian  and 
George ;  an  Episcopal  and  Roman  Catholic  chapel,  and  Mis- 
sionary Presbyterian  and  a  Free  church  ;  two  branch  banks  ; 
and  here,  too,  one  of  the  Sheriff-substitutes  of  the  county  resides 
and  holds  his  courts,  his  jurisdiction  also  extending  over  a 
portion  of  the  adjoining  county  of  Argyle.  A  monument  has 
recently  been  erected  in  honour  of  Maclachan  of  Aberdeen,  a 
distinguished  Gaelic  scholar  and  great  linguist,  and  compiler 
of  the  Gaelic  Dictionary,  who  was  a  native  of  the  district. 

58.  The  most  prominent  feature  of  this  neighbourhood  is 
Ben  Nevis,  "  Beinmamh  Bhathais,"  the  mountain  with  its  sum- 
mit in  the  clouds — the  cloud-kissing  hill,  long  reputed,  and  still 
having  fair  pretensions,  to  be  the  highest  mountain  in  Great 
Britain.  It  rises  abruptly  from  the  plain  to  the  east  of  Fort- 
William  :  its  height  is  4370  feet,  and  its  circumference  at  the 
base  is  supposed  to  exceed  24  miles.  The  circuit  or  outline  of 
the  mountain  all  round  is  well  defined,  for  it  is  almost  com- 
pletely isolated  by  two  yawning  ravines,  and  separated  from  the 
adjoinir;?  lofty  mountain  ranges,  and  projects  boldly  in  front  of 
them.  The  base  of  Ben  Nevis  is  almost  washed  by  the  sea  ; 
none  of  its  vast  proportions  are  lost  to  the  eye,  and  hence  its 
appearance  is  peculiarly  imposing ;  while  the  sky  outline, 
which  is  not  peaked,  but  plain  and  tabular  (deviating  but  little 
from  a  right  line),  admirably  harmonises  with  its  general  mas- 
siveness  and  majesty.  Its  northern  front  consists  of  two  grand 
distinct  ascent  or  terraces,  the  level  top  of  the  lowest  of  which, 
at  an  elevation  of  about  1700  feet,  contains  a  wild  tarn  or 
mountain  lake.  The  outer  acclivities  of  this,  the  lower  part  of 
the  mountain,  are  very  steep,  although  covered  with  a  short 


ROUTE  I.  BEN  NEVIS.  113 

grassy  sward,  intermixed  with  heath  ;  but  at  the  lake  this  vege- 
table clothing  ceases.  Here  a  strange  scene  of  desolation  pre- 
sents itself.  The  upper  and  higher  portion  seems  to  meet  us, 
as  a  new  mountain,  shooting  up  its  black  porphyritic  rocks 
through  the  granitic  masses,  along  which  we  have  hitherto 
made  our  way,  and,  where  not  absolutely  precipitous,  its  surface 
is  strewed  with  angular  fragments  of  stone  of  various  sizes, 
wedged  together,  and  forming  a  singularly  rugged  covering, 
among  which  we  look  in  vain  for  any  symptoms  of  vegetable 
life,  except  where  round  some  pellucid  spring  the  rare  little 
alpine  plants,  such  as  Epilobium  alpinum,  Silene  acaulis,  Saxi- 
fraga  stettaris  and  nivalis.  which  live  only  in  such  deserts  wild, 
are  to  be  found  putting  forth  their  modest  blossoms,  amid  the 
encircling  moss.  The  eagle  sallying  from  his  eyry  may  greet 
the  approach  of  the  wanderer,  or  the  mournful  plover  with 
plaintive  note  salute  his  ear  ;  but  for  those  birds  of  the  moun- 
tain, the  rocky  wilderness  were  lifeless  and  silent  as  the  grave  ; 
its  only  tenants  the  lightnings  and  the  mists  of  heaven,  and  its 
language  the  voice  of  the  storm. 

On  the  north-eastern  side  of  Ben  Nevis,  a  broad  and  tremen- 
dous precipice,  commencing  at  the  summit,  reaches  down  to  a 
depth  of  not  less  than  1500  feet.  The  furrows  and  chasms  in 
the  black  beetling  rocks  of  this  precipice  are  constantly  filled 
with  snow,  and  the  brow  of  the  mountain  is  also  encircled  with 
an  icy  diadem.  From  the  summit,  the  view,  as  will  readily  be 
conceived,  is  remarkably  grand  and  extensive.  The  astonished 
spectator,  who  has  been  so  fortunate  as  to  reach  it  free  of  its 
frequent  robe  of  clouds,  descries,  towards  the  south  and  east, 
the  blue  mountains  of  Ben  Cruachan,  Ben  Lomond,  Ben  More, 
Ben  Lawers,  Schehallion,  and  Cairngorm,  with  a  thousand  inter- 
mediate and  less  aspiring  peaks.  On  the  other  sides,  his  eye 
wanders  from  the  distant  hills  of  Caithness  to  the  remote  and 
scarcely  discernible  mountains  of  the  outer  Hebrides.  Nume- 
rous glens  and  valleys  lie  to  the  south,  but  they  are  hidden 
from  observation  ;  and  to  the  utmost  verge  of  the  horizon, 
countless  mountains  of  all  sizes  and  shapes,  heathy,  rocky,  and 
tempest-worn,  extend  before  the  eye,  as  if  the  waves  of  a 
troubled  ocean  had,  in  their  commotion,  been  turned  into  stone. 
Looking  towards  the  other  points  of  the  compass,  we  meet  with 
more  variety  ;  the  silvery  waters  of  Loch  Eil,  Loch  Linnhe,  and 
Loch  Lochy,  of  the  Atlantic  and  German  Oceans,  rendering  the 

F2 


114  BEN  NEVIS.  SECT.  III. 

vast  prospect  more  cheerful  and  brilliant.  It  may  safely  be 
said  that  every  point  of  the  horizon  is  120  miles  removed  from 
the  spectator. 

The  ascent  of  Ben  Nevis  usually  occupies  three  hours  and  a- 
half  from  the  base  of  the  mountain,  and  the  descent  rather  more 
than  half  that  time.  Some  travellers  go  up  at  night,  that  they 
may  enjoy  the  sunrise :  by  doing  so,  they  run  a  great  risk  of 
being  disappointed,  as  in  the  morning  the  view  is  generally 
obscured  by  mists,  and  only  occasional  glimpses  can  be  caught 
of  the  glorious  prospect,  which  is  generally  clearest  from  mid- 
day to  six  o'clock  in  the  evening.  It  is  imprudent  for  a 
stranger  to  undertake  the  ascent  without  a  guide,  and  one  can 
always  be  procured  about  Fort- William  for  seven  or  eight  shil- 
lings. The  inexperienced  traveller,  also,  may  be  the  better  of 
being  reminded  to  carry  with  him  some  wine  or  spirits  (which, 
however,  should  be  used  with  caution),  wherewith  to  qualify 
the  spring  water,  which  is  fortunately  abundant,  and  to  which 
he  will  be  fain  to  have  frequent  recourse,  ere  he  attain  the 
object  of  his  labours.  It  is  customary  to  ascend  the  hill  on  the 
northern  side.  By  making  a  circuit  to  the  eastward,  beyond 
Inverlochy  Castle,  the  traveller  can  proceed  as  far  as  the  lake  on 
the  back  of  a  Highland  pony. 

Ben  Nevis,  in  its  geological  structure,  very  clearly  exhibits 
the  successive  elevation  of  mountain  masses  by  volcanic  agency. 
It  consists  of  three  great  zones  of  rock,  the  fundamental  one 
being  gneiss  and  mica  slate,  through  which  an  enormous  irrup- 
tion of  granite,  forming  now  the  lower  half  of  the  mountain, 
bursts  forth.  At  a  subsequent  period,  a  new  summit  of  black 
compact  felspar  rocks  (the  principal  member  being  a  porphy- 
ritic  greenstone),  was  projected  from  below  through  the  centre 
of  the  granite,  shooting  up  beyond  it  at  a  high  angle,  and  now 
constituting,  as  similar  rocks  do  elsewhere,  the  loftiest  rocky 
pinnacle  in  the  country.  The  older  masses  are,  in  many  places, 
traversed  by  veins  of  the  superior  rocks. 

In  Glen  Nevis,  some  miles  from  Fort-William,  is  a  rocking- 
stone  of  considerable  size,  not  unworthy  the  attention  of  the 
curious  ;  and  beyond  it  the  vitrified  fort  of  Dun  Jardil. 

;"»!).  Between  Loch  Lochy,  the  westernmost  of  that  chain  of 
lakes  which  occupy  the  Great  Glen  and  the  line  of  the  Caledo- 
nian Canal,  and  the  sea  at  Loch  Eil,  there  is  a  broad  moss, 
which,  with  the  adjoining  district,  forms  the  territory  of  Loch- 


ROUTE  I.  INVEBLOCHY   CASTLE.  115 

aber,  a  name  familiar  to  Scottish  ears.  On  the  north  side  of 
this  flat  the  canal  has  been  formed,  and  on  the  south  side  runs 
the  river  Lochy,  issuing  from  Loch  Lochy,  with  the  united 
waters  of  the  river  Spean,  which  descends  from  Loch  Laggan. 

An  object  of  interest  near  Fort-William  is  the  old  castle  of 
Inverlochy,  about  two  miles  distant  from  the  latter  place.  It 
stands  between  the  road  and  the  river  Lochy,  and  consists  of 
four  large  round  towers,  connected  by  high  walls  or  screens, 
forming  an  extensive  quadrangle.  The  towers  are  about  thirty 
feet  in  height,  and  overtop  the  walls  by  eight  or  ten  feet.  The 
western  and  southern  are  nearly  entire  ;  and  the  former,  which 
is  called  Cuming's  Tower,  is  considerably  larger  than  the  rest. 
Its  inside  diameter  is  eight  paces,  and  the  thickness  of  its  walls 
about  ten  feet.  A  moat,  eight  paces  wide,  encircled  the  walls 
at  the  distance  of  ten  paces.  The  principal  entrance  is  on  the 
south-east  side ;  and  directly  opposite  it  is  a  sallyport ;  each 
had  a  guard-room  immediately  above,  and  the  former  was  well 
defended  by  iron  gates,  and  a  heavy  portcullis.  The  towers 
consisted  of  three  storeys,  and  besides  loop  or  arrow-holes,  each 
room  is  provided  with  one  or  two  windows. 

Tradition  invests  Inverlochy  with  a  most  imposing  antiquity, 
making  it  the  residence  of  the  Pictish  kings,  when  they  came 
to  enjoy  deer-stalking  on  the  Parallel  Roads  of  Glen  Roy !  Here, 
also,  Achaius  is  said  to  have  signed  a  league  with  Charlemagne. 
The  present  building  is  most  naturally  to  be  ascribed  to  the  age 
of  Edward  I.,  being  of  nearly  the  same  character  as  the  castles 
erected  by  him  in  North  Wales.  If  not  built  and  garrisoned  by 
his  troops,  there  seems  little  reason  to  doubt  that  it  owes  its 
origin  to  the  powerful  family  of  Cuming,  and  that  the  English 
monarch's  engineers  had  helped  to  plan  and  construct  it,  as  the 
style  of  its  defences  and  masonry  are  different  from  the  usual 
rude  residences  of  Highland  chieftains. 

A  handsome  suspension  bridge  has  now  been  erected  across 
the  river  Lochy,  near  the  old  castle,  superseding  the  ferry,  and 
thus  an  important  acquisition  to  the  district. 

60.  Beneath  the  frowning  towers  of  Inverlochy  the  Duke  of 
Argyle  was  defeated  by  the  Marquis  of  Montrose,  in  the  year 
1645.  Montrose  and  his  army  had  just  retired  from  a  six  weeks' 
inroad  into  the  Argyle  country  ;  on  which  occasion,  having  taken 
his  enemy  completely  by  surprise,  "  he  burnt  every  house,  ex- 
cept the  impregnable  castles  ;  slew,  drove  off,  ate  up,  or  other- 


116  BATTLES   AT   INVERLOCHT.  SECT.  III. 

wise  destroyed,  every  four-footed  beast,  and  utterly  spoiled 
everything  in  the  shape  of  grain,  goods,  and  furniture."  On 
his  way  towards  Inverness  at  the  hill  of  Kilchumin  (near  Fort- 
Augustus)  on  Loch  Ness  side,  he  was  overtaken  by  the  unex- 
pected news  of  Argyle  with  a  force  double  his  own,  which  had 
been  much  reduced  by  the  temporary  absence  of  his  men  to  de- 
posit their  booty,  advancing  in  pursuit,  and  retaliating  by  laying 
waste  Lochaber.  Judging  correctly  that  another  body  would 
be  ready  to  the  eastward  to  act  in  concert  with  the  Campbells, 
Montrose,  with  that  enterprise  and  promptitude  for  which  he 
was  so  eminently  distinguished,  resolved  to  anticipate  the  move- 
ments of  his  enemies,  and  to  hurl  back  the  tide  of  war.  He  led 
his  men  up  the  course  of  the  Tarff  (the  line  of  the  old  Corry- 
arick  road)  to  the  sources  of  the  Spey,  and  thence  into  Glen 
Roy,  and  so,  by  pathless  wilds  covered  with  a  deep  snow,  with 
great  expedition  to  the  foot  of  Ben  Nevis.  This  circuitous  route 
was  chosen  for  secrecy's  sake.  It  was  impossible  to  make  the 
attack  the  night  of  their  arrival.  Before  dawn  the  Campbells 
were  not  unaware  of  the  presence  of  a  hostile  body  ;  but  deem- 
ing them  merely  some  party  of  the  surrounding  peasantry,  and 
little  dreaming  of  the  close  vicinity  of  the  redoubted  Montrose, 
slight  attention  was  paid  to  the  aggressing  host,  to  whom  every 
opportunity  was  left  of  assailing  their  adversaries  to  advantage. 
The  onset  was  made  when  the  first  rays  of  the  sun  shot  athwart 
Ben  Nevis  ;  and  the  astonished  Campbells  hurriedly  drew  up, 
dismayed  by  the  intelligence  of  the  great  Montrose  himself  be- 
ing their  opponent.  Their  chief,  excusing  himself  from  the 
effects  of  a  late  accident,  retired  on  board  his  galley.  A  large 
body  of  his  men  had  been  posted  on  the  further  side  of  the 
Lochy ;  and  the  main  army,  drawn  up  in  the  level  ground  about 
the  castle,  were  dispirited  by  being  made  to  abide  the  shock  of 
their  enemies'  impetuous  charge.  There  was  scarce  a  show  of 
resistance  made.  They  were  driven  back  in  confusion  on  the 
river  and  shore  of  Loch  Eil,  and  slaughtered  or  drowned  in 
crowds.  There  fell  no  fewer  than  1500  men,  a  full  half  of  their 
whole  number,  including  sixteen  gentlemen  and  officers  of  note ; 
while,  on  Montrose's  side,  there  were  only  three  private  men 
killed,  and  one  gentleman  wounded.  Argyle,  ordering  his  sails 
to  be  set,  left  his  men  to  their  fate.  This  sanguinary  battle, 
if  it  can  be  so  called,  was  fought  on  Sunday  the  2d  of  February, 
1645. 


ROUTE  I.  BANNA  VIE.  117 

Montrose  is  said  to  have  knighted  on  the  field  of  battle  John 
Hay  of  Lochloy,  whose  tomb  is  still  to  be  seen  in  St.  Mary's 
aisle  in  Elgin  cathedral.  This  is  the  latest  instance  of  the 
honour  of  knighthood  being  conferred  by  a  subject ;  and  the 
circumstance  is  commemorated  in  the  pages  of  our  great  nove- 
list, where  the  doughty  Sir  Dugald  Dalgetty  is  made  to  win  his 
spurs  in  this  engagement. 

Inverlochy  was  also  the  scene  of  a  severe  conflict  in  an  earlier 
age.  Alexander,  Lord  of  the  Isles,  having  been  imprisoned  in 
Tantallon  Castle,  by  King  James  I.,  for  burning  the  town  of 
Inverness,  and  other  offences  against  the  peace  of  the  country, 
Donald  Balloch  of  Islay,  a  cousin  of  Alexander's,  to  insult  the 
royal  authority,  laid  waste  Lochaber  with  fire  and  sword.  Alex- 
ander Earl  of  Mar,  and  Allan  Earl  of  Caithness,  being  sent  to 
defend  the  country,  encountered  the  islesmen  at  Inverlochy. 
The  latter  nobleman  was  slain,  and  his  party  completely  de- 
feated. But  Donald's  star  was  not  long  triumphant  ;  for, 
the  king  advancing  in  person  to  crush  the  rebellion,  he  was 
obliged  to  flee  to  Ireland,  whence  his  head  was  sent  over  to  his 
majesty. 

61.  Having  landed  the  passengers,  whose  destination  may 
happen  to  be  Fort- William,  with  such  as  may  prefer  remaining 
there  overnight  and  rejoining  in  the  morning — conveyances  run- 
ning across  betimes — the  steamer  proceeds  to  the  mouth  of  the 
canal  at  Bannavie.     A  very  handsome  and  commodious  new 
hotel  has  been  recently  erected  by  the  proprietor,  Sir  Duncan 
Cameron  of  Fassfern,  ample  enough  abundantly  to  do  away  with 
all  cause  of  grumbling  at  want  of  room,  ofttimes,  heretofore, 
occasioned  by  the  over  crowded  state  of  the  former  inn,  and  with 
all  feeling  of  disquietude  in  the  contemplation  of  the  possible 
risk  of  having  to  seek  for  uncertain  repose  on  chairs  or  some 
other  uneasy  substitute  for  a  comfortable  bed.     This  inn  has 
been  leased  by  the  steam-boat  proprietors,  Messrs.  Burns — a 
guarantee  for  its  being  well  conducted. 

Ben  Nevis  and  its  adjoining  mountain  masses,  with  Glen 
Nevis,  shew  to  peculiar  advantage  from  the  vicinity  of  the  night 
quarters,  and  the  tourist  has  the  advantage  of  witnessing  their 
varied  aspect  under  the  descending  mantle  of  evening,  and  when 
lighted  up  with  the  first  rays  of  early  dawn. 

62.  Near  the  church  of  Kilmaillie,  close  by  the  adjoining 
village  of  Corpach,  an  obelisk  has  been  erected,  the  inscription 


118  MONUMENT   AT   CORPACH.  SECT.  III. 

on  which,  from  the  gifted  pen  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  the  reader 
will  allow  to  be  worthy  of  insertion : — 

"  Sacred  to  the  Memory 

of 

COLONEL  JOHN  CAMERON, 
Eldest  sou  of  Sir  Ewen  Cameron  of  Fassifern,  Baronet, 

Whose  mortal  remains, 
Transported  from  the  field  of  Glory,  where  he  died, 

Rest  here  with  those  of  his  forefathers. 

During  twenty  years  of  active  military  service, 

With  a  spirit  which  knew  no  fear  and  shunned  no  danger, 

He  accompanied  or  led, 

In  Marches,  Sieges,  or  Battles, 

The  gallant  92d  Regiment  of  Scottish  Highlanders, 

Always  to  Fame,  almost  always  to  victory ; 

And  at  length, " 

In  the  forty-second  year  of  his  age, 
Upon  the  memorable  16th  day  of  June,  1815, 

Perished  in  the  command  of  that  corps, 
While  actively  contributing  to  achieve  the  important  victory 

of 

Waterloo, 

Which  gave  peace  to  Europe. 

Thus  ending  his  military  career 

With  the  long  and  eventful  struggle  in  which 

His  services  had  been  so  often  distinguished ; 

He  died  lamented, 

By  that  unrivalled  General, 

To  whose  long  train  of  success  and  victory 

He  had  so  much  contributed ; 

By  his  country 

From  which  he  had  repeatedly  received  marks 
Of  the  highest  consideration ; 

and 

By  his  Sovereign, 
Who  graced  his  sorrowing  family  with  those  marks  of  honour, 

Which  could  not  follow  to  this  place 
Him  whose  merit  they  were  designed  to  commemorate. 

Reader, 

Call  not  his  fate  untimely, 
Who,  thus  honoured  and  lamented, 
Closed  a  life  of  Fame  by  a  death  of  Glory." 

03.  The  great  Glen  of  Scotland  is  lined  throughout  by 
parallel  chains  of  hills  of  considerable  but  not  great  elevation, 
broken  through  on  the  north  side  by  a  series  of  lateral  valleys, 
as  the  openings  to  Glenfinnan  and  Loch  Arkaig,  Glengarry, 
Glenmoriston,  and  Urquhart,  which  severally  exhibit  some 
of  the  most  beautiful  portions  of  scenery  to  be  met  within  the 
Highlands,  and  in  each  of  different  character.  On  the  opposite 


ROUTE  I.  TOR  CASTLE  —  HIGHBR1DGE.  119 

side  Glen  Spean,  at  the  western  end,  descends  from  Loch  Lag- 
gan  to  the  foot  of  Ben  Nevis ;  but  otherwise,  this  range  is  un- 
broken, except  by  occasional  ravines,  sending  down  their  streams 
with  more  or  less  of  headlong  impetuosity.  There  is  com- 
paratively little  remarkable  in  the  way  of  outline  ;  but  the  long 
vistas,  though  perhaps  too  much  akin,  are  very  fine,  and  the 
whole  scenery  highly  attractive,  and  at  different  points  the  side 
scenes  are  exquisitely  and  picturesquely  beautiful. 

64.  A  series  of  eight  locks  at  Bannavie,  called  Neptune's 
Staircase,  raise  the  canal  at  once  to  the  level  of  Loch  Lochy. 
Partly  to  avoid   the  detention  of  passing  these,  a   different 
steamer  performs  the  rest  of  the  voyage  to  Inverness. 

The  distance  to  Loch  Lochy  is  eight  miles.  Within  about 
three  miles  of  the  sea,  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Lochy,  part  of 
the  walls  are  still  standing  of  a  very  old  building  called  Tor 
Castle,  the  ancient  seat  of  the  chief  of  the  Mackintoshes,  or 
Clan  Chattan,  who  at  one  time  possessed  this  part  of  the  coun- 
try, and  still  retain  some  property  in  the  locality.  In  the  opi- 
nion of  those  who  are  zealous  to  make  the  most  of  antiquarian 
data,  Tor  Castle  has  been  given  forth  as  the  residence  of  Ban- 
quo,  Thane  of  Lochaber ;  and  there  are  certainly  no  such  con- 
clusive materials  for  gainsaying  this  position,  as  Eadie  Ochiltree 
overwhelmed  Monkbarns  withal. 

65.  About  eight  miles  from  Fort- William,  on  the  road  to 
Inverness,  which  keeps  the  south  side  of  the  valley,  a  picturesque- 
looking  bridge,  appropriately  called  Highbridge,  is  thrown  across 
the  deep  and  rocky  channel  of  the  Spean  ;  but  the  road  now 
makes  a  detour  to  avoid  the  steep  approaches  to  this  old  struc- 
ture, crossing  at  Spean  Bridge,  where  there  is  a  small  inn. 
High  bridge  was  built  by  General  Wade,  and  marks  the  spot 
where  hostilities  first  commenced  in  the  rebellion  of  1745.     Re- 
ports had  become  current   in   the  country  of  Prince  Charles 
having  landed,  and  the  governor  of  Fort-Augustus  deemed  it 
expedient  to  reinforce  the  garrison  of  Fort-William.     Two  com- 
panies of  the  first  regiment  of  foot  were  accordingly  sent,  under 
the  command  of  Captain  (afterwards  General)  John  Scott.     As 
they  approached  Highbridge  their  ears  were  saluted  with  the 
warlike  strains  of  a  bagpipe,  and  presently  several  armed  High- 
landers were  observed  moving  to  and  fro  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  bridge.     The  captain,  aware  of  the  critical   state  of  the 
country,  and  apprehensive  that  a  strong  force  had  assembled 


120  HIGHBRIDGE — LOCH  LOCHY.  SECT.  III. 

to  oppose  his  progress,  judged  it  most  prudent  to  avoid  an  open 
rupture,  and  began  to  retrace  his  steps  to  the  eastward.  The 
military  were  allowed  to  proceed  unmolested,  till  they  had 
reached  the  loch  ;  but  then  a  dropping  fire  was  opened  upon 
them  from  the  steep  acclivities  above,  where  their  adversaries 
were  securely  sheltered,  and  their  numbers  concealed.  Having 
reached  the  east  end  of  Loch  Lochy,  Captain  Scott,  suspecting  a 
hostile  reception  from  some  Highlanders  he  observed  on  the  hills 
to  the  south  of  Loch  Oich,  determined  to  proceed  by  the  north 
side  of  that  lake,  and  endeavour  to  possess  himself  of  the  castle 
of  Invergarry.  They  had  not  marched  far,  in  pursuance  of  this 
intention,  when  a  body  of  the  Macdonells  of  Glengarry  were 
observed  advancing  against  them.  Their  pursuers,  greatly  in- 
creased in  numbers,  now  came  up  ;  and,  as  resistance  could  only 
lead  to  unavailing  bloodshed,  Captain  Scott  and  his  party 
surrendered  themselves  prisoners,  and  were  immediately  con- 
ducted to  Lochiel's  house  at  Achnacarry.  That  chief  afterwards 
carried  them  with  him  to  Glenfinnan,  where  the  clans  were  ap- 
pointed to  rendezvous,  to  be  offered  to  his  Prince,  as  the  first- 
fruits  of  their  arms,  and  a  happy  presage  of  the  success  of  their 
cause. 

66.  Loch  Lochy  is  ten  miles  in  length  ;  its  breadth  at  the 
east  end  is  three  quarters  of  a  mile,  and  gradually  increases 
towards  the  opposite  extremity,  where,  at  the  Bay  of  Arkaig, 
it  becomes  nearly  double  that  width  ;  the  depth  is  in  some 
places  from  seventy  to  eighty  fathoms.  The  mountains  on  the 
south  side  of  this  and  the  adjoining  lake  are  continuous  and 
unbroken  beyond  Lowbridge  ;  the  opposite  hills  are  torn  by 
numerous  gullies,  but  the  pasture  on  both  sides  is  still  of  a  rich 
green,  strongly  contrasting  with  the  brown  and  purple  tints 
which  the  prevalence  of  heather  will  be  found  to  give  to  the 
eastern  portion  of  the  Great  Glen  ;  and  the  vista  is  very  fine. 
The  shores  of  this  lake  are  steep,  and  the  hills  but  scantily 
wooded.  Shortly  after  entering  on  the  lake,  the  house  of  Ach- 
nacarry, the  paternal  mansion  of  Lochiel,  the  chief  of  the  Clan 
Cameron,  will  be  observed  on  the  north,  embosomed  amidst 
trees  in  the  centre  of  a  pretty  wide  and  exceedingly  beautiful 
valley,  which  connects  with  Loch  Arkaig,  another  large  sheet  of 
water.  Here  lived,  at  least  in  the  old  structure,  burnt  by  the 
Duke  of  Cumberland,  the  "undaunted  Lochiel"  of  the  Forty- 
five,  and  his  still  more  celebrated  predecessor,  Sir  Ew%n  Cameron, 


ROUTE    I.  LOCH   LOCHY.  121 

that  doughty  and  chivalrous  warrior  who  long  set  even  the 
arms  of  the  iron  Cromwell  at  defiance,  having  been  the  last 
Scotsman  who  succumbed  to  his  authority,  and  who  again  sig- 
nalized his  loyalty  at  Killiecrankie.  It  may  interest  our  lady- 
readers  to  learn,  that  Sir  Ewen  had  twelve  daughters,  all  of 
whom  were  married  to  landed  proprietors,  and  most  of  them  to 
heads  of  Clans,  or  of  branches  of  Clans.  A  wide  circle  of  High- 
land families  may  thus  claim  kindred  with  Lochiel.  In  these 
days,  the  fair  sex  were  of  comparatively  small  account,  when 
the  wealth  of  a  chief  corresponded  with  the  number  of  his 
bearded  followers.  This  gallant  old  chief,  however,  on  the  birth 
of  the  twelfth  daughter  being  announced  as  of  a  lady,  propheti- 
cally expressed  himself,  "  Yes,  a  real  lady,  and  every  one  of 
them  will  bring  me  a  lad  ! "  On  the  opposite  side  of  Loch 
Lochy,  the  house  of  Glenfinlay  (Andrew  Belford)  forms  a  hand- 
some and  conspicuous  object.  Letterfinlay  is  an  unpretending 
public-house,  by  the  loch  side  on  the  southern  shore,  three 
miles  from  the  east  end  of  Loch  Lochy.  At  Lowbridge  (a  col- 
lection of  huts,  four  miles  distant  from,  and  to  the  west  of  this 
inn,  and  situate  at  the  entrance  of  Glen  Gloy),  the  southern 
range  of  hills  extending  from  the  Moray  Firth  may  be  said  to 
terminate.  Glen  Gloy  is  nearly  parallel  with  Glen  Roy  (cele- 
brated for  its  parallel  roads),  which  lies  south  of  it,  and  which 
joins  Glen  Spean,  lying  still  farther  to  the  south,  and  extend- 
ing from  Loch  Laggan,  in  the  direction  of  Fort- William.  The 
mouth  of  Glen  Spean  is  occupied  by  a  vast  alluvial  deposit, 
disposed  in  broken  sterile  eminences,  beyond  which  Ben  Nevis 
is  still  seen  raising  his  huge  bulk  to  the  skies,  terminating  a 
range  of  lofty  porphyritic  mountains  which  proceed  from  the 
further  side  of  Loch  Laggan. 

67.  Kinloch  Lochy  was,  in  the  year  1544,  the  scene  of  a  most 
bloody  battle  between  the  Frasers,  headed  by  their  chief,  Hugh, 
fifth  Lord  Lovat,  and  the  Macdonalds  of  Clanranald.  The  captain 
of  Clanranald  dying,  left  a  natural  son,  who,  being  grownup,  took 
advantage  of  the  minority  of  the  heir,  and  seized  his  possessions 
on  the  west  coast.  The  cause  of  the  latter  was  espoused  by  the 
Frasers,  who  assembled  to  recover  his  estates  for  him.  On  their 
return  from  the  west,  they  found  the  forces  of  the  Clanranald  had 
mustered  at  Loch  Lochy,  to  hazard  the  issue  of  a  battle,  which 
was  maintained  till  nightfall  with  the  most  desperate  determi- 
nation, and  nearly  equal  slaughter  on  both  sides.  Lord  Lovat, 


122  BLARANLIEN — LOCH  OICH.  SECT.  III. 

with  his  eldest  son,  and  eighty  gentlemen  of  the  clan,  fell  in 
this  memorable  engagement,  which  is  commonly  known  by  the 
name  of  BlaraiiHen,  from  the  Erasers  having  stripped  to  their 
shirts.  It  was  fought  on  the  15th  of  July  1544.  The  heir  of 
Clanranald,  called  Donald  Gaulta,  the  Lowlander,  was  taken 
prisoner,  and  carried  to  a  public-house  at  Laggan  by  a  party 
of  Macdonalds.  He  had  killed,  in  the  course  of  the  day,  a 
very  powerful  man,  the  pride  and  champion  of  Clanranald,  and 
was  himself  very  severely  wounded  in  the  head.  The  Mac- 
donalds, in  their  cups,  commenced  boasting  of  their  several 
exploits,  when  Donald  Gaulta,  from  his  bed  of  sickness, 
remarked,  that  if  he  were  as  well  as  he  had  been  in  the  morning, 
he  would  rather,  single-handed,  encounter  all  who  were  then  in 
the  room,  than  have  to  engage  again  in  mortal  combat  with  the 
brave  man  who  had  that  day  fallen  beneath  his  sword.  This 
taunt  so  irritated  the  Macdonalds,  that  they  directed  the  person 
who  was  to  act  as  surgeon,  when  dressing  the  wound  of  their 
rightful  chief,  to  thrust  the  needle  into  his  brain.  He  did  so 
accordingly  ;  but  ere  the  spirit  winged  its  flight,  Donald  had 
time  to  plunge  his  dirk  into  the  heart  of  the  faithless  leech. 

68.  Next  in  succession  to  Loch  Lochy,  and  intermediate 
between  it  and  Loch  Ness,  comes  a  small  lake  called  Loch  Oich, 
whose  surface  is  the  summit  level  between  the  two  seas.  The 
distance  between  the  latter  and  Loch  Lochy  is  about  two  miles. 
In  the  space  between  these  is  a  small  village  called  Laggan, 
principally  occupied  by  families  of  the  name  of  Kennedy, 
descendants  of  a  sept  originally  sent  here  by  government  to 
civilize  the  Highlanders,  but  whose  own  character  needed  equal 
amendment,  for  ultimately  they  were  found  to  be  among  the 
most  troublesome  and  untractable  of  the  Caterans.  A  plain 
square  enclosure,  north  of  the  canal,  forms  the  resting-place  of 
the  late  Glengarry,  a  personage  of  celebrity  in  his  day,  as  the 
most  genuine  incarnation  of  the  Celtic  characteristics  of  a  by- 
gone age.  He  was  the  head  of  one  of  the  lines  of  descendants 
of  Ronald,  eldest  son  of  John  of  Isla,  the  lineal  heir  of  the 
mighty  Somerled.  As  such,  and  alleging  his  to  be  the  oldest 
of  these  lines,  he  regarded  himself  as  the  true  representative  of 
the  Lords  of  the  Isles,  instead  of  Lord  Macdonald  of  Sleat, 
whose  predecessors  sprung  from  Donald  of  the  Isles,  son  of  John 
of  Isla  by  his  second  marriage  with  Margaret,  daughter  of 
Robert  II.,  had  enjoyed  the  title,  while  a  recognized  one.  With 


ROUTE  I.  LOCH  OICH.  123 

an  ardent  temperament  pervaded  by  an  all-powerful  apprehension 
of  his  high  descent,  and  an  inborn  yearning  after  the  spirit  and 
appropriate  qualities  of  his  ancestry,  his  life  was  an  incon- 
gruity to  modern  modes,  and  wore  in  these  degenerate  days 
much  of  an  air  of  extravaganza.  Still  his  strongly  rooted 
feelings  and  startling  peculiarities  commanded  no  little  general 
interest,  while  in  many  a  Highland  bosom  he  stood  enshrined 
as  the  model  of  all  to  which  the  memory  of  Highlanders  tena- 
ciously clings  ;  and  his  death  left  a  blank  which  there  was  none 
to  replace.  It  is  perhaps  not  incorrect  to  say  that  Glengarry's 
enthusiastic  passion  for  every  thing  Highland  may  have  been 
a  chief  means  in  sustaining  and  nourishing  those  predilections 
for  Highland  costume,  music,  dancing,  and  games,  which  are 
now  so  much  a  fashion. 

69.  Loch  Oich  is  rather  more  than  three  miles  and  a  half  in 
length,  and  varies  in  breadth  from  one-fourth  to  one-sixteenth 
of  a  mile.  It  is  a  sweet  sheet  of  water,  encircled  by  verdant 
banks,  with  some  cultivated  grounds  at  the  mouth  of  Glengarry ; 
and  it  is  farther  embellished  by  one  or  two  diminutive  islets, 
decked  with  trees.  The  range  of  hills  on  the  south  side  is  high, 
steep,  and  unbroken,  rising  immediately  from  the  loch,  but 
covered  with  green  pasture,  and  having  a  few  birches  scattered 
over  its  surface  ;  from  the  north  side  the  Glengarry  mountains 
shoot  up  in  a  succession  of  high  and  bold  peaks,  very  elegantly 
and  regularly  shaped  ;  one  of  them,  from  its  uniform  outline, 
being  called  Glengarry's  Bowling  Green.  From  their  base,  the 
valley  and  river  from  which  they  take  their  general  name  are 
seen  stretching  to  the  westward,  and  beautifully  fringed  with 
birch  woods.  Near  the  river's  mouth,  and  close  to  the  loch,  are 
the  ruins  of  the  ancient  castle  of  Invergarry,  the  seat  of  the  chief 
of  the  branch  of  clan  Coila,  called  Macdonell,  and  a  modern 
mansion,  now  occupied  by  Lord  Ward,  who  has  recently  become 
proprietor,  by  purchase,  of  the  larger  portion  of  the  Glengarry 
estates.  The  latter  is  a  plain,  narrow,  high-roofed  house  ;  but 
the  castle  is  worthy  of  more  notice.  It  stands  on  a  rock,  which 
is  the  gathering  place  of  the  clan  Macdonell,  whose  war-cry, 
now  the  motto  of  their  chief,  is,  "  Craggan  an  phithick,"  "  the 
rock  of  the  raven."  The  castle  consists  of  an  oblong  square 
of  five  storeys,  containing  the  principal  rooms,  and  having  an 
addition  on  one  side,  in  which  are  the  gateway,  staircase,  guard- 
rooms, &c.  ;  the  former  is  rounded  at  the  east  end  into  a  sort 
of  tower  ;  from  the  corner  of  the  other  a  turret  shoots  up, 


124  WELL  OF  THE  HEADS.  SECT.  III. 

which  commands  an  extensive  view  of  the  surrounding  country. 
It  was  burnt,  after  the  rebellion  of  1 745,  by  the  Duke  of  Cum- 
berland ;  but  the  greater  part  of  the  walls  are  still  standing. 
The  landscape,  looking  back  westwards  as  the  boat  passes  along 
to  the  eastern  extremity,  is  one  of  the  most  perfect  pictures  in 
the  whole  course  of  the  voyage,  and  the  scenery  of  Loch  Oich  is 
said  to  resemble  very  strikingly  that  of  some  parts  of  the  Rhine. 
70.  A  monument  will  be  observed  by  the  loch  side,  before  we 
reach  the  castle,  erected  by  the  late  Glengarry,  over  "  the  well 
of  the  seven  heads."  The  monument  consists  of  a  group  of 
seven  human  heads  carved  in  stone,  placed  on  the  top  of  a 
small  pyramid,  which  rests  on  a  square  die.  The  following 
inscription  is  engraved  on  this  singular  structure  in  four 
different  languages — English,  Gaelic,  French,  and  Latin  : — 

As  a  Memorial 
Of  the  ample  and  summary 

Vengeance 
Which,  in  the  swift  Course  of 

Feudal  Justice, 

Inflicted  bv  the  Orders  of 

The  Lord  M'bonell  and  Aross, 

Overtook  the  Perpetrators  of 

The  foul  Murder 

of 
The  Keppoch  Family, 

a  branch  of 
The  Powerful  and  Illustrious 

Clan, 
Of  which  his  Lordship  was 

The  Chief. 

This  Monument  is  erected  by 
Colonel  Macdonell,  of  Glengarry, 

XVII.  Mac-Mic-Alaister, 

His  Successor  and  Representative, 

In  the  Year  of  our  Lord, 

1812. 

The  Heads  of  the  Seven  Murderers 
Were  presented  at  the  foot  of 

The  Noble  Chief, 

In  Glengarry  Castle, 

After  having  been  washed 

In  this  Spring : 

And  ever  since  that  event, 

Which  took  place  early  in 

The  Sixteenth  Century, 

It  has  been  known  by 

The  name  of 
"  Tobar-nan-ceann," 

or, 
The  Wett  of  the  Heads. 


ROUTE  I.   WELL  OP  THE  HEADS — FORT  AUGUSTUS.  125 

The  murder  alluded  to  was  that  of  the  two  sons  of  Keppoch, 
who  had  been  sent  to  be  educated  in  France.  During  their 
absence  their  father  died,  leaving  his  affairs  under  the  manage- 
ment of  seven  brothers,  his  kinsmen.  The  prolonged  stay  of 
the  young  chief  had  so  habituated  his  cousins  to  the  pleasures 
of  power,  that  they  murdered  him  and  his  brother  on  the  night 
of  there  unwelcome  return.  The  old  family  bard  was  the 
means  of  bringing  the  deserved  punishment  on  the  murderers. 
After  fruitless  endeavours  to  engage  various  Highland  chiefs 
in  the  object  he  had  devoted  himself  to,  and  repeated  applica- 
tions to  Glengarry's  ancestor  according  to  the  above  inscription, 
but,  in  the  opinion  of  many  versant  in  traditionary  lore,  to 
Macdonald  of  the  Isles,  he  at  length  prevailed  on  one  or  other 
of  them  to  furnish  a  body  of  men,  with  whose  aid  having 
achieved  his  purpose,  the  attached  senachie  glutted  his  thirst 
for  revenge  by  mutilating  the  corpses  of  the  ruthless  assassins. 
A  little  way  up  Glengarry,  on  the  north  side  of  the  loch,  to 
which  side  the  road  follows,  and  south-east  side  of  the  river, 
the  traveller  will  find  a  comfortable  inn,  equidistant  (i.e.,  about 
seven  and  a  half  miles)  from  Letterfinlay,  on  the  banks  of 
Loch  Lochy,  and  Port- Augustus.  The  drive  up  the  glen  to 
Loch  Garry  is  well  worthy  of  a  spare  hour. 

71.  The  centre  of  the  glen,  from  Fort- Augustus  to  Loch 
Oich,  is  occupied  by  low,  rocky,  and  heathy  hills,  on  the  south 
side  of  which  the  road  proceeds,  and  on  the  other  the  canal. 
About  a  mile  from  the  fort  the  road  passes  a  small  loch  called 
Culachy.  at  the  end  of  which  it  is  joined  by  the  southern  Loch 
Ness  and  the  Corryarick  roads.     The  distance  from  Loch  Oich 
to  Loch  Ness  is  five  miles  and  a  half.     At  the  east  end  of  the 
former  lake  stands  a  bare  slated  house,  called  Aberchalder, 
where  Prince  Charles'  forces  gathered  before  crossing  Corryarick 
for  the  low  country.     Nothing  remarkable  occurs  on  the  line  of 
the  canal,  except  the  vitrified  fort  of  Torduin,  which  communi- 
cated with  Dun  Jardil  on  Loch  Ness,  and  thence  with  the 
eastern  coast. 

72.  Fort-Augustus  is  situated  at  the  south-western  extre- 
mity of  Loch  Ness  ;  it  stands  by  the  edge  of  the  lake,  on  an 
alluvial  bank,  between  a  mountain  stream,  called  the  Tarff,  and 
the  river  Oich  ;  the  canal,  which  cuts  through  the  glacis  at  the 
fort,  intervening  between  it  and  the  latter.     The  fort  was  built 
shortly  after  the  rebellion  of  1715.     In  form  it  is  square,  with 


126  LOCH  NESS.  SECT.  III. 

four  bastions  at  the  corners,  on  which  can  be  mounted  twelve 
six-pounders.  It  is  defended  by  a  ditch,  covert  way,  and  glacis. 
In  the  ditch  is  a  battery,  on  which  can  be  mounted  four  six- 
pounders.  The  barracks  are  constructed  for  one  field  officer, 
four  captains,  twelve  subalterns,  and  280  rank  and  file.  The 
magazine,  storehouses,  &c.,  are  at  present  empty,  and  the  guns 
have  been  removed  to  Fort-George ;  but  a  few  soldiers  are 
generally  stationed  in  the  garrison. 

73.  Loch  Ness  is  between  twenty-three  and  twenty-four  miles 
in  length  ;  it  varies  in  breadth  from  three  quarters  of  a  mile  to 
a  mile  and  a  quarter,  the  latter  being  the  average  width.  Its 
sides  sink  with  a  very  rapid  declivity,  as  it  is  frequently  from 
forty  to  fifty  fathoms  deep  within  that  distance  from  the  shore  ; 
and  in  some  places,  towards  the  middle,  the  depth  has  been 
found  to  be  130  fathoms.  In  consequence  of  this  great  depth, 
the  loch  never  freezes,  and  the  river  which  flows  from  it  has  so 
short  a  run,  that  it  reaches  the  sea  before  it  has  been  cooled  to 
the  congealing  point.  The  slope  of  the  sides  of  the  mountain- 
chains  is  equally  steep  above  as  beneath  the  surface  of  the  lake. 
Rugged,  heathy,  and  rocky,  with  their  faces  in  many  places 
furrowed  by  the  winter  storms,  they  are,  notwithstanding,  in 
great  part,  especially  on  the  northern  bank,  luxuriantly  clad 
with  a  profuse  variety  of  forest-trees  ;  birch,  oak,  ash,  elm,  and 
aspen,  and  a  thick  underwood  of  hazel,  sloe,  and  holly ;  spangled 
hi  summer  by  innumerable  wild  roses,  and  resting  on  a  carpet- 
ing of  purpled  heath  and  verdant  bracken.  The  mountain 
ranges  average  between  1200  and  1500  feet  in  height,  and  are, 
in  general,  of  equal  elevation  on  the  opposite  sides  of  the  lake, 
except  where  Mealfourvounie,  about  midway  on  the  north  side, 
rears  his  dome-like  head  to  the  height  of  upwards  of  3000  feet. 
The  mountains  are  continuous  and  undivided,  save  by  the  val- 
ley of  Urquhart  and  Glenmoriston  on  the  north,  and  by  two 
ravines  about  the  middle  of  the  south  side,  and  near  each  other, 
down  which  the  Farikaig  and  Foyers  pour  their  streams  into 
the  great  reservoir.  A  few  arable  tracts,  at  wide  intervals, 
gladden  the  eye  amid  the  woods  which  cover  the  sides  of  the 
hills  ;  and  on  the  north,  the  openings  of  Glens  Urquhart  and 
Moriston  display  to  view  large  cultivated  fields  and  substantial 
houses  ;  while  in  the  spaces  between  these  valleys  the  steep 
acclivities  have,  in  a  few  places,  been  turned  to  account  by  the 
labours  of  industrious  croftsmen.  Along  the  whole  of  the 


ROUTE  I.  LOCH  NESS INVERMORISTON.  127 

southern  side  of  the  lake  hardly  a  house  is  to  be  seen  from 
Cores,  at  the  east  end,  to  Fort- Augustus,  except  towards  the 
centre,  where  the  white  walls  of  Boleskine  and  the  General's 
Hut  make  a  conspicuous  appearance  high  up  on  the  hill  face  ; 
while  the  house  of  Foyers  below,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  of 
that  name,  looks  out  from  amidst  luxuriant  woods  of  birch. 

Loch  Ness  occupies  the  whole  breadth  of  the  valley,  except 
towards  its  eastern  extremity,  where  its  waters  are  confined  to 
a  narrow  channel  on  the  north  side. 

The  appearance  of  this  lake  from  the  water,  though  highly 
beautiful,  is  monotonous  ;  the  mountains  are  deficient  in  strik- 
ing outline,  and  appear,  if  not  somewhat  insignificant,  at  least 
wanting  in  force  of  character,  from  the  extent  of  space  which 
the  eye  embraces  ;  and  their  fine  woods  have  little  better  effect 
than  a  clothing  of  sward.  Notwithstanding,  there  are  some 
very  fine  frontlets,  as  Strone  Muichk,  and  Craig  Ian,  at  Inver- 
moriston  ;  the  face  of  Suchumin,  at  Fort-Augustus  ;  the  Red 
Rock  at  Aultsigh  ;  and  the  Black  Rock  at  Inverfarikaig.  We 
would  recommend  the  stranger  to  travel  along  the  banks  of 
Loch  Ness.  Of  the  two  roads,  that  on  the  north  side  is  prefer- 
able ;  the  elevations  of  the  roads  are  more  various,  and  the 
windings  more  numerous  ;  and  from  these  the  lake  is  at  almost 
each  successive  step  presented  under  a  new  aspect.  At  times, 
from  some  treeless  swelling  of  the  hill  side,  or  from  the  top  of 
some  abrupt  precipice,  we  overlook  the  whole  bright  expanse 
of  its  waters  ;  whilst  advancing  but  a  few  paces,  we  find  it  con- 
cealed from  sight,  or,  at  intervals,  perceive  it  glittering  and 
glancing  through  the  dense  foliage  of  o'erhanging  trees. 

74.  Invermoriston,  the  first  place  of  call  after  leaving  Fort- 
Augustus,  lies  in  a  deep  recess  at  the  mouth  of  Glenmoriston, 
closely  girt  by  an  amphitheatre  of  hills,  with  the  mansion  of  the 
proprietor  (Murray  Grant)  fronting  the  lake.    About  three  miles 
further  down,  the  deep  burn  course  of  Aultsigh  presents  a 
magnificent  precipice,  bearing  on  its  rocky  ledges  a  host  of 
scattered  pines,  which  on  the  more  inclined  surface  to  the  lake 
give  place  to  a  rich  mantle  of  birch  and  hard  woods. 

75.  The  celebrated  Falls  of  Foyers  occur  on  the  river  of 
that   name   about    twelve    miles   from   Fort-Augustus.      The 
steamer  lies  to,  off  the  mouth  of  the  river,  at  a  beautiful  wood- 
embowered  alluvial   bank,  from  whose  foliage  the   house   of 
Foyers  peers  forth,  to  give  the  passengers  an  opportunity  of 


128  FALLS  OF  FOYERS.  SECT.  III. 

visiting  the  falls,  which  are  two  in  number,  the  nearest  about  a 
mile  from  the  lake,  and  the  other  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
further. 

The  river  Foyers,  after  passing  across  the  highly  ele- 
vated and  chiefly  moorland  and  open  district  of  country  lying 
to  the  south  of  Loch  Ness,  on  its  reaching  the  hills  which  skirt 
that  lake,  enters  a  deep  and  narrow  ravine,  at  the  commence- 
ment of  which  it  is  precipitated  over  a  ledge  of  rock,  about 
thirty  feet  in  height,  forming  the  upper  fall.  To  view  it  to  the 
best  advantage  (and  the  traveller  should,  if  he  have  command 
of  his  time,  first  visit  this  upper  fall,  to  which  the  public  road 
and  a  bridge  across  the  river  will  lead  him),  it  is  necessary  td 
descend  to  the  channel  of  the  river  below  the  bridge.  From 
this  position,  the  appearance  of  the  headlong  and  tumultuous 
mass  of  waters  is  very  imposing ;  while  the  high  and  perpendi- 
cular rocks  between  which  the  river  pours  its  noisy  and  troubled 
flood,  and  the  aerial  single-arched  bridge  which  has  been  thrown 
across  the  chasm,  have  a  highly  picturesque  effect.  A  path- 
way will  be  found  immediately  beside  the  bridge,  and  on  the 
west  side  of  the  stream,  which  conducts  to  the  proper  point  of 
view.  It  is,  however,  somewhat  difficult  to  reach  this  posi- 
tion ;  and  the  generality  of  visitors  content  themselves  with  the 
view  from  the  bridge  or  the  rocks  above  the  fall.  Below  the 
fall,  the  channel  of  the  river  is  deep  and  rocky,  and  shelves 
rapidly  down  towards  the  lake :  the  mountain  sides  are  clothed 
with  luxuriant  woods  of  birch ;  and  the  river,  interrupted  in 
its  course  by  numerous  masses  of  rock,  is  lashed  into  foam,  and 
hurries  impetuously  forward  for  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  It 
then  encounters  a  second  abrupt  descent,  and  is  dashed  through 
a  narrow  gap,  over  a  height  of  about  ninety  feet,  into  a  deep 
and  spacious  linn,  surrounded  with  lofty,  precipitous  rocks. 
From  one  side  of  this  gulf,  a  high  ledge  of  rock,  projecting  in 
front  of  the  fall,  obstructs  all  sight  of  it  from  any  point  along 
the  margin  of  the  river.  As  we  approach  this  greater  cataract, 
the  ground  is  felt  to  tremble  from  the  shock  of  the  falling 
water  ;  and  the  ear  is  stunned  with  its  sullen  and  ceaseless  roar. 
A  winding  footpath  strikes  off  from  the  public  road,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  a  parapet  wall,  and  leads  down  to  a  green  bank, 
on  the  point  of  the  projecting  barrier,  directly  opposite  to  and 
on  a  level  with  the  middle  of  the  fall.  Here  in  security  the 
eye  can  scan  the  terrors  of  the  troubled  gulf  beneath,  the  whole 


ROUTE  I.          FALLS  OF  FOYERS.  129 

extent  of  the  fall,  and  of  the  encircling  and  surmounting  rocks, 
partially  covered  with  a  rank  mossy  vegetation,  forced  into  life 
by  the  volumes  of  vapour  which  float  around,  their  summits 
waving  with  birches,  pencilled  on  the  sky.  The  accompani- 
ments of  wood  and  rock,  and  mountain  slope,  are  always  attrac- 
tive ;  but  when  the  river  is  swollen  with  rain,  the  scene  assumes 
the  features  of  sublimity,  and  the  spectator,  immersed  in  an 
agitated  and  drenching  mist,  regards  it  with  mingled  feelings 
of  awe  and  admiration.  The  living  spirit  of  the  waters  wakens, 
with  thundering  call,  the  echoes  of  the  solitude :  every  other 
sound  is  drowned,  and  all  nature  seems  attentive  to  the  voice  of 
the  falling  element ;  and  the  mighty  caldron  is  filled  with 
shifting  masses  of  spray,  frequently  illumined  with  the  bright 
and  lambent  tints  of  a  rainbow. 

Of  the  many  descriptions  extant  of  this  fall,  we  have  always 
felt  the  following  lines  the  most  correct  and  graphic : 

Among  the  heathy  hills  and  ragged  woods 

The  roaring  Foyers  pours  Ms  mossy  floods ; 

Till  full  he  dashes  on  the  rocky  mounds, 

Where,  thro'  a  shapeless  breach,  his  stream  resounds, 

As  high  in  air  the  bursting  torrents  flow, 

As  deep-recoiling  surges  foam  below, 

Prone  down  the  rock  the  whitening  sheet  descends, 

And  viewless  Echo's  ear,  astonish'd,  rends. 

Dim  seen,  through  rising  mists  and  ceaseless  shoVrs 

The  hoary  cavern  wide  surrounding  low'rs. 

Still  thro  the  gap  the  struggling  river  toils, 

And  still  below  the  horrid  cauldron  boils. 

BGBNS. 

About  an  hour's  space  is  allowed  to  passengers  desirous  to 
visit  the  falls,  or  rather  the  lower  fall,  as  this  does  not  suffice 
for  both. 

From  the  rocks  surrounding  the  lower  fall,  the  spectator 
commands  a  fine  view  of  Loch  Ness,  backed  by  the  steep  and 
ample  sides  of  Mealfourvonie ;  while  at  his  feet  sweeps  the  pre- 
cipitous bed  of  the  river,  a  rugged  ravine  of  great  depth,  with 
here  and  there  a  trembling  aspen  or  gnarled  pine  ;  and  beyond, 
the  hill  side  descends  to  the  lake,  beautified  with  woods  of 
waving  birch,  and  the  smiling  parks  around  the  house  of  Foyers, 
which  occupies  a  site  of  surpassing  beauty,  where  the  spent 
torrent,  still  and  motionless,  joins  its  waters  to  the  lake.  The 
beach  at  the  landing  place  is  abundantly  covered  with  colum- 
bine, a  rare  indigenous  plant  in  our  northern  latitudes. 

76.  About  two  miles  below  the  Foyers,  the  deep  defile  of 
Inverfarikaig  gives  a  glimpse  of  a  very  romantic  pass,  guarded 


130  CASTLE    OF    URQUHART.  SECT.  III. 

at  the  entrance  by  a  lion-shaped  hill,  called  the  Black  Rock,  a 
noble  precipitous  frontlet,  which  is  surmounted  by  the  vitrified 
fort  of  Dun  Jardil.  Intermediate  between  Inverfarikaig  and 
Foyers,  is  the  inn  called  the  General's  Hut,  and  the  house  of 
Boleskine,  in  the  vicinity  of  which  Prince  Charles  was  received 
by  Lord  Lovat  shortly  after  the  disastrous  issue  of  Culloden. 

77.  On  the  western  promontory  of  the  bay  of  Urquhart, 
(about  two  miles  from  Drumnadrochet)  stands  the  ruins  of  a 
venerable  stronghold — the  Castle  of  Urquhart,  often  noticed  in 
the  annals  of  the  Stuarts  and  earlier  Scottish  monarchs.  It 
overhangs  the  lake,  and  is  built  on  a  detached  rock,  separated 
from  the  adjoining  hill,  at  the  base  of  which  it  lies,  by  a  moat 
of  about  twenty-five  feet  deep  and  sixteen  broad.  The  rock  is 
crowned  by  the  remains  of  a  high  wall,  or  curtain,  surrounding 
the  buildings,  the  principal  of  which,  a  strong  square  keep  of 
three  storeys,  is  still  standing  surmounted  by  four  square  hang- 
ing turrets.  This  outward  wall  encloses  a  spacious  area,  and 
is  in  some  places  terraced  ;  and  in  the  angles  were  platforms 
for  the  convenience  of  the  defending  soldiery.  The  entrance 
was  by  a  spacious  gateway,  between  two  guard  rooms,  projected 
beyond  the  general  line  of  the  walls,  and  was  guarded  by  more 
than  one  massive  portal,  and  a  huge  portcullis,  "  to  make  secu- 
rity doubly  sure."  These  entrance  towers  were  much  in  the 
style  of  architecture  peculiar  to  the  castles  of  Edward  I.  of 
England  ;  and  in  front  of  them  lay  the  drawbridge  across  the 
outer  moat.  The  whole  works  were  extensive  and  strong,  and 
the  masonry  was  better  finished  than  is  common  in  the  gener- 
ality of  Scottish  strongholds. 

The  first  siege  Urquhart  Castle  is  known  to  have  sustained 
was  in  the  year  1303,  when  it  was  taken  by  the  officers  of  Ed- 
ward I.,  who  were  sent  forward  by  him  to  subdue  the  country 
from  Kildrummy,  near  Nairn,  beyond  which  he  did  not  advance 
in  person  ;  and,  of  all  the  strongholds  in  the  north,  it  was  that 
which  longest  resisted  the  efforts  of  his  arms. 

Alexander  de  Bois,  the  brave  governor,  and  his  garrison, 
were  put  to  the  sword.  Sir  Robert  Lauder  of  Quarrelwood, 
in  Morayshire,  governor  of  the  castle  in  A.D.  1334,  maintained 
it  against  the  Baliol  faction.  His  daughter  marrying  the  Laird 
of  Chisholm  in  Strathglass,  the  offspring  of  their  union,  Sir 
Robert  Chisholm  of  that  Ilk,  became  Laird  of  Quarrelwood  in 
right  of  his  mother,  and  constable  of  Urquhart  Castle  in  right 


ROUTE  I.  LOCH    DOCHFOTJR.  131 

of  his  grandfather.  After  this  period  it  is  known  to  have  been 
a  royal  fort  or  garrison  ;  but  it  is  very  likely  it  was  so  also  at 
the  commencement  of  the  fourteenth  century,  and  existed  as 
such  in  the  reigns  of  the  Alexanders,  and  other  early  Scottish 
sovereigns.  In  1359  the  barony  and  castle  of  Urquhart  were 
disponed  by  David  II.  to  William  Earl  of  Sutherland  and  his 
son  John.  In  1509  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  chief  of  the 
clan  Grant,  and  in  that  family's  possession  it  has  continued  to 
this  day. 

The  mouth  of  Glen  Urquhart  presents  a  wide  expanse 
of  cultivated  land,  reaching  to  the  hill  tops,  and  diversified  with 
wood. 

As  we  near  the  foot  of  Loch  Ness,  from  its  contracted  limits, 
we  discern,  on  the  south  side,  the  mansion-house  of  Aldourie, 
the  residence  of  Mr.  Fraser  Tytler,  sheriff  of  Inverness-shire, 
and  the  birth-place  of  Sir  James  Mackintosh. 

A  narrow  strait  connects  Loch  Ness  with  the  beautiful  wood- 
encircled  waters  of  Loch  Dochfour.  On  the  flat  gravelly  neck 
or  peninsula,  which  divides  this  little  loch  from  Loch  Ness,  are 
the  traces  of  a  small  Roman  encampment,  which  communicated 
with  another  near  the  late  inn  of  Pitmain  in  Badenoch,  and  was 
thus  the  station  furthest  advanced  into  the  heart  of  Caledonia 
by  these  masters  of  the  world.  Chalmers*  says  this  spot  is 
called  the  British  Boness,  that  is,  the  foot  or  lower  end  of  Loch 
Ness,  which  the  Romans  latinized  into  Bonessia,  and  Ptolemy 
into  Banatia.  It  is  an  oblong  square,  rounded  at  the  corners, 
and  encircled  by  ramparts  of  earth,  and  an  irregular  ditch  from 
twenty  to  forty  feet  wide.  But  these  remains  have  recently 
been  a  good  deal  defaced  in  the  formation  of  a  towing-path  for 
vessels.  On  a  square  mound  closely  adjoining  stand  the  foun- 
dations of  an  old  baronial  keep,  called  Castle  Spirituel,  and 
which  in  ancient  days  must  have  completely  commanded  the 
passage  of  the  neighbouring  fords  over  the  river  Ness. 

Dochfour  House  (Baillie),  a  large  shewy  mansion  in  the 
Venetian  style,  with  its  fine  old  trees  and  lawn,  and  terraced 
gardens,  lining  the  water's  edge,  is  one  of  the  most  delightful 
residences  in  the  county. 

78.  The  canal  runs  for  greater  part  of  the  remaining  dis- 
tance to  the  east  sea  along  the  north  bank  of  the  river  Ness, 
and  commands  a  fine  view  of  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Ness,  the 
*  Caledonia,  vol.  i.  p.  63. 


132  THE    CALEDONIAN    CANAL.  SECT.  III. 

wooded  face  of  the  broad  terrace,  which  lines  it  on  the  south, 
and  the  cultivated  sloping  expanse  of  the  Leys  behind,  with  the 
mansion-houses  of  Leys,  Ness  Castle,  Ness-side,  and  a  succes- 
sion of  villas  as  the  boat  nears  her  destination,  whence  the  eye 
ranges  over  a  beautiful  section  of  the  Moray  Firth,  bounded  by 
two  opposing  gravelly  promontories,  on  one  of  which,  midway 
across  the  water,  may  be  observed  the  walls  of  Fort-George. 
Passing  between  the  alluvial  eminences  Torvain  and  Tomna- 
hurich  (the  latter  a  remarkable  artificial-like  structure  resem- 
bling an  inverted  ship)  the  steamer  stops  at  Muirtown  Locks, 
below  the  vitrified  fort  Crag  Phadrick,  and  within  a  mile  of 
Inverness,  which  lies  on  the  plain  at  the  river's  mouth  on  the 
right,  where  vehicles  are  always  in  attendance  to  convey  pas- 
sengers to  the  different  hotels,  the  Caledonian,  Union,  and  New 
Royal.  On  the  top  of  the  ridge  of  the  Leys,  stretching  east- 
wards from  Loch  Ness,  in  the  line  of  the  town,  lies  the  battle- 
field of  Culloden. 

As  the  national  work,  by  which  we  have  supposed  the  tour- 
ist to  have  thus  made  his  way  to  the  capital  of  the  Highlands, 
is  an  object  of  general  interest,  and  has  now  been  completed,  a 
more  detailed  history  and  description  than  has  yet  been  given 
to  the  public  may  be  acceptable. 

79.  One  of  the  most  prominent  features  in  the  geography 
of  Scotland  is,  unquestionably,  that  great  opening  which  ex- 
tends from  the  shores  of  Caithness,  directly  across  the  island, 
through  the  shires  of  Inverness  and  Argyle  to  the  Atlantic 
Ocean.  The  principal  part  of  this  valley  or  opening  is  occupied, 
as  we  have  seen,  by  the  waters  of  two  arms  of  the  sea,  Loch 
Linnhe  and  the  Moray  Firth  ;  and  of  the  space  of  land  between 
these  two,  which  is  only  sixty  miles  in  extent,  nearly  two-thirds, 
the  reader  is  aware,  are  covered  by  a  series  of  fresh  water  lakes. 
To  the  plains  and  low  hills  fringing  its  eastern  entrance  suc- 
ceed, towards  the  interior,  chains  of  rugged  mountains,  which 
gradually  increase  in  height,  and  attain  the  greatest  elevation 
in  Britain  at  Ben  Nevis,  near  Fort-William,  which  rises  4370 
feet  above  the  sea. 

This  valley,  commonly  called  "  Glen  More  nan  Albin,"  the 
"  Great  Glen  of  Scotland,"  divides  the  county  of  Inverness,  as 
well  as  the  northern  part  of  the  kingdom,  or  in  other  words 
what  are  called  the  Highlands,  into  two  nearly  equal  portions. 
The  large  lakes  it  contains  seem  naturally  to  have  invited  the 


ROUTE  I.  THE    CALEDONIAN    CANAL.  133 

hand  of  man  to  connect  the  Atlantic  and  German  Oceans  ;  and 
such  a  communication  was  at  length  projected,  and  has  since 
been  formed,  on  a  scale  worthy  of  the  grandeur  and  genius  of 
the  British  people. 

Being  one  of  the  most  important  public  works  in  the  north 
of  Scotland,  a  short  history  of  it  cannot  fail  to  be  acceptable, 
and  we  hope  that  our  readers  will  not  deem  the  following  parti- 
culars too  lengthy. 

80.  Although  the  subject  of  internal  improvement  in  the 
Highlands  found  more  or  less  favour  with  the  public,  after  the 
suppression  of  the  rebellions  of  1715  and  1745,  it  is  not  gene- 
rally known  that  the  scheme  of  a  navigable  canal  from  Inver- 
ness to  Fort-William  engaged  attention  at  so  early  a  period. 
In  1773,  the  trustees  for  the  forfeited  estates  employed  Mr. 
James  Watt,  afterwards  so  celebrated  in  connection  with  the 
improvement  and  application  of  the  steam-engine,  to  make  a 
survey  of  the  line,  and  furnish  them  with  a  report  and  estimate 
of  the  expense  of  making  a  canal  of  ten  feet  water,  which  he 
did  ;  but  no  further  steps  appear  to  have  been  taken  at  that 
time,  the  forfeited  estates  being  soon  afterwards  restored.  The 
leading  objects  and  advantages  of  such  a  communication,  how- 
ever, have  never  been  more  accurately  or  succinctly  expressed 
than  in  the  following  extracts  from  Mr.  Watt's  report  ;  with 
this  difference  only,  that  they  are  even  more  applicable  to  a 
canal  upon  a  larger  scale  than  was  then  contemplated  : — 

"  All  vessels  going  from  Ireland,  or  the  west  coasts  of 
Britain,  to  the  east  coasts  of  the  island,  to  Holland,  or  to  the 
continent  of  Europe  north  of  it,  and  vice  versa,  together  with 
vessels  trading  between  the  east  coast  and  America,  must  either 
pass  through  the  British  Channel,  or  go  north-about,  that  is 
through  the  Pentland  Firth,  or  through  the  sounds  of,  or  round 
the  Orkney  Islands.  At  all  times  going  north-about  is  the 
readiest  passage  for  the  northern  parts  of  the  island  ;  and  in 
time  of  war  the  danger  from  privateers  in  the  British  Channel, 
and  the  height  of  insurance  upon  that  account,  are  so  great, 
that  many  ships,  to  which  that  passage  would  naturally  be 
convenient,  are  obliged  for  security  or  economy  to  go  north- 
about. 

"  Wherever  a  great  promontory  or  termination  of  a  main 
land  is  to  be  passed  round  or  doubled,  it  is  well  known  to  mari- 
ners that,  from  the  variety  of  winds  that  are  necessary,  and 


134  THE   CALEDONIAN   CANAL.  SECT.  III. 

from  the  storms  which  rage  with  greater  fury  at  those  head- 
lands than  upon  other  coasts,  the  voyage  is  more  tedious,  as 
well  as  more  dangerous  than  others  of  a  like  length  that  lie  in 
a  direct  course.  This  is  remarkably  the  case  with  the  Orkney 
passages,  to  which  the  northern  situation  greatly  contributes. 
Besides  other  inconveniences,  they  are  subjected  to  periodical 
winds  that  blow  violently  for  months  together  from  the  east  or 
west,  which  renders  it  not  uncommon  for  vessels  to  be  detained 
six  weeks  or  two  months  in  those  harbours.  In  the  winter 
season,  the  risk  of  shipwreck  on  these  boisterous  seas  is  very 
great,  and  consequently  that  passage  is  little  frequented  then, 
and  insurances  are  high.  The  greatest  loss  of  time  in  the  nor- 
thern passage  generally  happens  about  the  Orkneys,  as  it  is 
there  that  the  winds  which  brought  the  vessels  northward  cease 
to  be  of  any  further  service  to  them,  and  the  seas  are  generally 
too  stormy  to  permit  them  to  work  to  windward. 

"  From  this  view  of  the  subject,  it  appears  that  a  commu- 
nication such  as  is  here  described,  between  the  German  Ocean 
and  Atlantic,  which  would  be  shorter,  more  secure,  both  from 
the  dangers  of  the  sea  and  from  privateers,  and  also  more  cer- 
tain in  all  seasons  than  that  by  the  Orkneys,  would  be  more 
acceptable  to  all  vessels  capable  of  passing  through  it,  even 
though  it  were  loaded  with  a  toll." 

Mr.  Watt's  estimate  for  making  a  canal,  with  10  feet  water, 
and  32  locks,  each  90  feet  long  by  25  feet  wide,  and  having  a 
fall  or  rise  of  7  feet  (much  on  the  same  scale  as  the  present 
Forth  and  Clyde  Canal),  was  about  £l  65,000,  equivalent  of 
course  to  a  much  larger  sum  of  the  present  day. 

81.  About  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  in  consequence 
of  the  gradual  conversion  of  the  country  into  extensive  sheep- 
walks  or  stock-farms,  a  general  movement  of  emigration  had 
begun  to  take  place,  which  threatened  the  almost  entire  depo- 
pulation of  the  Highlands.  According  to  the  political  doctrines 
which  then  continued  to  prevail,  any  tendency  to  this  result 
was  regarded  with  much  anxiety  and  alarm  ;  it  was  pressed  on 
the  attention  of  the  government  as  an  evil  demanding  instant 
remedy  or  alleviation  ;  and  the  urgency  of  providing  employ- 
ment for  the  numerous  poor  inhabitants  deprived  of  their  former 
holdings,  was  almost  universally  admitted.  In  conjunction  with 
other  public  works  proposed  at  first  chiefly  with  this  view,  and 
embracing  the  construction  of  new  roads,  bridges,  and  harbours, 


ROUTE  I.        THE  CALEDONIAN  CANAL.  135 

throughout  all  parts  of  the  Highlands,  the  project  of  a  navig- 
able communication  through  the  Great  Glen  was  again  revived  ; 
and  in  the  year  1803-4,  Messrs.  Telford  and  Jessop,  civil  engi- 
neers, were  employed,  by  Commissioners  appointed  by  Parlia- 
ment, to  survey  the  line  of  the  intended  canal,  and  to  report  on 
the  estimated  expense.  These  gentlemen  recommended  its  for- 
mation on  a  scale  of  unprecedented  magnitude  ;  and  after  a 
reference  to  the  most  eminent  authorities  of  the  day,  including 
Mr.  Rennie,  Captain  Huddart,  and  other  well  known  names,  the 
preponderance  of  evidence  was  in  favour  of  adopting  their 
views,  which  were  accordingly  sanctioned  by  the  legislature. 
The  dimensions  of  the  canal  originally  resolved  on  were  as  fol- 
lows, viz. — "  The  bottom  width  50  feet,  with  slopes  of  18  inches 
to  a  foot  ;  so  that  by  a  depth  of  cutting  of  15  feet,  earth  will 
be  obtained  to  make  the  banks  contain  20  feet  depth  of  water, 
which  will  be  110  feet  in  width  at  its  surface."  These  dimen- 
sions, however,  were  afterwards  somewhat  modified  in  the  exe- 
cution of  the  work.  The  locks  and  other  appendages  to  the 
navigation  were  to  be  of  corresponding  size  ;  and,  in  short,  to 
give  a  more  exact  idea  of  what  that  size  was,  the  canal  was 
everywhere  to  be  fitted  for  the  reception  of  a  thirty-two  gun 
frigate  of  that  day,  fully  equipped,  and  laden  with  stores.  It 
is  almost  needless  to  observe,  however,  that  the  same  dimensions 
would  not  answer  for  a  vessel  of  that  class  now,  ships  of  war 
having  since  been  increased  in  their  relative  proportions.  The 
aggregate  of  the  various  estimated  expenses  was  ,£474,531, 
exclusive  of  any  allowance  for  the  purchase  of  land  or  damages, 
it  being  expected  that  the  landowners  would  consider  the  benefit 
to  their  properties  as  a  compensation  for  what  should  be  cut 
away.  The  charge  of  executing  the  whole  works  of  the  Cale- 
donian Canal,  as  it  was  now  termed,  together  with  the  other 
extensive  improvements  in  the  Highlands,  ultimately  devolved 
upon  Telford  alone  ;  the  choice  and  confidence  of  the  govern- 
ment being  still  further  confirmed  by  his  professional  achieve- 
ments in  other  parts  of  the  kingdom,  as  well  as  abroad,  which 
soon  raised  him  to  the  distinguished  position  of  the  first  engi- 
neer of  the  day. 

82.  The  canal  consists  of  a  series  of  navigable  cuts,  con- 
necting the  upper  terminations  of  the  Moray  Firth  and  Loch 
Linnhe  with  the  inland  lakes,  and  those  lakes,  viz.,  Loch  Ness, 
Loch  Oich,  and  Loch  Lochy,  with  each  other  ;  involving  no 


136  THE    CALEDONIAN   CANAL.  SECT.  III. 

less  than  eight  several  junctions,  each  attended  with  its  own 
peculiar  difficulties,  and  thereby  counteracting  in  a  considerable 
degree  the  saving  caused  by  the  lakes  in  the  necessary  extent 
of  excavation.  The  summit  level  is  in  Loch  Oich,  which,  re- 
ceiving abundant  supplies  of  water  from  a  series  of  upper 
lakes  discharging  into  it  by  the  River  Garry,  is  admirably 
adapted  for  a  canal  of  partition.  The  surface  of  Loch  Oich, 
when  at  its  usual  summer  height,  stands  almost  exactly  100 
feet  above  high-water  mark  at  Inverness  and  Fort-William  ; 
when  very  much  flooded,  this  elevation  is  occasionally  increased 
by  4  or  5  feet.  The  whole  length  of  the  passage  from  sea  to  sea 
is  60£  miles  ;  and  such  is  the  remarkable  continuity  of  the 
lakes,  and  of  the  intermediate  tracts  through  which  the  canal 
is  carried,  in  nearly  a  uniform  direction,  that  this  distance  ex- 
ceeds that  of  a  straight  line  drawn  on  the  map  from  one 
extremity  to  the  other  by  a  difference  of  from  only  from  3  to  4 
miles.  Indeed,  the  distance  might  have  been  still  further 
shortened,  and  both  entrances  of  the  canal  very  materially 
improved,  if  the  facilities  which  the  advancing  state  of  engineer- 
ing knowledge  has  since  rendered  available  had  at  first  been 
foreseen,  or  could  at  that  time  have  been  fully  relied  on.  We 
subjoin  a  more  detailed  statement  of  the  lengths  of  the  respec- 
tive portions  included  under  the  general  designation  of  the 
Caledonian  Canal,  viz. — 

Miles.  Chains. 
Length  from  the  sea  lock  at  Clachnaharry,  through 

Loch  Dochfour,  to  Loch  Ness,             .          .  7  65 

Length  of  Loch  Ness,             ....  23  56 
From  the  south-west  end  of  Loch  Ness,  to  Loch 

Oich,               5  35 

Length  of  Loch  Oich,             ....  3  56 
From  the  south-west  end  of  Loch  Oich  to  Loch 

Lochy,            .'....  1  65 

Length  of  Loch  Lochy,          .          .          .          .  10  0 
From  the  south-west  end  of  Loch  Lochy  to  the  sea 

lock  at  Corpach,      .....  83 


Total  length,  60     40 

of  which  there  pass  through  lochs  or  lakes  38£  miles,  and  there 
are  of  canal  cutting  22  miles  ;  but  in  addition  to  the  22  miles 


ROUTE  I.       THE  CALEDONIAN  CANAL.  137 

of  dry  cutting,  a  considerable  part  of  Loch  Oich,  and  also  por- 
tions of  Loch  Lochy  and  Loch  Dochfour  had  to  be  deepened  by 
dredging. 

Some  further  particulars  in  relation  to  a  work  of  this  unu- 
sual magnitude  may  not  be  deemed  superfluous  or  uninteresting. 
The  locks  are  each  170  feet,  and  where  two  or  more  are  con- 
tiguous, 180  feet  in  length,  and  40  feet  in  breadth,  with  an 
average  rise  or  lift  of  8  feet.  The  whole  number  of  locks,  as 
originally  built,  is  28,  viz.,  the  entrance-lock  at  Clachnaharry, 
constructed  at  the  termination  of  huge  embankments  forced 
out  into  deep  water  in  Loch  Beauly  ;  the  lock  between  it  and 
the  capacious  artificial  basin  at  Muirtown,  (occupying  a  space 
of  more  than  20  acres)  ;  four  connected  locks  at  the  opposite 
extremity  of  the  basin  ;  the  regulating  lock  a  little  below  Loch 
Dochfour  ;  five  contiguous  locks  at  Fort-Augustus  ;  one  called 
the  Kytra  Lock,  about  half-way  between  Fort- Augustus  and 
Loch  Oich  ;  the  regulating  lock  at  the  north-east  end  of  Loch 
Oich  ;  two  united  locks  between  Lochs  Oich  and  Lochy,  near 
a  village  called  Laggan  ;  the  regulating  lock  at  the  opposite 
end  of  Loch  Lochy  ;  grand  series  of  locks,  eight  in  number,  at 
Banna  vie,  within  a  mile  and  a  quarter  of  the  sea,  and  commonly 
called  Neptune's  Staircase;  two  locks  descending  to  Corpach 
Basin  ;  and  the  entrance  or  sea-lock  at  Corpach.  Some  few  of 
the  earliest-constructed  lock-gates  are  of  timber,  wholly  English 
oak,  but  by  far  the  greater  number  are  framed  of  cast  iron, 
and  sheathed  with  pine  planking.  The  canal,  in  the  course  of 
its  length,  is  crossed  by  eight  public  bridges,  which  are  of  cast 
iron,  and  swing  horizontally.  Along  the  reach  of  six  miles, 
extending  from  Loch  Lochy  to  Bannavie,  the  path  of  the  canal 
is  also  crossed  by  several  mountain  streams,  some  of  which  are 
conducted  under  it  by  arched  culverts  or  tunnels  of  large  di- 
mensions, and  others  allowed  to  empty  into  the  canal  itself. 
For  drawing  off  the  excess  of  water  brought  down  by  these  last 
during  heavy  rains,  three  powerful  sluices  are  constructed  at  a 
point  where  the  canal  is  cut  through  rock,  nearly  adjoining, 
but  at  a  considerable  height  above,  the  river  Lochy.  The 
action  of  these  is  in  itself  a  sight  well  worth  witnessing  ;  the 
water,  when  issuing  from  the  triple  sluice,  falls  nine  or  ten  feet 
before  it  strikes  the  rock  over  which  it  tumbles,  and  creates  an 
inundation  over  the  flat  land  which  intervenes  between  the 
canal  and  river  Lochy.  No  artificial  cataract  exceeds  the  fury 
G  2 


138  THE   CALEDONIAN    CANAL.  SECT.  III. 

and  the  foam  with  which  this  emerges  from  its  rocky  cavern — 
emulating  in  romantic  effect  the  wildest  of  our  mountain  falls. 
Loch  Lochy  was  raised,  and  is  since  sustained,  twelve  feet  above 
its  natural  level ;  to  effect  which  alteration,  an  entirely  new 
channel  had  to  be  cut  for  the  river  Lochy,  which  now  discharges 
itself  into  the  Spean  at  Mucomer.  The  immense  body  of  water, 
in  time  of  high  flood,  conducted  in  nearly  a  level  course  to  this 
point — where,  immediately  after  passing  under  the  arches  of  a 
lofty  and  picturesque  bridge,  it  falls  at  once  some  twelve  or 
fifteen  feet,  over  broken  and  precipitous  rocks,  into  the  lap  of 
one  of  its  own  tributaries — presents  a  grand  and  imposing 
spectacle,  and  exemplifies  in  perfection  both  the  "  torrent's 
smoothess,"  and  its  "  dash  below."  In  fact,  the  vast  accumu- 
lations of  water  not  unfrequently  brought  down  by  the  winter 
storms  and  floods,  of  which  the  great  valley  is  the  natural  reci- 
pient, and  which  are  now  everywhere  required  to  be  subjected 
to  artificial  control,  are  such  as  the  summer  tourist  can  have  no 
adequate  conception  of ;  seeing,  as  he  does,  only  placid  lakes, 
limpid  streams,  verdant  banks,  and,  in  short,  both  nature  and 
art  in  simpering  mood  and  holiday  attire. 

83.  After  years  of  incredible  labour  and  perseverance,  sur- 
passed only  by  the  still  more  gigantic  operations  to  which  a 
different  form  of  inland  communication  has  more  recently  given 
rise,  and  after  surmounting  many  formidable  and  unexpected 
physical  difficulties,  the  canal  had  gradually  advanced  far 
towards  completion  ;  but  the  expense  had  already  very  much 
exceeded  the  original  estimates,  and  the  usual  obloquy  fell  upon 
its  promoters  and  managers.  The  excess  of  expenditure  in  this 
case,  however,  was  not  so  much  due  to  the  natural  difficulties 
of  the  undertaking,  for  which  of  course  some  allowance  must 
necessarily  have  been  made,  as  to  the  great  rise  which  took 
place  in  the  prices  of  labour  and  materials  during  the  long 
progress  of  its  execution.  The  difference  in  this  respect  was 
such  as,  in  various  cases,  to  have  more  than  doubled  the  prices 
originally  calculated  on  ;  and,  as  a  single  instance  of  what  oc- 
curred, owing  to  the  vast  quantities  of  oak  timber  drawn  from 
the  principal  forests  for  the  supply  of  the  navy  during  the  heat 
of  the  war,  the  price  of  that  article  amounted  to  an  entire 
prohibition,  and  was  the  cause  of  cast-iron  being  substituted, 
as  has  been  said,  in  the  formation  of  the  lock-gates.  Expla- 
nations of  this  kind,  rational  as  they  might  now  be  deemed  since 


ROUTE    I.  THE    CALEDONIAN    CANAL.  139 

the  history  of  railways  has  familiarised  us  with  cases  of  in- 
finitely more  glaring  disproportions,  were  found  insufficient 
to  appease  the  wide-spread  discontent  and  clamour  for  economy, 
arising  out  of  the  collapsed  state  of  public  credit,  and  general 
depression  of  the  trading  interests,  which  followed  upon  the 
close  of  the  late  war.  On  the  selfish  principles  which  had 
dictated  the  spurious  liberality  of  many  at  an  earlier  period, 
the  Highlands  had  now  ceased  to  be  of  importance  as  a  nursery 
of  thews  and  sinews  for  the  national  defence  ;  and  doubts,  not 
merely  of  the  utility,  but  of  the  actual  practicability,  of  com- 
pleting the  canal  for  the  purposes  of  commerce,  were  loudly 
expressed.  Much  opposition  was  latterly  given,  therefore,  to 
the  annual  grants  by  Parliament  for  the  further  prosecution  of 
the  work,  which  were  now  reluctantly  doled  out,  and  at  length 
entirely  discontinued.  In  this  humour  of  the  public  mind,  and 
to  obviate  the  objections  urged  on  the  score  of  utility  and 
practicability,  it  was  resolved  to  open  the  canal  in  its  then 
unfinished  state,  with  the  limited  depth  of  water  which  a  few 
temporary  expedients  could  command  ;  and,  accordingly,  that 
event  took  place,  with  due  ceremony,  in  October  1822,  when 
the  late  Charles  Grant,  Esq.,  for  a  long  period  Member  of  Par- 
liament for  the  county  of  Inverness,  (the  most  zealous  and 
active  of  the  Canal  Commissioners,)  gave  a  splendid  fete  to 
about  seventy  gentlemen  who  accompanied  him  in  a  steam- 
barge,  the  first  vessel  that  passed  from  sea  to  sea. 

The  following  is  an  abstract  of  the  sums  disbursed  by  the 
Canal  Commissioners,  as  appears  from  their  Report  of  the  23d 
of  May  1827,  showing  the  total  expenditure  from  the  20th  of 
October  1803,  to  the  1st  of  May  1827  ;  and  from  this  summary, 
keeping  in  view  the  primary  object  with  which  the  canal  was 
originally  undertaken,  namely,  the  employment  of  the  native 
population,  and  the  diffusion  of  useful  arts  and  industrious 
habits  among  them,  some  estimate  may  be  formed  of  the  extent 
to  which  those  beneficial  results  must  necessarily  have  been 
realized  : — 

1.  Management  and  travelling  expenses,    £33,108     1     2^ 

2.  Timber,  and  carriage  thereof,  .       72,035     5     8f 

3.  Machinery,  cast  iron  work,  tools,  and 

materials,  .          .          .          .     128,084  19     9 


Carry  forward,          £233,228     6     & 


140  THE  CALEDONIAN  CANAL.  SECT.  III. 

Brought  forward,          £233,228     6  8 

4.  Quarries  and  masonry,        .          .          199,528  17  ft| 

5.  Shipping,          ....  11,673  15  6£ 

6.  Houses  and  other  buildings,         .  5,470     2  5 

7.  Labour  and  workmanship,  (day  work),   47,202     5  3 

8.  Labour  and  workmanship,  (measure 

work),   .          .          .          .          .         418,101  17  9 

9.  Purchase  of  land,  and  payments  on 

account  of  damages,         .          .  47,951     7  9^ 

10.  Purchase  and  hire  of  horses  and 

provender,      .  .          .  3,428     3  3$ 

11.  Incidental  expenses,  .         .  2,337  16  3£ 

12.  Road-making,  .          .          .  4,348     9  9£ 


Total  disbursements,          £973,271     2 


84.  At  or  before  this  period,  as  already  noticed,  the  appro- 
priation of  funds  towards  the  original  formation  and  completion 
of  the  Canal,  may  be  said  to  have  ceased  ;  and  the  expenditure 
for  many  years  subsequently  was  chiefly  limited  to  its  main- 
tenance and  repair.  Immediately  on  its  first  opening,  a  regular 
communication  was  established,  and  has  since  been  maintained, 
between  Inverness,  Glasgow,  and  the  west  coast  generally,  by 
means  of  steam-boats.  It  likewise  afforded  facilities  for  the 
exportation  of  a  large  quantity  of  fir,  birch,  and  other  timber 
from  the  interior  of  the  country  to  the  collieries,  and  for  the  pur- 
poses of  the  herring  fishery.  In  addition  to  these,  the  chief 
intercourse  on  the  canal  was  confined  to  vessels  employed  in  the 
coasting  trade  between  the  opposite  sides  of  the  kingdom,  with 
occasionally  a  few  of  the  smaller  Baltic  traders.  Owing,  how- 
ever, to  the  temporary  and  imperfect  nature  of  the  expedients 
resorted  to  in  the  first  instance  for  opening  the  canal  before 
the  works  had  been  properly  completed,  it  was  found  that  even 
the  limited  depth  of  water  thus  attained  was  not  to  be  depended 
on  ;  and  from  the  absence  of  many  essential  facilities  for  the 
convenient  transit  of  vessels,  the  traffic,  although  at  times  by 
no  means  inconsiderable,  showed  little  or  no  tendency  to  increase. 
The  revenue  derived  from  it  proved  inadequate  to  the  expense 
of  ordinary  maintenance,  which,  on  account  of  the  great  scale  of 
the  works,  was  necessarily  considerable,  while  their  use  was 
limited  to  the  accommodation  of  a  very  inferior  class  of  vessels 


ROUTE  I.  THE  CALEDONIAN  CANAL.  141 

to  that  for  which  they  were  designed.  The  consequence  was 
that  the  unfinished  works  soon  fell  into  premature  decay  ;  the 
former  temporary  expedients  either  ceased  to  be  of  further 
avail  or  could  no  longer  be  upheld  ;  several  casualties  occurred 
which  threatened  danger,  not  only  to  the  canal  itself,  but  also 
to  the  adjoining  districts  ;  and  a  crisis  at  length  arrived  during 
which  it  became  a  question  whether  it  might  not  be  necessary 
to  abandon  the  canal  altogether,  unless  it  were  taken  up  anew 
by  the  government,  completed  wholly  in  the  manner  originally 
proposed,  and  furnished  with  all  those  aids  and  appliances 
which  both  experience,  and  the  improved  conditions  of  modern 
science  had  shown  to  be  requisite  for  its  proper  working 
efficiency. 

85.  In  these  untoward  circumstances  the  Commissioners, 
with  the  concurrence  of  the  Government,  placed  themselves  in 
the  hands  of  Mr.  Walker,  then  President  of  the  Institution  of 
Civil  Engineers,  and  the  foremost  man  of  his  profession  after 
Telford,  who  had  long  since  paid  the  debt  of  nature,  and  died 
full  of  years  and  honours.  In  the  early  part  of  1838  Mr.  Wal- 
ker, after  visiting  the  line  of  the  canal,  reported  fully  on  the 
whole  subject,  and  concluded  with  an  earnest  recommendation 
in  favour  of  the  thorough  renovation  and  completion  of  the 
works,  and  of  providing  all  due  facilities  for  the  future  accom- 
modation of  trade ;  which  recommendation  was  soon  after  backed 
by  the  further  approval  of  a  committee  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons. Still  such  were  the  financial  difficulties  of  the  day,  that 
several  years  elapsed  before  the  ministry  could  make  up  their 
minds  to  embark  in  the  required  expenditure  ;  and  before  do- 
ing so,  as  the  question  now  seemed  to  involve  chiefly  nautical 
considerations,  it  was  thought  necessary,  both  for  their  own  vin- 
dication and  for  the  satisfaction  of  the  country  at  large,  to  have 
the  express  opinion  of  a  naval  officer  distinguished  for  skill  and 
judgment  in  such  matters.  The  person  selected  for  this  pur- 
pose was  Sir  W.  Edward  Parry,  the  celebrated  Arctic  voyager, 
and  then  at  the  head  of  one  of  the  departments  in  the  Admiralty  ; 
whose  instructions  were  "  to  ascertain,  by  personal  communica- 
tion with  the  principal  ship-owners  and  merchants  in  the  ports 
of  Liverpool,  Glasgow,  Aberdeen,  Dundee,  Leith,  Newcastle,  and 
Hull,  to  what  extent  it  was  probable  that  vessels  sailing  from 
those  ports  would  make  use  of  the  canal  if  the  projected  im- 
provements were  all  executed."  The  result  of  this  investiga- 


142  THE   CALEDONIAN   CANAL.  SECT.   III. 

tion,  which  was  embodied  by  Sir  Edward  in  an  elaborate  report, 
with  details  of  the  evidence  taken,  was  on  the  whole  confirma- 
tory of  Mr.  Walker's  views.  He  computes  the  average  saving 
of  time  to  vessels  taking  the  canal,  instead  of  the  north-about 
passage  by  the  Pentland  Firth,  to  be  nine  and  a  half  days,  and 
the  saving  of  expense  on  wages,  victuals,  and  insurance,  less 
canal  dues,  assuming  pilotage  and  lights  to  be  about  equal  either 
way,  at  the  former  rate  of  a  farthing  a  ton  per  mile  (for  the 
whole  distance),  to  be  £33 : 2 : 10  on  a  vessel  of  200,  and  ,£62 
13s.  lOd.  on  a  vessel  of  300  tons  burthen  ;  and  even  were  those 
rates  doubled,  ,£22 : 4 : 6  and  <£43 : 6 : 6  respectively,  indepen- 
dent of  the  great  advantage  to  the  merchant  of  the  increased 
expedition  in  the  transport  of  his  goods,  and  a  considerable  sav- 
ing in  the  insurance  of  vessel  and  cargo,  he  comes  to  the  con- 
clusion, "  That  if  the  Caledonian  Canal  were  made  efficient,  it 
would  very  shortly  be  used  by  almost  all  those  coasting  vessels 
which  now  pursue  a  northern  route  in  trading  between  the 
eastern  and  western  coasts  of  England  and  Scotland  (especially 
Hull  and  Liverpool,  and  all  parts  to  the  north),  or  between  the 
former  and  the  ports  of  Ireland ;  by  nearly  the  whole  of  the 
vessels,  whether  British  or  foreign,  coming  from  the  Baltic, 
especially  late  in  the  season,  and  bound  to  ports  on  the  western 
coast  of  this  island,  or  to  the  ports  of  Ireland  ;  and  not  unfre- 
quently  by  vessels  trading  between  our  north-eastern  ports  and 
North  America,  or  the  West  Indies  :  That  in  case  of  war  with 
any  nation  fitting  out  fast-sailing  vessels,  as  privateers,  the  pas- 
sage by  the  Caledonian  Canal  for  merchant  vessels  would  almost 
wholly  supersede  that  by  the  Pentland  Firth ;  since  a  single 
efficient  man-of-war,  of  no  great  force,  would  suffice  to  give 
protection  to  each  approach  of  the  canal  by  sea." 

86.  The  scruples  of  the  Government  being  at  length  re- 
moved, instructions  were  given  to  Mr.  Walker  to  prepare  de- 
tailed plans,  specifications,  and  estimates,  for  the  repair,  com- 
pletion, and  improvement  of  the  canal ;  and  in  1843  a  contract 
was  entered  into  with  Messrs.  Jackson  and  Bean,  contractors  of 
reputation,  for  the  execution  of  the  whole  of  the  works  in  course 
of  the  three  following  years.  They  included  the  erection  of  an 
additional  lock  at  the  S.W.  end  of  Loch  Lochy,  for  the  better 
regulation  of  extreme  floods  in  that  lake ;  the  formation  of  re- 
taining weirs ;  the  deepening  of  shallows ;  and  a  great  variety 
of  subordinate  operations,  of  which  the  main  object  was  to  se- 


ROUTE  I.       THE  CALEDONIAN  CANAL.  143 

cure  a  uniform  navigable  depth  of  eighteen  feet  water  at  all 
times,  with  every  requisite  convenience  for  the  safe  transit  of 
vessels — it  being  now  deemed  unnecessary  for  commercial  pur- 
poses to  attain  the  extreme  depth  of  twenty  feet,  as  originally 
proposed.  Arrangements  were  also  made  for  having  a  sufficient 
number  of  steam-tug  boats  ready  for  towing  vessels  through 
the  lakes  and  estuaries,  as  soon  as  the  canal  should  be  re-opened ; 
the  channels  leading  to  it  at  both  ends  have  been  properly 
buoyed  off;  lights  placed  at  the  entrances  from  the  sea  and  at 
each  extremity  of  the  lakes  ;  and  suitable  charts  and  sailing 
directions  published.  The  Moray  Firth  is  now  fully  accommo- 
dated with  the  requisite  number  of  light-houses,  erected  by  the 
Northern  Light  Commissioners ;  but  there  is  still  a  great  want 
of  a  light-house  on  Corran  Point,  so  as  to  place  the  navigation  of  the 
Western  Approach  upon  an  equally  safe  and  commodious  footing. 

87.  The  whole  cost  of  the  general  completion  and  improve- 
ment of  the  works,  including  the  purchase  of  steam-tug  vessels, 
amounted  to  about  ,£200,000,  which  was  the  sum  estimated  by 
Mr.  Walker ;  so  that  with  the  accumulated  expense  of  mainte- 
nance, and  occasional  repairs  since  1827,  and  the  payments  of 
long  outstanding  damages  for  lands,  &c.,  the  gross  disburse- 
ments on  the  canal  from  the  commencement  now  reached  the 
enormous  sum  of  <£  1,300,000 ;  but  this  was  subject  to  a  deduc- 
tion of  some  =£70,000  or  ,£80,000  received  up  to  the  same  period 
for  canal  dues,  rents,  interest,  &c.,  thereby  limiting  the  entire 
cost  to  the  nation  to  somewhat  more  than  ,£1,200,000. 

In  April  1847  the  canal  was  re-opened,  and  has  since  been 
in  operation  with  all  the  advantage  of  the  increased  depth  of 
water  and  other  accommodations  referred  to.  For  the  greater 
encouragement  of  traffic  at  the  outset,  the  rates  have  been  fixed 
very  low  ;  being  only  Is.  3d.  per  register  ton  on  all  vessels 
under,  and  Is.  per  ton  on  all  vessels  above  100  tons,  for  the  en- 
tire passage  of  the  canal,  while  the  charges  made  for  the  assist- 
ance of  steam-tug  boats  when  used,  horse-trackage,  or  other 
expenses,  may  generally  be  estimated  not  to  exceed  Is.  per  re- 
gister ton  additional.  Of  course,  this  latter  charge  is  avoided 
in  the  event  of  favourable  winds,  or  by  such  as  can  make  head 
without  the  assistance  of  the  steam-tugs,  &c.  Special  dues  are 
levied  on  steam-vessels  and  steam  passage-boats,  and  on  vessels 
loading  or  discharging  cargoes  in  the  canal  basins  or  harbours. 
Ships  of  500  and  600  tons  burthen,  fully  laden,  have  of  late 


144  THE  CALEDONIAN  CANAL.  SECT.  III. 

passed  through  the  canal ;  and  ships  of  800  tons  burthen  can 
be  accommodated  in  the  canal  basin,  and  alongside  the  wharfs 
at  Muirtown,  near  the  town  of  Inverness,  to  which  a  depth  of 
nineteen  feet  water  can  be  admitted.  The  passage  from  sea  to 
sea  at  all  times  can  now  be  depended  on  to  be  made  within  a 
very  few  days,  and  for  the  most  part  within  forty-eight  hours. 
The  increase  of  traffic  since  the  last  re-opening  of  the  canal  has 
not  hitherto  proved  so  great  as  was  generally  anticipated,  which 
may  be  imputed  in  a  great  degree  to  accidental  causes,  but  it 
is  steadily  progressing ;  and  it  is  impossible  to  doubt  that  in 
proportion  as  all  its  present  facilities  and  advantages  become 
more  fully  known  and  appreciated,  they  will  yet  exercise  an  im- 
portant influence  on  the  maritime  interests  of  the  northern 
parts  of  the  kingdom. 

88.  By  a  recent  act,  the  Crinan  Canal,  which  had  long  been 
mortgaged  to  the  Government  on  account  of  sums  advanced  for 
its  completion  and  repairs,  has   been  incorporated  with  the 
Caledonian  Canal  ;  and  new  commissioners  have  been  appointed, 
including  several  of  the  noblemen  and  principal  landed  pro- 
prietors whose  estates  adjoin  their  respective  localities. 

89.  The  situation  of  Inverness  and  line  of  the  Caledonian 
Canal,    generally,   have  been  thought   well   adapted  for  the 
establishment  of  manufactories  of  native  wool,  from  the  great 
facilities  of  water-carriage  now  afforded  to  either  side  of  the 
kingdom.     It  is  well  known  that  the  whole  wool  of  the  High- 
lands, forming  one  of  the  staple  products  of  the  country,  is  at 
present  transported  in  its  raw  state  to  the  southern  markets, 
involving  thereby  a  great  waste  of  expenditure  in  the  mere 
article  of  conveyance,  which  might  undoubtedly  be  saved  to  the 
native  grower  by  converting  it  to  its  ultimate  uses  on  the 
ground  where  it  is  produced  ;  and  it  is  somewhat  surprising, 
when  the  many  obvious  advantages  within  reach  are  considered, 
that  no  attempt  should  yet  have  been  made  on  an  extensive 
scale  to  carry  any  project  of  the  kind  into  execution.     With 
the  raw  material  on  the  spot,  the  rate  of  labour  and  the  prices 
of  food  lower  than  in  the  south,  and  with  an  unlimited  com- 
mand of  water-power  in  every  direction,  ready  to  be  applied  to 
the  purposes  of  manufactures  at  scarcely  any  expense,  there  can- 
not, we  think,  be  a  doubt  that  such  an  establishment,  if  con- 
ducted with  the  proper  degree  of  skill  and  enterprise,  would, 
in  a  short  time,  be  attended  with  complete  success. 


ROUTE  I.  CALEDONIAN  CANAL.  145 

Other  undertakings  of  a  like  nature  might  be  suggested  as 
equally  proper  for  the  advantageous  employment  of  capital  and 
enterprise  at  Inverness.  By  means  of  the  canal,  which  places 
it  on  a  sort  of  highway  between  the  Baltic  and  Ireland,  from 
which  the  materials  for  the  flax  and  hemp  manufactures  are 
chiefly  derived,  it  is  perhaps  even  more  favourably  situated  for 
that  trade  than  Dundee,  its  present  great  emporium.  The 
double  communication  to  the  east  and  to  the  west,  affords  im- 
portant advantages  ;  and  the  Moray  Firth  is  of  equally  easy 
and  more  safe  access  from  the  Baltic  than  that  of  the  Tay.  In 
short,  there  is  no  description  of  trade  or  manufactures  that 
might  not  be  prosecuted  beneficially,  and  to  any  given  extent 
at  Inverness,  when  the  greatly  improved  facilities  of  the  canal 
communication  are  permanently  developed ;  while  to  the 
numerous  processes  for  which  the  use  of  pure  water  is  indispen- 
sable, no  situations  can  be  better  adapted  than  those  which  the 
line  of  the  navigation  offers  throughout  the  greater  part  of  its 
extent,  with  no  expense  beyond  that  of  appropriating  the 
bounties  of  nature  to  those  purposes,  which  elsewhere  involve 
so  serious  an  addition  to  the  cost  of  manufacture. 

90.  An  eloquent  writer  in  the  Edinburgh  Review*  looks 
forward  to  the  extension  of  railway  communication  as  likely  to 
have  an  important  effect  on  the  future  destinies  of  the  Cale- 
donian Canal.  Referring  to  it  as  the  probable  link  of  union 
between  the  extreme  points  of  the  lines  on  opposite  sides  of 
the  kingdom,  he  says — "  Glasgow  will,  no  doubt,  be  the  ter- 
minus of  the  great  western  line  ;  but  there  is  every  reason  to 
believe  that  the  eastern  line  will  extend  itself  to  a  much  higher 
latitude.  We  scruple  not  to  predict  that  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury will  scarcely  elapse  before  it  shall  reach  Inverness,  the 
capital  of  the  Highlands.  When  this  grand  object  is  gained, 
the  value  of  the  Caledonian  Canal  will  then  be  recognised  by 
the  blindest  and  dullest  of  its  detractors.  It  will  stand  forth 
the  connecting  link  between  the  great  lines  of  traffic  which 
embroider  the  skirts  of  our  otherwise  deserted  shores — the 
grand  aortal  trunk  into  which  the  arteries  of  the  south  will 
pour  their  exuberant  wealth.  The  remotest  Highlands  will 
then  become  a  suburb  of  the  imperial  metropolis.  The  fruits 
of  the  south  will  be  gathered  in  climates  where  they  could  not 
grow  ;  and,  while  the  luxuries  of  the  east  are  sweetening  the 
*  No.  CXLI.  Life  of  Telford. 
H 


146  CALEDONIAN  CANAL.  SECT.  III. 

coarse  fare  of  the  mountaineers,  the  more  intellectual  imports 
of  civilization  and  knowledge  will  gradually  dispel  the  ignor- 
ance and  feudal  barbarism  which  still  linger  among  their  fast- 
nesses." We  must  somewhat  modify  the  precise  place  thus 
assigned  by  anticipation  to  this  great  national  work.  As  sub- 
sequent events  point  to  the  foundation  of  a  great  line  of  internal 
railway  to  Inverness  by  the  extension  of  the  great  central  or 
western  lines  of  through  communication  from  south  to  north, 
onwards  from  Perth  by  the  valleys  of  the  Tay  and  the  Spey, 
so  that  Inverness  may  ere  long  be  reasonably  expected  to  be- 
come a  common  centre  of  conveying  currents  and  streams  of 
traffic  from  the  opposite  coasts  and  along  the  interior  of  the 
kingdom.  Notwithstanding,  the  utility  and  importance  of  the 
Caledonian  Canal  will  be  in  all  probability  enhanced  in  conse- 
quence of  the  more  thorough  development  of  the  resources  of  the 
Highlands  by  means  of  such  additional  facilities  of  transport. 

91.  Without  venturing  to  indulge  such  sanguine  speculations 
as  to  the  future,  we  are  content  to  fall  back  upon  what  has 
already  been  accomplished  ;  and  we  cannot  more  appropriately 
close  our  brief  sketch  of  one  of  the  leading  objects  of  attraction 
in  this  part  of  the  kingdom,  than  with  the  following  beautiful 
lines  from  the  pen  of  the  poet  Southey,  written  during  his 
temporary  sojourn  at  Bannavie,  adjoining  the  Neptune's  Stair- 
case, while  on  a  tour  of  the  Highlands  in  1819.  These  will 
always  deserve  to  be  quoted  as  a  just  tribute  to  the  memory  of 
his  friend  TELFORD  ;  identified  as  that  name  must  ever  be  with 
the  first  conception,  the  vigorous  prosecution,  and  successful 
issue  of  the  whole  series  of  public  improvements,  which  in  an 
incredibly  short  space  of  time  have,  as  has  been  truly  said, 
advanced  the  Highlands  at  least  a  century  in  the  scale  of 
modern  civilization,  and  indeed,  in  many  important  respects, 
have  already  placed  them  on  a  level  with  the  more  favoured 
regions  of  the  south  : — 

Where  these  capacious  basins,  by  the  laws 

Of  the  subjacent  element,  receive 

The  ship,  descending  or  upraised,  eight  times 

From  stage  to  stage  with  unfelt  agency 

Translated,  fitliest  may  the  marble  here 

Record  the  architect's'immortal  name. — 

TELFOHD  it  was  by  whose  presiding  mind 

The  whole  great  work  was  plann'd  and  perfected  ; 

TELFORD,  who  o'er  the  vale  of  Cambrian  Dee 

Aloft  in  air  at  giddy  height  upborne 

Carried  his  navigable  road  ;"  and  hung 

High  o'er  Menai's  Strait  the  bending  bridge : 


ROUTE  I.       LOCH  NESS — GREAT  GLEN.  147 

Structures  of  more  ambitious  enterprise 
Than  minstrels  in  the  age  of  old  romance 
To  their  own  Merlin's  magic  lore  ascribed. 
Nor  hath  he  for  his  native  land  performed 
Less  in  this  proud  design ;  and  where  his  piers 
Around  her  coast  from  many  a  fisher's  creek 
Unsheltered  else,  and  many  an  ample  port 
Repel  the  assailing  storm ;  and  where  his  roads 
In  beautiful  and  sinuous  line  far  seen 
Wind  with  the  vale  and  win  the  long  ascent, 
Now  o'er  the  deep  morass  sustained,  and  now 
Across  ravine  or  glen  or  estuary 
Opening  a  passage  through  the  wilds  subdued. 

92.  Having  conducted  the  reader  to  Inverness  by  what  is 
now  the  great  thoroughfare,  the  canal,  we  will,  in  concluding 
this  section,  devote  a  few  pages  to  a  more  detailed  description 
of  either  side  of  Loch  Ness. 

The  Great  Glen  forms  the  chief  line  of  communication  be- 
tween the  opposite  coasts  of  the  north  of  Scotland,  and  among 
the  military  roads  formed  between  the  periods  of  the  rebellions 
of  1715  and  1745,  one  was  conducted  along  the  south  side  of 
this  great  valley.  This,  like  the  other  military  roads,  was 
repaired  and  improved  by  the  Parliamentary  Commissioners 
appointed  for  carrying  into  execution  the  views  of  government 
regarding  the  improvement  of  the  Highlands  at  the  commence- 
ment of  this  century,  under  whose  direction  also  new  lines  of  road 
were  formed  along  the  opposite  sides  of  Lochs  Ness  and  Oich. 

93.  Along  the  space  (of  seven  miles)  from  Fort-Augustus  to 
Invermoriston,  on  the  north  side  of  Loch  Ness,  the  road  is,  for 
the  most  part,  straight  and  level ;  and  the  shore  of  the  lake 
being  low,  the  road  keeps  near  the  edge  of  the  water,  through 
long  avenues  of  hazel  and  birch.     A  good  view  of  the  fort  and 
surrounding  country  is  obtained  at  about  a  mile's  distance  from 
the  garrison  ;  but  a  still  better  one  will  be  found  from  the  rocks 
at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Oich. 

At  the  opening  of  Glen  Moriston,  the  road  beyond  the  inn 
of  Invermoriston,  a  small  but  snug  and  comfortable  house, 
passes  above  the  house  of  James  Murray  Grant,  Esq.,  proprietor 
of  the  glen — an  old-fashioned  fabric  modernised,  beautifully 
situated,  surrounded  with  wooded  parks,  and  encompassed  by 
abrupt  hills  of  considerable  altitude,  altogether  an  appropriate 
residence  for  a  Highland  chieftain.  The  traveller  will  enjoy  an 
excursion  of  eight  or  ten  miles  up  Glen  Moriston,  which,  for 
that  space,  is  one  mass  of  birch  and  pine,  with  but  few  arable 
patches,  and  watered  by  a  clear  river,  the  banks  of  which  afford 


148  INVERMORISTON   TO    DRUMNADROCHET.    SECT.  III. 

many  glimpses  of  exquisite  beauty.  Immediately  below  the 
inn  is  a  picturesque  waterfall  ;  the  river,  of  considerable  size, 
pouring  its  waters  from  an  open  channel  headlong  into  a  con- 
fined duct  of  shelving  rock,  which  conveys  them  to  the  lake. 

04.  From  Invermoriston  to  Drumnadrochet  the  distance  is 
thirteen  miles,  and  the  whole  road  one  of  extreme  beauty  ;  it 
generally  proceeds  at  a  considerable  elevation  above  the  lake, 
through  luxuriant,  overhanging  woods,  where  the  profuse  inter- 
mixture of  oak  and  ash,  with  birch  and  alder,  adds  much  to  the 
richness  and  tone  of  colouring.  Dark  and  dense  masses  of  pine 
are  frequently  seen  crowning  the  lofty  and  craggy  heights  above  ; 
while  beneath,  the  rowan  and  hawthorn  trees  mingle  their 
snowy  blossoms,  or  coral  berries,  with  the  foliage  of  the  more 
gigantic  natives  of  the  forest.  The  road  is,  in  part,  overhung 
by  the  fantastic  branches  of  the  yet  youthful  oak  ;  while  the 
stately  ash,  rooted  in  the  steep  declivities  below,  shoots  up  its 
tall,  straight,  perpendicular  stem,  and  with  its  scattered  ter- 
minal foliage  slightly  screens  the  glassy  lake,  or  purple  ground 
colour  of  the  opposite  hills  ;  and  the  airy  birch  droops  its  pen- 
sile twigs  round  its  silvery  trunk,  "  like  the  dishevelled  tresses 
of  some  regal  fair."  Here,  as  elsewhere,  along  the  banks  of  the 
lake,  the  sward  and  the  underwood  are  alike  most  beauteous, 
the  ground  carpeted  in  early  summer  with  the  primrose  and 
wood  anemone,  violet,  and  harebell ;  and  as  the  season  advances, 
the  leafy  green  of  the  forest  glade,  richly  spangled  with  the 
modestly  glowing  and  delicate  corollas  of  the  wild  rose,  chal- 
lenging comparison  with  any  of  the  denizens  of  the  shrubbery 
or  flower-garden.  The  dark-purpled  heath  in  tufted  wreaths 
presents  itself  wherever  an  opening  in  the  wood  or  a  frontlet  of 
rock  allows  ;  while  the  bracken,  with  its  rich  verdure,  spreads 
itself  over  the  ground,  alike  where  shaded  by  the  green  wood, 
or  where  sloping  otherwise  unclad  to  the  base  of  the  rocky  sur- 
mounting acclivities. 

Along  the  north  road  are  two  waterfalls  of  some  claim  to 
notice. 

95.  At  Aultsigh,  a  picturesque  cottage,  three  miles  from 
Invermoriston,  a  stream  from  behind  Mealfourvounie  issues 
forth  of  a  ravine  of  great  depth,  flanked  on  the  east  side  by  the 
precipitous  sides  of  the  mountain  base,  which  presents  a  bold 
frontlet  not  less  than  1200  hundred  feet  in  height,  half-clad 
with  clambering,  aged  pine  trees.  The  lower  declivities,  with 


ROUTE  1.  RAID    OF   CILLIE-CHRIST.  149 

the  front  to  the  lake,  and  the  opposite  side  of  the  defile,  are 
shrouded  in  birch,  of  which,  and  of  hazel,  holly,  and  alder,  there 
are  specimens  of  remarkable  growth  by  the  burn  course,  which 
also  exhibits  several  pleasing  waterfalls.  The  lowest — but  a 
few  yards  off  the  road — offers  a  very  perfect  picture.  At  a 
little  distance  in  front  of  the  fall,  between  low  walls  of  rock, 
spanned  by  an  old  arch  graced  with  pendent  festoons  of  ivy  and 
eglantine,  the  burn  descends  in  a  shelving  rapid.  Through  the 
interlacing  boughs  of  oak  and  hazel  appears  the  cascade,  about 
twenty  feet  in  height ;  while  behind  a  wooded  screen,  surmount- 
ing the  rocky  channel  of  the  stream,  towers  the  bluff  frontlet 
with  its  scattered  pines. 

We  have  been  the  more  minute  in  describing  this  little 
scene,  as  it  is  associated  with  the  Raid  of  Cilie-christ  (Christ's 
Church),  one  of  the  most  sanguinary  and  brutal  affairs  that 
stain  the  annals  of  an  age  of  general  blood  and  rapine.  In  the 
early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  Angus,  eldest  son  of 
Glengarry,  had  made  a  foray  into  the  Mackenzie's  country  :  on 
his  way  home  he  was  intercepted  by  a  gallant  little  band  of 
Mackenzies,  and  slain,  with  a  number  of  his  followers.  Some 
time  thereafter  a  strong  party  of  Glengarry's  men  were  sent, 
under  the  command  of  Allan  Mac  Raonuill  of  Lundy,  to  revenge 
his  death.  Allan  led  them  into  the  parish  of  Urray,  in  Ross- 
shire,  on  a  Sunday  morning,  and  surprised  a  numerous  body  of 
the  Mackenzies  assembled  at  prayer  within  the  walls  of  Cillie- 
christ,  near  Beauley  ;  for  so  was  their  little  chapel  called. 
Placing  his  followers  so  as  to  prevent  all  possibility  of  escape, 
Allan  gave  orders  to  set  the  building  on  fire.  The  miserable 
victims  found  all  attempts  at  escape  unavailing,  and  were,  with- 
out a  single  exception — man,  woman,  and  child — swallowed  up 
by  the  devouring  element,  or  indiscriminately  massacred  by  the 
swords  of  the  relentless  Macdonells,  whilst  a  piper  marched 
round  the  church,  playing  an  extemporary  piece  of  music, 
which  has  ever  since  been  the  pibroch  of  the  Glengarry  family. 

The  work  of  death  being  completed,  Allan  deemed  a  speedy 
retreat  expedient ;  but  the  incendiaries  were  not  to  escape  with 
impunity  ;  for  the  funeral  pile  of  their  clansmen  roused  the 
Mackenzies  to  arms  as  effectually  as  if  the  fiery  cross  had  been 
carried  through  the  valleys.  Their  force  was  divided  into  two 
bodies  :  one,  commanded  by  Murdoch  Mackenzie  of  Redcastle, 
proceeded  by  Inverness,  with  the  view  of  following  the  pursuit 


150  RAID    OF    CILLIE-CHRIST.  SECT.  III. 

along  the  southern  side  of  Loch  Ness  ;  whilst  another,  headed 
by  Alexander  Mackenzie  of  Coull,  struck  across  the  country, 
from  Beauly  to  the  northern  bank  of  the  lake,  in  the  footsteps 
of  another  party  which  had  fled  in  this  direction,  with  their 
leader,  Allan  Mac  Raonuill.  The  Mackenzies  overtook  these 
last,  as  they  sought  a  brief  repose  in  some  hills  near  the  burn 
of  Aultsigh.  The  Macdonells  maintained  an  unequal  conflict  for 
some  time  with  much  spirit,  but  were  at  length  forced  to  yield 
to  superior  numbers,  and  fled  precipitately  to  the  burn.  Many, 
however,  missed  the  ford,  and,  the  channel  being  rough  and 
rocky,  were  overtaken  and  slain  by  the  victorious  Mackenzies. 
Allan  Mac  Raonuill  made  towards  a  spot  where  the  burn  rushed 
through  a  yawning  chasm  of  considerable  depth  and  breadth. 
Forgetting  the  danger  of  the  attempt  in  the  hurry  of  his  flight, 
and  the  agitation  of  the  moment,  and  being  of  an  athletic  frame, 
and  at  the  time  half  naked,  he  vigorously  strained  at,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  clearing  the  desperate  leap.  One  of  the  Mackenzies 
inconsiderately  followed  him,  but,  wanting  the  impulse  of  those 
powerful  feelings  which  had  put  such  life  and  mettle  into  Allan's 
heels,  he  had  not  the  fortune  to  reach  the  top  of  the  bank  : 
grasping,  however,  the  branch  of  a  birch  tree,  he  hung  sus- 
pended over  the  abyss.  Mac  Raonuill,  observing  his  situation, 
turned  back  and  lopped  off  the  branch  with  his  dirk,  exclaim- 
ing, "  I  have  left  much  behind  me  with  you  to-day  ;  take  that 
also."  Allan  got  considerably  a-head  of  his  followers  ;  and, 
having  gained  the  brink  of  the  loch,  bethought  him  of  attempt- 
ing to  swim  across,  and,  plunging  in,  he  lustily  breasted  its  cool 
and  refreshing  waters.  Being  observed  from  the  opposite  side, 
a  boat  was  sent  out,  which  picked  him  up. 

The  party  of  the  Macdonells,  who  fled  by  Inverness,  were 
surprised  by  Redcastle  in  a  public-house  at  Torbreck,  three 
miles  to  the  west  of  the  town,  where  they  stopped  to  refresh 
themselves  :  the  house  was  set  on  fire,  and  they  all,  thirty-seven 
in  number,  suffered  the  death  they  had  in  the  early  part  of  the 
day  so  wantonly  inflicted. 

At  Ruisky,  a  small  public-house  opposite  Foyers,  and  about 
five  miles  from  Invermoriston,  there  is  a  ferry  across  the  lake, 
by  which  the  Fall  of  Foyers  can  be  conveniently  visited. 

Immediately  west  of  Ruisky,  a  torrent  called  Authguithas 
(Aultghuis)  rushes  almost  vertically  down  the  hill  face,  in  a 
prolonged  cataract,  partially  screened  by  trees. 


ROUTE  I.  GLEN    TJRQUHART.  151 

96.  Urquhart  Castle  has  been  already  described.  Glen  Ur- 
quhart,  one  of  the  richest  and  most  beautiful  of  our  Highland 
valleys,  opens  up  from  the  lake  about  fourteen  miles  from  In- 
verness :  its  length  is  about  ten  miles.  From  its  head,  at  Cor- 
rymony,  it  gradually  widens  out ;  and  about  its  centre  it  con- 
tains a  small  circular  lake,  Meiklie,  adorned  by  the  houses  of 
Lakefield  (Ogilvy),  Lochletter,  and  Sheuglie.  At  the  lower 
extremity  of  the  lake,  the  sides  of  the  glen  approximate,  and 
the  winding  strath  below  continues  rather  narrow  and  confined, 
widening  again,  however,  towards  the  entrance,  and  there  ex- 
hibiting considerable  tracts  of  rich  cultivated  land  carried  to 
the  very  hill  tops.  The  gently  sloping  banks  of  the  lake  above 
the  fertile  fields  of  Lakefield  and  Lochletter,  and  the  more  steep 
declivities  between  it  and  Loch  Ness,  are  clad  to  their  summits 
with  luxuriant  and  graceful  birch  woods,  while  the  frequency 
of  cultivated  spaces,  and  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  give  a  pecu- 
liar richness  and  gladsomeness  to  this  beautiful  valley.  The 
elegant  shrub  Ptunus  padus  or  bird-cherry,  grows  here  to  a 
great  size,  especially  about  the  house  of  Polmaily,  (General 
Cameron),  and  more  abundantly  than  in  any  other  valley  we 
have  seen.  Indeed,  both  the  soil  and  climate  appear  admirably 
adapted  for  the  rearing  of  ornamental  and  fruit  trees  ;  and  they 
give  birth  to  an  exuberant  vegetation,  especially  indicated  by 
the  rankness  of  the  stately  and  gorgeous  Digitalis  lining  the 
road  sides.  The  greater  part  of  Glen  Urquhart  is  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  Grant  of  Grant,  or  Seafield  family,  who  have  a 
residence  in  it  called  Balmacaan. 

It  is  a  cause  of  much  regret  that  the  beauty  of  this  charm- 
ing valley  has  of  late  been  materially  impaired  by  the  ruthless 
sacrifice  of  the  greater  part  of  its  fine  birch  woods,  and  that 
not  only  without  the  slightest  benefit,  but  to  the  absolute  pe- 
cuniary loss  of  the  noble  proprietor,  whose  forester,  in  an  evil 
hour,  entered  into  a  contract  for  the  supply  of  a  quantity  of 
birch,  so  large  that  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  fulfil  it  from  the 
Seafield  estates  in  this  quarter,  and,  by  some  lamentable  over- 
sight, at  a  price  which  will  actually  not  suffice  to  pay  for  the 
cost  of  delivery.  And  this  for  the  most  unromantic  purpose  of 
manufacturing  bobbins  for  Glasgow  cotton  mills !  How  out- 
rageous a  proceeding  !  Why  will  proprietors  persist — for  this 
is  by  no  means  a  solitary  instance — in  permitting  subordinates 
to  mar,  at  one  fell  swoop,  natural  features,  in  the  development  of 


152  GLEN    URQUHART.  SECT.  III. 

which,  for  the  delight  of  mankind,  the  benignant  Artificer  of  the 
Universe  has  seen  fit  to  expend,  it  may  be,  a  century  of  years  ? 
The  public  mind  revolts  against  the  unguarded,  rough-handed, 
violation  of  characteristics  which  length  of  time  have  so  identi- 
fied with  a  country  side,  that  the  public  eye,  and  the  public  taste, 
have  acquired  a  sort  of  prescriptive  right  to  their  preservation. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  glen  there  is  a  large  and  excellent  inn, 
called  Drunmadrochet.  An  excursion  of  four  or  five  miles  up 
the  glen  should  not  be  omitted  ;  and  the  pedestrian  should  fol- 
low a  by-path,  which,  opposite  the  farm-house  of  Delshangie, 
strikes  across  the  skirt  of  the  hill,  and  gives  a  commanding 
view  of  the  little  lake  and  its  imposing  houses.  About  two 
miles  from  the  inn,  a  small  bum,  descending  from  the  flank  of 
Mealfourvounie,  falls  over  a  lofty  ledge  of  rock,  forming  what 
are  called  the  Falls  of  Ghivach  or  Dhivach  :  were  the  body  of 
water  not  so  insignificant,  they  would,  from  their  height,  and 
the  deep,  confined,  and  wooded  bed  of  the  stream,  nearly  rival 
the  magnificent  falls  of  Foyers,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  lake. 
The  base  of  the  fall  can  be  best  attained  by  following  the  north- 
ern bank  of  the  stream,  which  passes  a  little  below  the  house 
of  Balmacaan  ;  but  it  is  not  at  all  times  very  easy  of  approach, 
as  a  branch  streamlet  crosses  the  path,  and  the  burn  course 
must  latterly  be  threaded.  A  pathway  will  be  found  along  the 
opposite  edge  of  the  ravine  from  the  little  bridge  of  Clunemore, 
which  leads  to  a  pretty  good  point  of  view.  The  fall  is  in  the 
direct  route  to  Mealfourvounie,  should  the  traveller  meditate  a 
trip  to  its  summit,  which  is  here  quite  easy  of  access,  and  af- 
fords a  less  laborious  opportunity  of  a  mountain  view  than  is 
generally  the  case,  and  is  the  work  of  a  couple  of  hours  from 
the  fall. 

A  district  road  crosses  the  hill  from  Drumnadrochet  to  the 
Aird  at  Belladrum,  a  distance  of  about  ten  miles  ;  and  we  trust 
that  ere  long  the  head  of  Glen  Urquhart  will  be  connected  with 
Strathglass,  by  an  extension  of  the  road  over  the  intervening 
space  of  about  three  miles.* 

97.  The  burn  of  Aberiachan,  nine  miles  from  Inverness, 
presents,  by  the  roadside,  a  succession  of  falls  of  from  ten  to 
thirty  feet  in  height,  with  clear  basins  below,  and  shelving 

*  Temple,  indicated  by  the  toll-bar  and  two  noble  ash  trees,  may  be  assumed  as 
the  most  probable  site  of  one  of  the  most  early  churches  in  the  Highlands,  that  of 
St.  Ifaotnilihn,  built  in  the  seventh  century,  of  "  hewn  oak,"  as  mentioned  in  the 
lireviariuui  Aberdonense. 


ROUTE  I.  VALE    OF   KILLIN.  153 

rapids  between  ;  the  channel  lined  by  low  rocks,  and  shaded  by 
woods  of  birch.  Dochfour  House  (Baillie),  already  noticed,  is 
an  imposing  new  edifice  in  the  Italian  style  ;  and  a  little  way 
on,  a  granite  obelisk,  erected  to  the  memory  of  the  late  pro- 
prietor, Evan  Baillie,  Esq.  A  couple  of  miles  from  Inverness 
the  Moray  Firth,  lined  by  ranges  of  moderate  size,  of  softened 
character,  open  on  the  view,  with  a  fertile  plain  and  part  of  the 
town  between,  and  Fort-George  in  the  distance. 

98.  The  road  from  Fort-Augustus,  on  the  south  side  of 
Loch  Ness,  conducts  across  the  shoulder  of  Suchumin.  The 
appearance  of  the  country — the  upper  portion  of  an  elevated 
table-land,  called  Stratherrick — till  we  reach  the  river  Foyers, 
which  the  road  crosses  at  Whitebridge,  about  four  miles  above 
the  celebrated  Falls  of  Foyers,  is  uninteresting,  and  the  road 
exceedingly  hilly  and  tedious.  Here  we  would  direct  the  tra- 
veller's attention  to  a  sequestered  spot  in  the  vicinity,  of  pecu- 
liar beauty,  on  the  river  Foyers.  This  is  a  secluded  vale,  called 
Killin,  which,  besides  its  natural  attractions,  and  these  are 
great,  is  distinguished  as  one  of  the  few  places  where  the  old 
practice  of  resorting  to  the  "  shieling"  for  summer  grazing  of 
cattle  is  still  observed.  It  is  lined  by  steep  mountain  ranges, 
partially  decked  with  birch,  and  hanging  mossy  banks,  shaded 
over  with  the  deeper-tinted  bracken  ;  but  passing  more  into 
naked  cliffs,  or  strewed  with  broken  fragments  of  rock,  inter- 
mingled with  a  scanty  verdure  sprouted  with  heath.  At  the 
north  end  there  is  a  small  lake  about  a  mile  and  a-half  in 
length,  and  from  one-third  to  half-a-mile  in  breadth.  The  re- 
mainder of  the  bottom  of  the  glen  is  a  perfectly  level  tract  of 
the  same  width  with  the  lake,  and  about  two  miles  and  a-half 
in  length,  covered  with  the  richest  herbage,  decked  with  nu- 
merous wild  flowers,  and  traversed  by  a  small  meandering  river 
flowing  through  it  into  the  lake.  The  surface  of  this  flat  is 
bedecked  with  the  little  huts,  or  bothies,  which  afford  tempo- 
rary accommodation  to  those  in  charge  of  the  cattle.  About 
half-a-mile  from  the  south  end  of  the  lake,  Lord  Lovat,  the 
proprietor,  has  erected  a  shooting-lodge  ;  viewed  from  which, 
or  from  either  end,  or  from  the  top  of  a  platform  on  the  north- 
east side  of  the  lake,  fancy  could  scarcely  picture  a  more 
attractive  and  fairy  landscape  than  this  sequestered  vale,  to 
which  Dr.  Johnson's  description  of  "  the  happy  valley,"  not 
inaptly  applies.  The  milch  cows,  to  the  number  of  several 


154  VALE  OF  KILLIN  —  STRATHERRICK.        SECT.  III. 

hundreds,  are  generally  kept  here  from  the  beginning  of  June 
till  the  middle  of  August,  when  they  are  replaced  by  the  yeld 
cattle.  In  the  little  bothies,  the  young  girls  in  charge  of  the 
milch  cattle  pass  their  peaceful  and  secluded  summers.  These 
are  very  primitive  structures  of  turf,  each  of  a  single  small 
compartment,  entered  by  a  low  doorway  ;  from  one  side  of 
which,  a  breast-high  turf  screen,  advanced  a  few  feet,  serves  to 
protect  the  bed-place  from  the  draught,  and  a  bench  of  the 
same  material,  along  the  opposite  wall,  answers  the  purpose  of 
chairs,  and  completes  the  arrangements  of  the  interior,  except- 
ing that  a  small  inner  recess,  at  one  corner,  contains  the  dairy 
produce,  which,  we  need  hardly  advise  the  thirsty  wayfarer,  is 
here  to  be  met  with  in  profusion  and  perfection,  and  with  a 
welcome.  A  district  road  on  the  west  side  of  the  river  now  in- 
vades the  privacy  of  this  retreat.  On  the  opposite  side,  a  rough 
footpath  conducts  from  Whitebridge. 

99.  Stratherrick  is  broad  and  open,  and  bordered  on  the 
north  by  a  wide  elevated  plain,  and  the  whole  encompassed  by 
granite  hills  shooting  up  into  numerous  naked  summits  ;  while 
similar  lower  eminences   display  themselves   throughout   the 
intermediate  space,  which  is  covered  with  mingled  meadow, 
arable,  and  moorland.     Between  the  falls  and  the  strath  of 
Stratherrick  (a  space  of  three  or  four  miles)  the  river  Foyers 
flows  through  a  series  of  low  rocky  hills  clothed  with  birch. 
They  present  various  quiet  glades  and  open  spaces,  where  little 
patches  of  cultivated  ground  are  encircled  by  wooded  hillocks, 
whose  surface  is  pleasingly  diversified  by  nodding  trees,  bare 
rock,  empurpled  heath,  and  bracken  bearing  herbage.      The 
visitor  who,  from  Inverness,  means  to  return  there,  may  pleas- 
ingly vary  his  homeward  route  by  following  the  course  of  the 
Foyers  for  a  few  miles  above  the  falls,  and  then  descending 
Stratherrick  to  Loch  Farraline,  and  there  turning  off"  by  the 
Inverfarikaig  road,  through  the  pass  already  alluded  to,  when 
he  reaches  Loch  Ness  side,  two  miles  east  of  the  General's 
Hut,  at  Inverfarikaig,  where  he  can  bait ;  and  again  at  Dores,  if 
so  disposed.    The  distance  is  thus  lengthened  eight  or  ten  miles  ; 
making  it  rather  a  long  day's  journey  from  and  back  to  Inverness. 

For  a  description  of  the  fall,  we  refer  the  reader  to  the 
steamer's  course  along  Loch  Ness. 

100.  The  General's  Hut,  as  the  small  inn  (18  miles  from 
Inverness)  near  the  Fall  of  Foyers,  is  called,  from  the  circum- 


ROUTE  I.  PASS  OF  INVERPARIKAIG.  155 

stance  of  General  Wade  having  had  his  head  quarters  in  this 
vicinity  when  forming  the  military  road  along  Loch  Ness,  has 
been  considerably  improved  by  what  it  was  some  20  years  ago. 
But  it  is  still  far  from  affording  suitable  accommodation  at  a 
spot  so  much  frequented  as  the  Falls  of  Foyers.  No  doubt,  a 
large  proportion  of  tourists  content  themselves  with  a  flying 
visit  from  the  steamers.  But  this  is  still  a  favourite  pleasure 
drive  for  parties  from  Inverness,  and  would  be  still  more  so, 
were  there  anything  half  so  attractive  as  the  very  comfortable 
establishment  at  Drumnadrochet,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
lake ;  for  the  character  of  the  intermediate  scenery,  though  dif- 
ferent, from  the  effect  of  greater  inequality  in  the  line  of  the 
northern  roadway,  is  such  as  makes  the  whole  excursion  a  very 
agreeable  one. 

101.  We  would  recommend  travellers,  whom  the  falls  attract 
in  this  direction,  to  explore  for  a  short  way  the  road  which 
strikes  off  at  right  angles  from  the  lake  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Farikaig,  about  three  miles  from  the  Foyers,  on  the  Inverness 
road.     It  leads  by  the  side  of  a  brawling  torrent,  along  the 
bottom  of  a  narrow  and  deep  defile,  the  pass  of  Inverfarikaig, 
which  leads  into  Stratherrick  at  Loch  Farraline.     Woods  of 
birch  line  the  bottom  and  mantle  the  slopes  of  the  ravine,  from 
which  a  few  groups  and  single  trees  extend  along  the  face  of 
the  precipitous  rocks  above,  waving  their  graceful  twigs  like 
flowery  garlands  along  the  mountain's  brow.     At  the  entrance 
of  the  pass  from  Loch  Ness  the  eastern  side  consists  for  a  con- 
siderable space  of  a  range  of  perpendicular  and  rugged  preci- 
pices, and  towards  the  lake  the  high  and  broad  frontlet  of  the 
"  Black  Rock,"  surmounting  an  ample  and  birch  clad  acclivity, 
terminates  the  range  of  precipices,  and  on  its  summit  we  discern 
the  green-clad  walls   of  the   ancient   vitrified  fort   of  Dun- 
darduil. 

102.  To  Dores  the  road  hence  continues  for  eight  miles  close 
by  the  water's  edge,  passing  for  about  one-half  of  this  space 
through  a  succession  of  straight  avenues  of  hazel,  mingled  with 
birch,  alder,  and  ash  trees,  and  rarely  presenting  favourable  views 
of  the  lake.  The  closeness  of  the  wood  and  coppice,  yielding  still 
and  prolonged  vistas,  bestows  a  character  of  peculiar  repose, 
freshness,  and  beauty  on  the  scenery,  which  has  called  forth 
the  following  eulogium  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Macculloch  : — "  If 
hence  from  Foyers  to  Inverness  the  country  presents  no  pictur- 


156  DORES   TO   INVERNESS.  SECT.  III. 

esque  scenery,  there  is  one  part  of  the  road  which  may  well 
redeem  the  whole  ;  there  is  none  such  throughout  the  High- 
lands, so  that  it  adds  novelty  to  beauty,  a  green  road  of  shaven 
turf  holding  its  bowery  course  for  miles  through  close  groves 
of  birch  and  alder,  with  occasional  glimpses  of  Loch  Ness  and 
of  the  open  country.  I  passed  it  at  early  dawn,  when  the 
branches  were  still  spangled  with  drops  of  dew  ;  while  the  sun 
shooting  its  beams  through  the  leaves,  exhaled  the  sweet  per- 
fume of  the  birch,  and  filled  the  whole  air  with  fragrance." 

103.  Perhaps  the  finest  view  to  be  obtained  of  Loch  Ness  is 
that  which  is  exhibited,  looking  back  from  the  ascent  from 
Dores,  with  the  wooded  parks  of  Aldourie  as  a  foreground. 

The  road  onwards  leads  through  the  policies  of  Ness  Castle 
(Lady  Saltoun),  and  past  the  house  of  Holm  (Mackintosh), 
and  as  it  approaches  the  town,  runs  by  the  wooded  islands  of 
the  Ness,  the  county  buildings  and  jail  crowning  the  castle-hill 
on  the  river's  brink  with  an  imposing  mass  of  castellated 
masonry,  forming  for  some  time,  as  we  approach,  a  conspicuous 
and  striking  object. 


ROUTE  FIRST.— BRANCH  A. 

STIRLING  BY   LOCHEARNHEAD  TO   TYNDRUM,   AND   BY   OALLANDER 
TO  LOCH  CATRINE,  LOCHS  LOMOND,  CHON,  ARD,  AND  MONTEITH. 

Stirling  to  Tyndrnm ;  Stirling  Bock  and  Castle ;  Town,  1. — Field  of  Bannockburn,  2. 
Kincardine  Moss ;  Valley  of  the  Forth  and  Teith,  3.— Doune  Castle,  4.— Callander ; 
Falls  of  Brackland ;  Pla'in  of  Bochastle ;  Ben  Ledi ;  peculiar  observances  on  Bel- 
tein  Day,  5. — Pass  of  Leni;  Loch  Lubnaig;  Rob  Roy's  Grave,  6. — Loch  Earn; 
Glen  Dochart,  7- — Callander  to  Loch  Catrine,  ire, — Attractions  of  the  scenes  of  the 
Lady  of  the  Lake,  8. — Lochs  Achray  and  Vcnachar,  9. — Loch  Catrine ;  The  Trosachs, 
10.— Strathgartney ;  Passes  to  Loch  Voil  and  Strathire,  11. — Route  to  Loch 
Lomond,  12.— Loch  Chon  and  Lochs  Ard,  13. — Clachan  and  Pass  of  Aberfoil ; 
Loch  Monteith ;  Ruins  of  Inchmahome  Priory,  14. 

Miles.         Maes. 

Stirling  to  Doune 8 

Callander  7f        15| 

Lochearnhead  13|        29| 

Luib  Inn    10|        40 

Tyndrum  12          52 

"Dalmally   12£        64i  miles 

Taynuilt 12          76 

Oban  11 

King'sHouse 18          70 

Ballachulish 16          86 

Fort-William    14        100 


ROCTE  I.  A.      THE  FORTH — STIRLING  CASTLE.  157 

Miles.        Miles. 

Callander  to  Ardchinchrochclhan —  8 

Loch  Catrine —  If 

Sail  up  the  Lake  —  8 

Loch  Lomond  5  — 

LochChon —  3 

Upper  Loch  Ard  —  4 

Aberfoil  Inn —  5 

Dumbarton  by  Drymen 22  — 

Callander  —  11 

Stirling  by  the  Forth  19  40J 

1.  FOR  several  miles  before  it  joins  the  Firth,  the  river  Forth 
rolls  in  many  a  tortuous  maze  through  a  rich  and  spacious 
plain  ;  its  ample  flood  but  slightly  depressed  below  the  level  of 
the  fattened  soil.  At  a  short  distance  from  the  northern  bank 
of  the  river,  the  Ochils  bound  this  teeming  flat.  Until  it 
reaches  this  expanse,  the  course  of  the  river  lies  through  a  wide 
and  level  valley.  At  the  mouth  of  the  valley,  an  isolated 
eminence  rises  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  with  a  somewhat 
steep  slope  on  the  south-east,  and  on  the  opposite  side  present- 
ing an  abrupt  acclivity,  surmounted  by  a  ledge  of  trap  rock. 
The  stratum  dips  (to  speak  technically)  to  the  south-west,  and 
the  rocky  precipice  gradually  increases  in  height  as  it  ascends 
from  the  plain,  till  towards  the  summit  it  becomes  a  cliff  of 
considerable  elevation,  composed  of  basaltic  columns,  from  the 
edge  of  which  rise  the  walls  of  Stirling  Castle.  The  town  is 
built  chiefly  on  the  slope  of  the  hill. 

Stirling  Castle  figures  in  history  as  early  as  the  twelfth 
century,  having  been  one  of  the  strongholds  which  formed  the 
pledges  of  payment  of  the  ransom  of  William  the  Lion  ;  and 
indeed  mention  is  made  of  it  as  the  rendezvous  of  the  Scottish 
army  some  centuries  earlier,  when  the  victory  over  the  Danes 
at  Luncarty  was  achieved.  And  Stirling  was  a  military  station 
under  the  Romans.  The  castle  has  sustained  numerous  sieges, 
especially  during  our  struggles  with  the  haughty  Edwards. 
Here  James  II.  and  IV.  were  born,  and  James  V.  and  Queen 
Mary  crowned,  and  James  VI.  passed  his  early  years  under  the 
tuition  of  George  Buchanan  ;  and  it  was  a  favourite  residence 
of  all  the  Stuarts,  by  whom  the  greater  part  of  the  present 
buildings  were  erected.  They  compose  a  small  square,  one  side 
of  which,  the  parliament  hall,  was  built  by  James  III.,  the 
palace  by  James  V.,  the  chapel  (now  the  armoury)  by  James 
VI.  The  exterior  of  the  palace,  embellished  as  it  is  by  gro- 


1 58  STIRLING  ROCK  AND  CASTLE.  SECT.  III. 

tesque  busts,  fanciful  statues  and  columns,  affords  a  curious 
specimen  of  the  bizarre  and  fantastic  taste  of  the  period.  The 
castle  mounts  twenty-nine  guns  ;  and  the  armoury  contains 
15,000  stand  of  arms  and  a  few  reliques  of  Scottish  story,  the 
most  interesting  of  which  is  a  pulpit  of  rude  workmanship 
shown  as  Knox's  pulpit.  On  the  Gallow  Hill,  a  mound  on  the 
eastward  of  the  castle,  Duncan,  Earl  of  Lennox,  the  Regent 
Duke  of  Albany,  his  son  Walter,  and  his  son-in-law  and  grand- 
son, were  beheaded  in  May  1425 ;  while  Douglas'  room,  looking 
into  the  governor's  garden,  was  the  scene  of  the  Earl's  murder 
by  James  II.  Stirling  rock  and  castle  are  very  imposing  in 
appearance  from  many  points,  but  especially  from  the  vicinity 
of  the  field  of  Bannockburn,  on  the  Glasgow  road  ;  and  the 
view  from  the  castle  is  perhaps  unequalled  in  Scotland,  com- 
bining with  great  extent  and  extreme  fertility  a  magnificent 
range  of  mountains  lining  the  upper  portion  of  the  valley, 
while  the  spacious  and  luxurant  plain  at  the  head  of  the  Firth 
gradually  ascends  on  the  south  in  receding  slopes  of  the  same 
highly  cultivated  character.  In  this  direction  the  eye  roams 
over  a  spacious  flat  of  the  highest  fertility  ;  ascending,  on  the 
south,  in  a  far  reaching  inclination  of  the  same  character,  and 
to  the  east,  giving  place  to  the  waters  of  the  Firth,  with  Edin- 
burgh looming  in  the  distance.  Northwards,  the  moderately 
elevated  sides  of  the  valley  conduct  to  the  splendid  mountain 
screen  formed  by  Ben  Ledi,  Ben  Vorlich,  Ben  Lomond,  and 
other  alps.  The  convoluted  windings  of  the  river  ;  the  strange 
contortions  of  which  may  be  judged  of  from  the  fact,  that  they 
lengthen  the  distance  by  water  to  Alloa  to  twenty  in  place  of 
six  miles,  betoken  the  dead  level  of  the  surrounding  plain. 
Altogether  a  richer  prospect  cannot  be  conceived,  nor  can  there 
be  a  point  of  view  more  favourable,  commanding  an  unobstructed 
range  in  every  direction.  A  hollow  below  the  castle  parade, 
called  "  the  Valley,"  was  the  scene  of  the  joust  and  tourna- 
ment, where  beauty  oft  has  dealt  the  prize  to  valorous  achieve- 
ment. At  the  lower  end  of  the  parade  is  an  antique  square 
edifice,  with  central  court  and  extinguisher  turrets,  shooting  up 
from  the  interior  angles.  It  belonged  originally  to  the  Earls 
of  Stirling,  and  afterwards  to  the  Argyle  family.  Not  far  from 
it,  at  the  head  of  Broad  Street,  is  a  ruinous  structure  called 
"  Marr's  Work,"  built,  about  1570,  with  stones  from  Cumbus- 
kenneth  Abbey.  Beside  it  stands  a  handsome  Gothic  church. 


ROUTE  I.  A.  FIELD  OF  BANNOCKBURN.  159 

built  by  James  IV.,  the  chancel  of  which  was  added  by  Cardi- 
nal Beaton.  King  James  VI.  was  crowned  in  the  church,  and 
the  coronation  sermon  was  preached  by  John  Knox.  All  these 
buildings  are  near  the  brink  of  the  rock,  along  the  face  of 
which  a  terraced  walk  is  carried  round  the  castle.  On  the  plain 
below  is  a  circular  mound,  the  Knott,  known  as  King  Arthur's 
Round  Table,  once  the  centre  of  courtly  pastime. 

The  town,  which  consists  chiefly  of  a  narrow  and  irregular 
street,  descending  from  Marr's  Work  in  a  slanting  direction  to 
the  plain,  is  of  an  antiquity  as  remote  as  the  castle,  for  it  was 
known  as  a  royal  burgh  in  the  reign  of  Alexander  I.  It  is  dis- 
tinguished for  the  number  of  hospitals  it  contains  for  the  support 
of  decayed  tradesmen  and  guild-brethren  and  their  children. 
The  population  amounts  to'  about  7000.  The  Episcopal  Chapel 
is  worthy  of  notice.  Though  not  large,  it  is  perhaps  the  most 
tasteful  structure  of  the  kind  in  Scotland.  A  handsome  new 
Presbyterian  Church  has  been  erected  near  the  chapel.  Carpet- 
ing and  tartans  form  the  chief  manufacture.  Drummond's  Agri- 
cultural Museum  is  worthy  of  a  visit.  About  half-a-mile  above 
the  old  bridge  of  Stirling,  there  was  a  wooden  bridge,  memor- 
able as  the  scene  of  Wallace's  victory,  in  1297,  over  the  English 
under  Warenne  and  Cressingham.  A  little  to  the  east  of  the 
bridge  is  the  Abbey  Craig,  whence  the  Scottish  host  descended 
to  the  fray,  so  called  from  Cambuskenneth  Abbey,  of  which  the 
ruins  stand  on  the  adjoining  plain. 

2.  Within  less  than  three  miles  of  Stirling,  to  the  south- 
west, lies  the  field  of  Bannockburn — a  spot  peculiarly  dear  to 
every  Scottish  breast.  The  battlefield  and  position  of  the  rival 
armies  is  easily  understood  ;  and  some  venerable  handicrafts- 
man is  generally  at  hand  to  narrate  the  traditionary  account. 
The  ground  rises  with  a  very  gentle  inclination  on  either  side 
of  the  narrow  haugh  land,  which  skirts  a  small  streamlet. 
On  the  northern  slope,  quite  near  to  the  village  of  Bannock- 
burn,  "  the  Bore  Stone,"  where  the  Scottish  standard  spread  its 
folds,  indicates  the  centre  of  the  Scottish  array.  The  front 
extended  to  the  village  of  St.  Ninian's,  and  rested,  on  the  right, 
on  the  Bannock  burn.  A  little  way  behind,  and  to  the  right, 
is  "the  Gillie's  Hill,"  the  appearance  on  which  of  the  camp 
sutlers,  opportunely  conveyed  the  impression  of  a  reinforcement 
to  the  ranks  of  their  countrymen.  As  the  bottom  of  the  low 
ground  was  a  marsh,  the  encounter  between  the  Bruce  and  Sir 


160  FIELD  OF  BANNOCKBURN — JAMES  III.       SECT.  III. 

Henry  de  Boune  is  conjectured  to  have  occurred  on  the  eleva- 
tion towards  Milton  of  St.  Ninian's.  The  desperate  skirmish, 
at  the  same  time,  between  a  body  of  horse  under  Sir  Robert 
Clifford — which  had  nigh  outflanked  the  Scottish  army,  and 
effected  their  object  of  throwing  themselves  into  Stirling  Castle 
— and  of  infantry,  under  Randolph  Earl  of  Moray,  took  place 
on  the  low  ground  to  the  north-east  of  St.  Ninian's,  the  day 
before  the  main  battle,  Moray  coming  off  victor.  This  great 
conflict,  which  gave  freedom  to  our  country,  and  inspired  the 
most  spirit-stirring  of  our  national  songs,  was  fought  on  Mon- 
day, 24th  June  1314.  The  command  of  the  centre  of  the  Scot- 
tish host  was  committed  to  the  Earl  of  Moray  ;  of  the  right 
wing  to  Edward  Bruce  ;  and  of  the  left  to  Sir  James  Douglas 
and  Walter  the  Steward  of  Scotland  ;  Bruce  himself,  with 
Angus  of  Isla,  taking  immediate  charge  of  the  reserve,  imme- 
diately behind  the  centre,  and  composed  of  the  men  of  the  Isles, 
Argyle,  Cantyre,  Carrick,  and  Bute,  with  a  body  of  500  well- 
appointed  cavalry.  The  English  van  was  led  by  the  Earls  of 
Gloucester  and  Hereford,  and  commenced  the  fight,  by  attack- 
ing the  Scottish  right  wing.  The  main  body  of  the  English 
army  was  commanded  by  King  Edward  in  person,  attended  by 
the  Earl  of  Pembroke,  Sir  Ingram  Umfraville,  and  Sir  Giles  de 
Argentine.  The  tourist  should  not  omit,  on  quitting  Bannock- 
burn,  to  hie  him  to  the  south  end  of  the  adjoining  village  of 
Milton  of  St.  Ninian's,  where,  near  the  mill,  and  close  by  a  cot- 
tage on  the  site  of  that  into  which  he  was  carried — and  of 
which  one  of  the  identical  gables  still  subsists — is  the  well 
where  James  III.  was  thrown  from  his  horse  on  his  flight  from 
the  battle  of  Sauchieburn.  The  king's  horse,  it  will  be  recol- 
lected, was  startled  by  a  woman  who  was  drawing  water  sud- 
denly raising  herself,  and  the  monarch  was  thrown,  and  being 
carried  into  the  mill,  was  stabbed  by  a  person  who  came 
up,  supposed  to  be  Stirling  of  Kier. 

The  celebrated  Roman  camp  at  Ardoch,  near  Dunblane  ;  the 
ruins  of  the  Cathedral ;  Archbishop  Leighton's  Library,  and  some 
other  objects  about  Dunblane  ;  and  the  field  of  the  battle  of 
Sheriffmuir,  invite  description.  But  we  have  already  lingered  be- 
yond the  Highland  boundary  as  long  as  our  limits  permit,  and 
must  hasten  to  reconduct  the  reader  towards  the  hilly  North. 

One  continuous  but  serpentine  thread  of  successive  valleys 
penetrates  the  mountain  maze,  from  Stirling  to  the  western 


ROUTE  I.  A.  KINCARDINE  MOSS.  161 

confines  of  Inverness-shire.  This  natural  line  of  communication 
was  selected  as  one  of  the  great  military  roads  of  the  early  part 
of  the  last  century  ;  and  now  it  forms  the  drove  road  for  the 
cattle  of  the  west  coast  and  islands,  and  a  delightful  route  for 
the  tourist,  though  still  not  the  best  in  the  world  for  four-in-hand. 

3.  Proceeding  up  the  wide  valley  of  the  Forth,  the  road 
passes  the  house  of  Craigforth,  opposite  which  is  seen  the  house 
of  Kier,  (Stirling,)  and,  two  miles  from  Stirling,  crosses  the  river 
at  the  Bridge  of  Drip.  It  then  runs  for  several  miles  through 
what  is  still  called  the  Moss  of  Kincardine,  though  now  rich  corn- 
fields occupy  the  greater  part  of  this  once  marshy  and  bleak 
tract.  About  eighty  years  ago,  the  late  Lord  Kaimes  became 
proprietor  of  1500  acres  of  the  moss,  which,  to  his  shrewd  in- 
tellect, appeared  readily  reclaimable  from  its  then  unprofitable 
condition.  At  an  average  depth  of  seven  feet  below  the  surface 
of  the  moss,  a  substratum  of  rich  carse  clay,  with  a  thin  cover- 
iing  of  vegetable  mould,  held  forth  the  prospect  of  a  most  invit- 
ing return  for  the  expense  of  disencumbering  it ;  and  as  his 
Lordship's  possessions  extended  from  the  Forth  to  the  Teith, 
which  flows  along  the  north  side  of  the  valley,  a  large  wheel 
was  erected  to  lift  water  from  the  latter  stream  for  the  purpose 
of  floating  the  moss,  by  means  of  drains  cut  in  the  clay,  into 
the  Forth.  Portions  of  the  moss  were  let  to  tenants,  in  lots  of 
eight  acres,  on  leases  of  three  nineteen  years  ;  without  rent  the 
first  nineteen  ;  twelve  shillings  for  each  acre  brought  into  cul- 
ture the  second  nineteen  years  ;  and  so  increasing,  till,  towards 
the  close  of  the  lease,  they  come  to  pay  a  guinea  per  acre. 
About  200  families  are  now  settled  on  this  portion  of  the  moss, 
who  live  in  neat  houses  disposed  in  regular  lanes,  and  equidis- 
tant from  each  other.  On  the  expiry  of  the  whole  leases,  a 
rental  of  between  £4000  and  £5000  a-year  will  be  the  fruit  of 
this  judicious  improvement. 

For  about  four  miles  above  Stirling,  the  valley  continues  of 
considerable  breadth.  It  then  becomes  still  wider.  The  lower 
part,  a  dead  level  of  the  richest  carse  land,  is  lined  on  the  north 
by  a  low  and  sloping  rising  ground,  cultivated  and  wooded  ; 
the  verdant  hills  opposite  are  of  moderate  size,  but  a  noble 
mountain  screen  rises  behind  the  northern  side,  and  stretches 
across  the  upper  extremity  of  the  valley.  Ben  Ledi,  Ben  More, 
and  Ben  Lomond,  are  the  most  prominent  of  these  alps. 

Five  miles  and  a  half  from  Stirling,  the  road  passes  the 

H2 


1G2        VALLEY  OF  THE  TEITH — DOUNE  CASTLE.       SECT.    III. 

House  of  Blair-Drummond,  the  residence  of  Mr.  Home  Drum- 
mond,  M.P.,  embosomed  in  fine  woods  and  plantations  ;  and 
half  a  mile  farther  on,  at  the  church  of  Kincardine — a  neat 
specimen  of  the  modern  Gothic — the  Callander  road,  ascending 
the  low  sloping  side  of  the  valley  of  the  Forth,  ushers  us  into 
a  new  district  of  country,  watered  by  the  Teith.     The  valley 
of  the  Teith,  betwixt  the  Forth  and  Callander,  is  almost  filled 
up  with  a  spreading  terrace  descending  from  the  summit  of  the 
smoothly  outlined  hills,  in  most  gentle  undulations,  which  are 
highly  cultivated,  and  variegated  with  clumps,  belts,  and  rows 
of  hardwood,  pine,  and  larch  trees,  presenting  an  extended  sur- 
face, apparently  not  less  than  a  couple  of  miles  in  width,  of 
fertile  fields  and  nodding  woods,  peculiarly  beautiful.      The 
Teith  glides  smoothly  on  between  low  and  richly  wooded  banks. 
4.  On  the  further  side  of  the  river,  eight  miles  from  Stir- 
ling, stand  the  village  and  Castle  of  Doune.    The  castle,  a  mas- 
sive and  very  imposing  structure,  said  to  have  been  built  about 
the  commencement  of  the  fifteenth  century,  by  Murdoch,  Duke 
of  Albany,  overhangs  the  point  of  a  steep  and  narrow  green 
bank,  washed  on  one  side  by  the  Teith,  and  on  the  other  by  a 
small  mountain  burn,  and  is  conspicuously  situated  where  a 
very  gentle  hollow  on  the  east,  communicating  with  Dunblane, 
still  further  enlarges  the  far-extended  surface  of  corn-fields  and 
woods  presented  to  the  eye.     At  one  end  of  the  front  a  spacious 
square  tower  rises  to  the  height  of  about  eighty  feet :  another, 
not  quite  so  large,  shoots  up  from  behind  the  opposite  extremity. 
A  strong  back  wall,  about  forty  feet  high,  forms  the  whole  into 
an  ample  quadrangle.     The  principle^  room  in  the  building,  be- 
tween the  towers,  is  seventy  feet  long  ;  that  in  the  great  tower 
forty-five  feet  by  thirty  :  the  kitchen  fire-place  seems  capacious 
enough  to  have  admitted  the  whole   household  to  ensconce 
themselves  beneath  the  chimney.     The  exterior  angle  of  the 
mam  tower,  bulging  out  into  a  rounded  projection  of  goodly 
proportions,  considerably  heightens  the  appearance  of  solidity 
and  strength.     A  ponderous  grated  gate  still  exists  within  a 
heavy  iron-studded  folding-door  ;  and,  though  roofless,  the  walls 
are  entire.     Stately  elm,  plane,  and  ash  trees  surround  this 
venerable  stronghold.     The  tourist  will  view  this  interesting 
structure  with  additional  regard,  since  it  has  been  depicted  in 
the  classic  pages  of  "  Waverley,"   as  the  place  of  durance 
whither  his  Highland  captors  carried  that  English  chevalier. 


ROUTE  I.  A.       FALLS  OF  BRACK.LAND.  1 63 

The  village  of  Doune,  a  little  removed  from  the  edge  of  the 
river,  contains  a  considerable  number  of  slated  houses.  It  was 
of  old  celebrated  for  the  manufacture  of  Highland  pistols.  A 
part  of  the  inhabitants  now  derive  their  subsistence  from  cotton 
works,  established  where  the  road  crosses  the  river.  In  the 
immediate  vicinity  is  Cambus  wall  ace,  a  seat  of  the  Earl  of 
Moray,  and,  at  the  distance  of  three  miles  from  Doune,  Lanrick 
Castle  (Jardine),  on  the  opposite  margin  of  the  river. 

5.  As  we  advance  towards  Callander,  the  sloping  uplands 
assume  more  of  a  pastoral  character.  Near  it,  pass  Cambus- 
more  (Buchanan),  where  Sir  Walter  Scott  passed  the  greater 
part  of  his  boyhood,  and  Gart  House  (Stewart).  This  village 
is  situated  at  the  foot  of  the  chain  of  mountains  which,  stretch- 
ing to  the  westward,  form  the  Highland  boundary  ;  and  on  the 
north  side  of  a  flat  plain,  through  which  the  Teith,  meander- 
ing, assumes  a  change  in  the  direction  of  its  course,  which, 
from  its  original  easterly  one,  here  deflects  to  the  south,  towards 
the  Forth.  Callander  consists  chiefly  of  a  long  row — on  each 
side  of  the  road — of  neat  white-washed  and  slated  houses  ; 
the  greater  number  of  one  storey.  It  contains  a  suitable  church 
and  school-house,  and  excellent  inn.  An  older  portion  of  the 
village  occupies  the  south  side  of  the  river,  which  is  crossed  by 
a  substantial  bridge.  Behind  Callander,  to  the  north,  the  face 
of  the  bounding  hills  presents  an  ample,  lofty,  and  perpendicu- 
lar rocky  front,  with  scattered  trees.  Beneath  it  is  spread  the 
spacious  and  highly  cultivated  plain  of  Bochastle.  Several  of 
the  inhabitants  employ  themselves  in  weaving  their  neighbours' 
yarn  and  wool  into  towelling,  table-cloths,  tartan,  and  other 
coarse  fabrics,  for  home  consumption  and  for  sale.  The  Falls 
of  Brackland,  about  two  miles  to  the  east  of  the  village,  may 
serve  to  occupy  a  leisure  hour.  They  consist  of  a  series  of  short 
falls,  shelving  rapids,  and  dark  linns,  formed  by  the  Keltic 
Burn,  in  its  progress  through  a  low  rocky  chasm,  descending 
a  succession  of  horizontal  ledges  of  rock.  A  few  trees  thrown 
across  used  to  afford  scope  for  some  little  trial  of  resolution  in 
adventuring  the  defenceless  passage  :  now,  a  frail  railing  dis- 
pels all  sense  of  danger.  Rich  corn-fields  and  woods,  with 
several  elegant  villas,  cover  the  flat  surface  of  Bochastle,  the 
plain  through  which,  at  Callander,  the  sinuous  river  holds 
its  course.  Some  curious  winding  banks  near  the  stream  en- 
compass considerable  spaces  of  ground,  which  are  laid  out  in 


164  BEN  LEDI — PASS  OP  LENI.       SECT.  III. 

terraced  walks  and  tasteful  shrubberies.  On  the  Dun  of  Boch- 
astle  are  the  traces  of  a  fortification,  having  the  remains  of 
three  mounds  and  ditches.  A  straight  artificial  bank,  on  either 
side  of  the  eminence,  is  conjectured  to  have  been  designed  for 
the  practice  of  archery.  To  the  westward  the  Teith  is  joined, 
from  the  north,  by  the  river  Lubnaig.  The  lofty  mountain 
rising  between  is  Ben  Ledi,  "  The  Hill  of  God,"  upwards  of 
3000  feet  in  height.  In  early  ages,  tradition  reports  that  it 
was  customary  for  the  people  to  assemble,  for  three  successive 
days,  on  its  summit,  for  the  worship  of  their  deity  ;  most  pro- 
bably, of  Baal,  or  the  sun.  A  small  lake  on  Ben  Ledi  is  called 
Lochan-an-Corp  ;  a  name  commemorative  of  the  incident  of  a 
whole  funeral  party  from  Glenfinlas,  who  were  crossing  it  when 
frozen  over,  having  been  drowned  by  the  ice  giving  way. 

Within  a  recent  period  some  practices  were  observed  in  the 
parish  of  Callander — not,  however,  confined  to  it — which  seem 
to  be  vestiges  of  Druidical  rites.  On  Bel  or  Baal-tein,  the  first 
day  of  May,  it  was  customary  for  the  boys  to  meet,  and  cut  a 
circular  trench  in  some  verdant  spot,  in  the  centre  of  which  a 
fire  was  lighted.  A  sort  of  custard  of  eggs  and  milk  was  dressed, 
and  an  oatmeal  cake  was  prepared.  When  the  former  had  been 
discussed,  the  cake  was  divided  into  pieces  corresponding  with 
the  number  present,  and,  one  bit  being  blackened,  the  whole 
were  put  into  a  cap,  and  each  individual  drew  one.  He  who 
had  the  misfortune  to  fall  upon  the  black  piece  was  the  victim 
to  be  sacrificed  to  Baal,  to  propitiate  his  genial  influence  for  a 
productive  season.  On  All  Saints'  eve,  numerous  bonfires  were 
lighted,  and  the  ashes  of  each  collected  in  a  circular  heap,  in 
which  a  stone  was  put  near  the  edge  for  every  person  of  the 
hamlet,  and  the  individual  whose  stone  happened  to  be  dis- 
placed by  the  following  morning  was  regarded  &sfey;  i.  e.  one 
whose  days  were  numbered,  and  not  to  be  expected  to  survive 
twelve  months. 

6.  Continuing  our  course  northward,  about  a  mile  beyond 
Callander,  the  road  passes  through  a  village,  consisting  of  a  few 
scattered,  thatched,  and  tiled  huts,  called  Kilmahog  ;  and, 
shortly  after,  enters  the  Pass  of  Leni.  The  river — a  tributary 
of  the  Teith,  as  already  observed — is  lined  with  eminences,  at 
first  low  and  bare,  but  gradually  increasing  in  height,  and  soon 
becoming  covered  with  a  dense  oak  coppice  ;  and  the  stream  is 
found  making  a  large  circular  sweep  along  the  foot  of  Ben 


ROUTE  I.  A.        ROB  ROY'S  GRAVE,  165 

Ledi's  crescent  sides,  which,  above  a  heathy  slope,  uprear  two 
successive  lofty  and  perpendicular  rocky  precipices,  each  sur- 
mounted by  a  high  pale-green  acclivity.  This  pass  leads  to 
the  extremity  of  Loch  Lubnaig,  "  The  Crooked  Lake  ; "  a  nar- 
row sheet  of  water,  about  five  miles  in  length,  of  which  the 
central  part  forms  nearly  a  right  angle  with  either  extremity. 
The  hills  on  both  sides  are  steep  and  lofty,  and  press  closely 
on  the  water.  Those  on  the  west  and  south  are  particularly 
bold,  almost  wholly  bare  rock,  and  all  but  perpendicular,  and 
their  broad  shadows  give  an  air  of  peculiar  gloom  to  this  lake. 
A  portion  of  the  eastern  side,  at  the  northern  extremity,  is 
wooded  with  oak,  birch,  ash,  and  beech  ;  the  rest  of  the  moun- 
tains are  bleak  and  bare,  with  the  exception  of  stunted  alders, 
fringing  the  water-courses  on  the  lower  slopes,  and  some  scat- 
tered trees  around  Ardhullary.  This  is  a  farm-house,  about 
the  middle  of  the  east  side  ;  classical  as  the  retreat  in  which 
the  celebrated  traveller,  Bruce,  secluded  himself  when  compos- 
ing his  work  on  Abyssinia.  About  a  mile  from  the  north  end 
of  Loch  Lubnaig  is  a  small  village,  called  Immirrioch,  and  to 
the  country  people  known  by  the  byname  of  Nineveh,  consist- 
ing of  about  thirty  houses  ;  most  of  them  one-storeyed  and  slated. 
The  district  of  country  lying  between  the  end  of  Loch  Lub- 
naig and  Lochearnhead  is  called  Strathire,  and  is  joined,  about 
half-way,  by  another  valley  from  the  west,  called  Balquhidder. 
Balquhidder  is  chiefly  occupied  by  the  waters  of  Loch  Voil  and 
Loch  Duine.  It  was  at  the  upper  end  of  Loch  Voil  that  the 
noted  Rob  Roy,  for  the  most  part,  lived  in  the  latter  days  of 
his  life  ;  and  he  is  buried  in  the  Kirkton  of  Balquhidder,  at  the 
lower  end  of  the  lake,  and  about  two  miles  distant  from  the 
public  road.  The  arms  on  his  tombstone — a  fir  tree,  crossed  by 
a  sword,  supporting  a  crown — denote  the  relationship  claimed 
by  the  Gregarach  with  the  royal  line  of  Stuart.  Our  readers 
will  recollect  the  circumstance,  in  the  novel  of  "  Rob  Roy,"  of 
Rob's  escape  in  crossing  the  river.  Such  an  incident  as  is  there 
narrated  did  occur  in  the  braes  of  Balquhidder.  A  party, 
headed  by  the  Duke  of  Montrose,  having  succeeded  in  laying 
hold  of  him,  he  was  buckled  behind  Grahame  of  Gartnafuorach, 
who,  unable  to  withstand  the  captive's  remonstrances,  slipped 
the  belt  when  they  had  reached  a  spot  where  the  fragments  of 
rocks  strewing  the  hill  face  precluded  the  possibility  of  pursuit 
with  horses. 


166  GLENS  OGLE  AND  DOCHART.      SECT.  III. 

7.  Lochearnhead,  where  there  is  a  comfortable  inn,  is  three 
miles  from  the  opening  of  Balquhidder.     The  lake  is  about 
seven  miles  in  length,  and  a  mile  across  where  broadest,  and  is 
environed  by  moderate  sized  hills,  of  a  soft  and  flattish  outline, 
which  possess  much   sweetness  of  character,  notwithstanding 
that  their  height  is  considerable. 

Glenogle,  next  in  succession  on  the  course  of  the  northern 
road,  is  for  the  first  few  miles  very  narrow,  and  the  mountains 
strikingly  grand  ;  rising,  on  one  hand,  in  a  steep  acclivity,  sur- 
mounted by  perpendicular  precipices  ;  on  the  other,  in  a  suc- 
cession of  terraces  in  short  perpendicular  falls  and  abrupt  slopes. 
The  rest  of  the  way  to  the  valley  of  the  Dochart  is  a  dreary 
waste. 

The  bottom  of  Glen  Dochart  is  chiefly  flat  meadow-ground 
as  far  as  Luib  Inn  (ten  and  a-half  miles  from  Lochearnhead), 
when  it  is  found  occupied  by  irregular  eminences,  springing  up 
from  either  side.  These  are  succeeded  by  two  small  lakes, 
Loch-an-Our  and  Loch  Dochart ;  beyond  which  Strathfillan 
presents  a  narrow  tract  of  meadow-ground.  The  hills  rise  in 
various  inclinations,  but  are  continuous,  and  they  shoot  up  into 
distinct  summits.  Ben  More,  whose  conical  summit  is  pre- 
eminent on  the  south  side,  rises  in  one  continued  acclivity  from 
the  side  of  Loch-an-Our.  The  glen  is  open,  with  a  few  trees  at 
wide  intervals  scattered  over  its  surface.  The  junction  of  the 
road  from  the  head  of  Loch  Lomond  with  the  main  line,  is  at 
Crinlarich,  a  public-house  between  three  and  four  miles  from 
Tyndrum. 

Occasionally  conveyances  run  from  Stirling  to  Tyndrum,  in 
connection  with  the  Oban  and  Fort- William  coaches. 

CALLANDER  TO  LOCH  CATBINE. 

8.  The  scenery  of  the  chain  of  lakes  immediately  to  the 
west  of  Callander,  through  which  the  main  branch  of  the  Teith 
successively  holds  its  course,  has  acquired  a  degree  of  celebrity 
almost  unparalleled,  the  genius  of  a  Scott  having  invested  it 
with  all  the  charms  of  perhaps  the  most  generally  engaging 
and  popular,  as  they  are  among  the  earliest  and  freshest,  of  his 
creations.     And  the  treasures  of  his  fancy  could  not  be  more 
fittingly  enshrined,  for   the  hand  of  Nature   has  here,   too, 
lavished  some  of  its  most  exquisitely  beautiful  realities.     Such 


ROUTE  I.  A.       LOCHS  VENACHAR  AND  ACHRAT.  167 

combined  influences  have  conspired  to  render  the  Trosachs  and 
Loch  Catrine  of  peculiarly  favourite  resort.  And  they  do  well 
sustain  their  high  reputation.  The  picturesque  solicits  our 
admiration  with  heightened  interest,  associated  as  each  spot  is 
with  romantic  and  poetic  story.  Foremost  perhaps  is  the  im- 
pulse to  cast  anxious  and  inquiring  glance  around,  to  deter- 
mine a  local  habitation  for  each  varying  image  and  incident  of 
the  poem  cherished  in  fond  remembrance.  The  sight  of  Loch 
Catrine  may  suggest  the  stately  galleys  of  Roderick  Dhu — 

"  Steering  full  upon  the  lonely  isle ;" 

the  mountain  echoes  answering  the  loud  strains  of  Clan  Alpine's 
pibroch,  or  the  rocks  resounding  to  the  praises  of  its  chief, 
chanted  by  the  voices  of  a  hundred  clansmen  :  fair  Ellen  and 
her  skiff — the  Douglas,  "  Stalwart  remnant  of  the  bleeding 
heart" — Fitz  James  and  his  gallant  grey,  flit  across  the  mental 
Vision. 

In  undertaking  the  duties  of  a  guide,  it  shall  be  our  endea- 
vour at  once  to  delineate  the  character  of  this  much-famed 
district,  and  to  direct  the  traveller  to  the  position  of  the  more 
prominent  localities  of  "  The  Lady  of  the  Lake." 

9.  The  mountain  range,  which  forms  the  outskirts  of  the 
Highlands,  runs  for  several  miles  due  west  from  Callander,  and 
then  deflects  to  the  south,  towards  Ben  Lomond.  Lochs  Achray 
and  Venachar,  into  which  the  waters  of  Loch  Catrine  discharge 
themselves,  lie  on  the  outside  of  the  Highland  boundary ; 
while  the  latter  is  encompassed  by  mountains,  through  which  a 
communication  has  been  formed  between  Lochs  Catrine  and 
Achray  by  some  great  convulsion  of  nature,  sweeping  away  the 
connecting  link  between  Ben  A'an  and  Ben  Venue.  These 
mountains,  that, 


"  like  giant  stand, 

To  sentinel  enchanted  land," 

present  on  each  side  lofty  and  inaccessible  precipices  :  and  the 
intermediate  pass,  known  as  the  Trosachs,  or,  "  bristled  terri- 
tory," in  Gaelic  etymology,  is  occupied  by  intricate  groups  of 
rocky  and  wooded  eminences  :  on  the  south  sides  of  Lochs 
Venachar  and  Achray  rise  sloping  heathery  hills,  the  bases  of 
which  are  fringed  with  wood  and  oak  coppice.  Ben  Ledi,  the 
hill  of  God,  towers  on  the  north.  The  range  which  connects  it 
with  Ben  A'an  swells  out  unequally  ;  at  times  sending  down 


168  LOCH  CATRINE — THE  TROSACHS.        SECT.  III. 

ragged  heights  clad  with  dense  foliage,  which  overhang  the 
edge  of  the  water  in  steep  acclivities,  and  enclose  between  them 
plots  of  open  uneven  ground.  Loch  Venachar  is  four  miles 
long,  and  three  quarters  of  a  mile  across  at  the  broadest  part ; 
Loch  Achray  a  mile  and  a-half  long,  and  its  greatest  width 
one  mile.  Both  of  them  narrow  towards  the  east  end.  From 
Callander  to  Coilantogleford,  at  the  lower  point  of  Loch  Vena- 
char,  where  Roderick  Dhu  was  overcome  by  Fitz  James,  is 
about  two  and  a-half  miles  ;  the  space  between  that  lake  and 
Loch  Achray,  by  the  road,  about  two  miles,  and  from  the  wes- 
tern extremity  of  the  latter  to  Loch  Catrine,  one  mile  or  more  ; 
making  the  whole  distance  from  nine  to  ten  miles.  Lanrick 
Mead,  the  mustering-place  of  clan  Alpin,  lies  on  the  north  side 
of  Loch  Venachar,  where  the  road  diverges  from  the  lake  :  a 
little  way  on,  on  the  face  of  the  hill  towards  the  left,  is  the 
farm  of  Duncraggan.  The  Brig  of  Turk  crosses  the  water,  which, 
descending  from  Glenfinlas,  joins  the  Teith  between  Lochs 
Venachar  and  Achray ;  and  advancing  a  mile  and  a-half  beyond 
it,  we  reach  the  commodious  new  inn  of  Ardchinchrochdhan, 
beautifully  situated  on  the  side  of  Loch  Achray,  and  itself  an 
imposing  semi-castellated  structure,  differing  widely  from  its 
equally  attractive  predecessor,  which,  with  its  rustic  work  and 
creepers,  transported  the  fancy  to  southern  climes. 

10.  Loch  Catrine  is  of  a  serpentine  form,  encircled  by  lofty 
mountains,  and  is  ten  miles  in  length,  attaining  in  some  places 
a  breadth  of  two  miles.  From  the  varying  surface  of  its  gird- 
ling frame  of  hills,  and  its  own  inflections,  it  presents  consider- 
able diversity  of  aspect  from  different  points  of  view.  The 
narrow  river  which  conducts  its  waters  to  Loch  Achray  keeps 
the  southern  side  of  the  intermediate  isthmus,  sweeping  by  the 
foot  of  the  precipices  of  Ben  Venue.  Between  the  river  and 
Ben  A'an,  occur,  as  already  observed,  various  short  rocky 
ridges,  rising  into  summits  of  different  characters ;  some  more 
or  less  spiry ;  others  presenting  elongated  outlines.  This 
labyrinth  is  tangled  o'er  with  a  forest  of  oak  coppice,  birch,  and 
brushwood ;  which  likewise  climb  high  up  the  face  of  the  long 
and  almost  vertical  side  of  Ben  A'an.  Ben  Venue  not  many 
years  ago  could  also  boast  a  myriad  of  noble  trees,  which  the 
extreme  irregularity  of  its  shattered  rocky  sides  threw  into  the 
most  varied  and  effective  groups.  The  lover  of  the  picturesque 
has  to  lament  the  removal  of  those  graceful  appendages  ;  still 


ROUTE  I.  A.  LOCH  CATRINE.  169 

its  noble  form,  its  grey  perpendicular  cliffs  and  green  acclivi- 
ties, rising  tier  upon  tier,  high  in  air,  and  partially  screened  by 
a  huge  portion  of  itself,  detached  from  the  parent  hill  by  a  deep 
defile,  and  presenting  to  the  lake  a  mass  of  shivered  fragments 
of  rock,  the  memorials  of  some  great  convulsion,  in  connection 
with  this  rugged  foreground,  which  again  is  flanked  by  sheeted 
masses  of  brilliant  emerald,  possess  altogether  a  singularly  ar- 
resting majesty  and  grace  ;  while  at  the  base  lie  the  terminal 
eminences  of  the  Trosachs,  shrouded  in  foliage,  and  deeply  in- 
tersecting the  confined  and  sheltered  waters  of  the  lake.  But 
we  must  draw  from  a  higher  source  to  do  justice  to  such  a 
scene : 

"  The  western  waves  of  ebbing  day 
RolTd  o'er  the  glen  their  level  way ; 
Each  purple  peak,  each  flinty  spire, 
Was  bathed  in  floods  of  living  fire; 
But  not  a  setting  beam  could  glow 
Within  the  dark  ravines  below, — 
Where  twined  the  path,  in  shadow  hid, 
Round  many  a  rocky  pyramid, 
Shooting  abruptly  from  the  dell 
Its  thunder-splint  er'd  pinnacle; 
Round  many  an  insulated  mass, 
The  native  bulwarks  of  the  pass, 
Huge  as  the  towers  which  builders  vain 
Presumptuous  piled  on  Shinar's  plain. 
Their  rocky  summits,  split  and  rent, 
Formed  turret,  dome,  or  battlement, 
Or  seem'd  fantastically  set 
With  cupola  or  minaret, 
Wild  crests  as  pagod  ever  deck'd, 
Or  mosque  of  eastern  architect. 
Nor  were  these  earth-born  castles  bare, 
Nor  lack'd  they  many  a  banner  fair; 
For,  from  their  shiver'd  brows  display'd, 
Far  o'er  the  unfathomable  glade, 
All  twinkling  with  the  dew-drop  sheen, 
The  briar-rose  fell  in  streamers  green, 
And  creeping  shrubs  of  thousand  dyes 
Waved  in  the  west  wind's  summer  sighs. 
Boon  nature  scatter'd  free  and  wild 
Each  plant  or  flower,  the  mountain's  child : 
Here  eglantine  embahn'd  the  air, 
Hawthorn  and  hazel  mingled  there ; 
The  primrose  pale  and  violet  flower 
Found  in  each  cleft  a  narrow  bower; 
Foxglove  and  nightshade  side  by  side, 
Emblems  of  punishment  and  pride, 
Group'd  their  dark  hues  with  every  stain 
The  weather-beaten  crags  retain ; 
With  boughs  that  quaked  at  ev'ry  breath, 
Grey  birch  and  aspen  wept  beneath; 
Aloft  the  ash  and  warrior  oak 
Cast  anchor  in  the  rifted  rock; 
And  higher  yet  the  pine  tree  hung 
His  shatter'd  trunk,  and  frequent  flung, 


170  LOCH    CATRINK.  SECT.  III. 

Where  seem'd  the  cliffs  to  meet  on  high. 
His  boughs  athwart  the  narrow'd  sky ; 
Highest  of  all,  where  white  peaks  glanced, 
Where  glist'ning  streamers  waved  and  danced; 
The  wanderer's  eye  could  barely  view 
The  summer  heaven's  delicious  blue. 
So  wond'rous  wild  the  whole  might  seem 
The  scenery  of  a  fairy  dream." 

The  rocks  of  the  Trosachs,  as  already  stated,  extend  in  suc- 
cessive promontories  into  the  lake,  and  occasion  so  many  nar- 
row inlets.  A  terminal  portion  of  one  of  these  headlands, 
detached  from  the  adjacent  shore,  and  covered  with  wood,  will 
be  recognised  as  "  the  Isle  "  of  the  poem.  In  the  defile  of  Beal- 
an-Duine,  where  Fitz-James'  steed  fell  exhausted,  we  are  in 
the  heart  of  the  great  gorge.  Then  appears  a  narrow  inlet,  and 


a  moment  after  LOCH  CATBIXE  itself,  in  the  full  blaze  of  "  living 
light,"  bursts  upon  our  view,  its  sides  descending  in  circling 
wooded  slopes  ;  the  Alps  of  Arroquhar  towering  in  the  dis- 
tance. 

The  variety  of  scene  is  great  and  striking,  alike  from  spa- 
ciousness of  expanse  and  intricacy  of  detail  :  impending  wooded 
rocks,  shaded  bowers,  secluded  inlets,  an  ample  lake,  and  ex- 
tensive mountain  ranges.  The  form  of  Ben  Venue  is  certainly 
remarkably  noble :  faced  with  abrupt  but  verdant  acclivities 


ROUTE    I.  A.  THE   TROSACHS.  171 

and  grey  rocky  spaces,  and  sending  down  long  ramifications  to 
the  lake,  it  enters  into  most  of  the  fine  landscapes  to  which  the 
wooded  eminences  of  the  Trosachs,  and  shores  of  Loch  Catrine 
form  such  splendid  foregrounds.  Ben  A'an  is  not  so  promi- 
nent, but  its  lower  acclivities  shrouded  with  wood  are  exceed- 
ingly rich,  while  above  them  it  uprears  a  naked  pyramidal 
summit,  which  forms  a  remarkable  object  from  various  points. 

Coir-nan-Uriskin,  "  the  Den  of  the  Ghost,"  will  attract  a 
share  of  the  traveller's  notice.  It  is  marked  by  a  deep  vertical 
gash  in  the  face  of  one  of  the  extensive  ramifications  of  Ben 
Venue,  overhanging  the  lake :  an  abrupt  rocky  mass  rising  from 
the  edge  of  the  water,  above  alluded  to,  is  flanked  on  either  side 
by  a  ravine,  which  stretches  up  the  hill,  the  intervening  accli- 
vity being  strewn  with  immense  fragments  of  stone.  Here 
Douglas  concealed  his  daughter,  when  he  removed  her  from 
Roderick  Dhu's  island.  Above  the  top  of  the  eastern  hollow  is 
Bealachnambo  ;  the  pass  by  which,  in  days  of  black-mail  and 
reivers,  cattle  were  driven  across  the  shoulder  of  the  hill. 

The  island  was  always  the  resort  of  the  women  and  children 
on  occasion  of  hostile  incursions.  One  of  a  party  of  Cromwell's 
soldiers  is  related  to  have  swam  out  for  the  purpose  of  unmoor- 
ing a  boat,  that  his  comrades  might  revenge  on  the  defenceless 
occupants  of  the  isle  the  death  of  one  of  their  number  who  had 
been  shot  in  the  Trosachs.  As  he  neared  the  island,  his  fellow 
soldiers  looking  on,  one  of  the  women  severed  his  head  from  his 
body,  a  spectacle  which  induced  the  hostile  party  to  make  the 
best  of  their  way  out  of  the  intricate  defiles  they  had  ventured 
into. 

We  would  recommend  the  tourist  not  to  content  himself 
with  what  is  to  be  seen  of  the  Trosachs  from  the  road,  but  to 
explore  their  untrodden  mazes,  and  especially  to  follow  the  old 
track,  which  will  be  observed  on  the  right,  on  quitting  Loch 
Achray,  and  which  will  conduct  him  to  the  foot  of  the  wooded 
precipices  of  Ben  A'an.  After  being  ferried  over  to  Coir-nan- 
Uriskin,  he  should  return  by  the  south  side  of  the  river. 

There  is  now  a  small  steamer  on  Loch  Catrine,  and  a  keen 
competition  in  coaching  is  kept  up  to  and  from  Stirling  and  the 
Bridge  of  Allan. 

11.  It  may  be  well  to  remark,  for  the  benefit  of  pedestrians 
who  mean  to  extend  their  rambles  farther  north,  that  if,  instead 
of  retracing  their  steps  to  the  Pass  of  Leni,  they  follow  on  the 


172  STRATHGARTNEY.  SECT.  III. 

east  bank  the  course  of  the  stream  which  is  crossed  by  the  Brig 
of  Turk,  they  will  very  soon  find  themselves  among  the  secluded 
hamlets  •  of  Strathgartney.  From  hence  they  may  proceed  to 
Lochearnhead,  by  either  of  three  glens  which  will  be  found  to 
descend  into  the  strath.  Glenfinlas,  the  most  westerly,  con- 
ducts to  the  side  of  Loch  Voil ;  Glen  Main,  the  central  one,  to 
the  Kirkton  of  Balquhidder,  at  the  lower  end  of  that  lake  ;  and 
Glen  Cashaig,  by  the  west  end  of  Loch  Lubnaig,  into  Strathire. 
This  last  is  the  shortest,  but  it  will  take  about  six  hours'  walk- 
ing to  reach  Lochearnhead  from  Ardchinchrochdhan.  The  pass 
between  Glen  Cashaig  and  Strathire  rises  to  a  considerable  ele- 
vation, and  an  alpine  view  is  obtained  from  the  top,  of  surpass- 
ing magnificence,  comprehending  some  of  the  loftiest  mountains 
in  Scotland — Ben  Voirlich,  Ben  More,  and  Ben  Lawers,  with 
their  contiguous  ranges.  The  descent  into  Strathire  is  very 
steep,  and  it  is  necessary  at  the  commencement  to  keep  well  to 
the  left  hand,  along  the  face  of  the  hill. 

12.  If  the  traveller's  route  be  towards  Loch  Lomond,  a  sail 
of  eight  miles  will  bring  him  near  the  west  end  of  Loch  Catrine. 
The  little  steamer  plies  in  connexion  with  the  Loch  Lomond 
boat.  There  is  a  clean  bothy  at  the  west  end  of  Loch  Catrine, 
where  refreshments  can  be  had,  and  on  reaching  Loch  Lomond 
a  smart  new  inn  will  be  found  at  the  water  side.  It  is 
rather  odd,  in  the  near  vicinity  of  Glasgow  and  Edinburgh,  and 
in  a  locality  teeming  with  tourists,  to  find  roads  of  so  very  in- 
ferior a  description  as  connect  Loch  Catrine,  Loch  Lomond,  and 
the  contiguous  Lochs  Ard,  Chon,  and  Monteith ;  and  indeed 
parts  of  the  road  to  the  Trosachs,  are  very  unsuitable  to  the  lo- 
comotion to  which  it  is  now-a-days  subservient.  The  district 
road  trustees  might  beneficially  bestir  themselves,  and  make 
some  little  exertion  to  keep  pace  with  the  advance  of  the  age. 
The  intermediate  distance  of  five  miles  thence  to  Inversnaid 
(where  the  Loch  Lomond  steam-boat  touches),  through  an  up- 
land valley  bounded  by  bare  hills,  must  be  traversed  on  foot  or 
with  the  aid  of  a  country  pony.  Ponies  and  cars  are  accord- 
ingly kept  for  that  purpose  at  the  boat-house.  In  one  of  the 
smoky  huts  on  the  way  may  be  seen  a  long  duck-gun,  once  the 
property  of  the  renowned  local  hero  Rob  Roy.  Towards  the 
east  end  is  a  small  tarn  called  Arclet,  and  within  a  mile  of  Loch 
Lomond,  on  an  esplanade  at  the  foot  of  the  hills  on  the  north 
side,  stand  the  ruins  of  Inversnaid  fort,  a  military  post  indica- 


ROUTE  I.  A.  LOCHS    CHON   AND    ARD.  173 

tive  of  the  once  turbulent  habits  of  the  MacGregors,  and  other 
natives. 

Lochs  Chon,  Ard,  and  Monteith. 

13.  We  shall  suppose  our  tourist  desirous  of  paying  a  visit 
to  the  beautiful  but  less  known  scenery  of  Loch  Chon,  Loch 
Ard,  and  Loch  Monteith,  on  the  course  of  the  Forth.  A  branch 
of  the  rugged  path  to  Inversnaid  fort  strikes  off  about  a  mile 
from  Loch  Catrine,  and  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  Loch  Arclet. 
At  a  distance  of  rather  less  than  three  miles  we  reach  Loch 
Chon,  and  its  little  islet,  a  secluded  sheet  of  water  about  one 
and  a  half  mile  in  length,  and  half  a  mile  in  breadth  ;  and  of  a 
character  which  impresses  a  sense  of  subdued  repose  upon  the 
mind.  It  is  bounded  on  the  south  by  a  lofty  and  green  moun- 
tain, rising  in  a  steep  acclivity,  and  its  opposite  shore  is  fringed 
with  coppice.  Two  miles  further  on,  the  intermediate  space 
being  occupied  with  corn-fields  fringed  with  hazel  and  coppice, 
Upper  Loch  Ard  comes  into  view  ;  and  a  romantic  waterfall  is 
not  far  off.  It  is  about  two  miles  long,  and  perhaps  one  broad, 
surrounded  by  low  rocky  and  wooded  hills,  their  low  shores 
patched  with  arable  ground,  and  about  midway  is  a  comfort- 
less-looking inn.  The  road  courses  along  the  margin  of  the 
lake  under  a  ledge  of  perpendicular  rock,  at  the  west  end  of 
which  is  an  echo  of  considerable  power.  Secluded,  sweet,  and 
peaceful  in  character,  this  lake  is  still  deficient  in  interest  till 
the  lower  end  is  reached.  There  the  view  westward  is  splendid. 
The  lake,  somewhat  narrowed,  is  here  lined  by  wooded  ledges  of 
rock,  with  short  wooded  promontories,  and  the  Avhole  sheet  of 
water  immediately  surrounded  by  a  series  of  wooded  eminences, 
surmounted  by  higher  heights  behind  ;  on  a  rocky  islet,  moul- 
der the  ruins  of  a  stronghold  of  Murdoch,  Duke  of  Albany.  At 
the  further  end  of  the  lake  rises  Ben  Lomond  in  great  majesty, 
its  graceful  peak  towering  high  in  air,  and  between  it  and  the 
loch,  in  like  manner,  lies  an  inner  and  lower  frame,  giving  at 
once  breadth  and  height  to  the  imposing  mountain  screen.  The 
features  of  Highland  landscape  begin  to  be  sensibly  softened 
down,  and  this  change  of  character  is  heightened  as  we  progress 
onwards.  Fertile  fields  and  verdant  meadows,  crowned  by  som- 
bre woods,  form  prominent  features  in  the  landscape  interme- 
diate between  the  Upper  and  Lower  Loch,  the  space  traversed 
by  the  road  being  about  a  mile,  though  the  connecting  stream 


174  LOCH  ARD.  SECT.  HI. 

is  only  about  a  couple  of  hundred  yards  in  length.  A  footpath 
strikes  off  towards  Ben  Lomond,  by  which  the  tourist  could 
cross  the  hill,  and  reach  Rowerdennan,  on  the  banks  of  Loch 
Lomond ;  or  he  has  the  choice  of  the  road  from  Aberfoil  Inn, 
by  Gartmore  and  Drymen,  to  Dumbarton,  a  distance  of  twenty- 
two  miles.  Lower  Loch  Ard,  which  is  about  a  mile  long,  and 
correspondingly  narrower  than  the  upper  one,  has  its  southern 
bank  formed  by  a  range  of  low  and  bare  but  steep  hills,  that  on 
the  north  by  a  wooded  ledge  of  rock  closely  hemming  in  the 
water  and  the  road.  From  the  lower  extremity  is  presented  a 
most  perfect  picture.  The  small  lake,  with  its  steep  banks 
lined  with  reeds  and  water-lilies,  is  displayed  in  front,  divided 
by  a  projection  of  meadow  ground,  into  two  compartments. 
Beyond  rise  the  wooded  eminences  separating  Lower  and  Upper 
Loch  Ard,  forming  an  ample  and  rich  middle  distance,  while 
behind  all  rises  Ben  Lomond  pre-eminent,  the  distinguishing 
feature  of  the  scene. 

At  the  lower  end  of  the  loch  are  some  pyroligneous  works, 
for  which  the  abundant  coppices  about  furnish  supplies. 

14.  At  the  Clachan  of  Aberfoil  is  the  junction  of  the  Douch- 
ray  and  Forth,  here  called  Avondhu,  or  the  black  river.  Im- 
pending and  wooded  mountains  throw  a  shade  over  the  vale, 
which  is  about  a  mile  in  width.  Under  the  rocky  precipice  on 
the  north,  and  the  rocky  ledges  lining  Loch  Ard,  lies  the  Pass 
of  Aberfoil,  noted  in  times  gone  by  as  the  scene  of  the  defeat  of 
a  party  of  Cromwell's  troops  by  Graham  of  Douchray  and  his 
Highlanders,  and  still  more  so,  in  our  day,  by  the  writings  of 
the  author  of  "  Rob  Roy." 

The  tourist  will  find  a  comfortable  inn  at  the  Kirkton,  a  mile 
or  more  below  the  Clachan  and  Loch  Ard,  without  any  appre- 
hension of  meeting  a  similar  repulse  to  Bailie  Nicol  Jarvie's. 
The  path  across  the  hill  to  the  Trosachs  is  five  miles  and  a-half 
long.  But  to  reach  Callander,  the  ordinary  plan  is  to  enter 
the  "  Port  of  Monteith."  Below  Aberfoil  the  valley  widens 
very  much,  attaining  a  breadth  of  even  eight  or  ten  miles.  The 
river  is  skirted  by  a  broad  tract  of  level  land,  succeeded  on  each 
side  by  a  wide  undulating  terrace  pretty  generally  brought  into 
cultivation.  Interrupted  independent  hills  border  the  vale  on 
the  north,  while  on  the  south  the  long,  almost  horizontal  line 
of  the  Fintray  hills,  surmounted  by  the  lumpish  Campsie  hills, 
proclaim  that  the  Highlands  are  now  fairly  left  behind.  Three 


ROUTE  I.  B.      FORT- WILLIAM  TO  GLENFINNAN.  1 75 

miles  below  Aberfoil,  on  the  right,  lies  extended,  in  all  its 
smiling  compass,  the  Lake  of  Monteith,  of  a  circular  form,  six 
miles  in  circumference,  and  adorned  with  aged  trees.  On  the 
largest  of  its  two  islands  are  the  ruins  of  the  priory  of  Inchma- 
home,  founded  by  Edgar,  King  of  Scotland,  where  the  unfortu- 
nate Queen  Mary  passed  her  infancy.  The  smaller  one  contains 
the  remains  of  the  castle  of  the  Grahams,  earls  of  Monteith. 
The  lake  is  encompassed  on  the  north  and  west  by  level,  culti- 
vated, and  meadow  ground,  dotted  with  aged  oak  and  other 
trees,  and  rising  into  almost  imperceptible  slopes.  On  the  south 
the  rising  slopes  are  clad  with  fir,  and  a  long  point  of  low  land, 
bearing  a  row  of  pines,  and  projecting  from  the  shore,  with  the 
wooded  island  of  Inchmahome,  almost  intersects  the  lake. 

Gartmore  House  ( Graham)  and  Rednock  House,  the  seat 

of  General  Graham  Stirling,  eastward  of  the  lake,  will  attract 
attention  ;  and  about  seven  miles  after  turning  our  backs  on  its 
waters,  at  the  Port  of  Monteith,  which  is  four  miles  from  the 
inn  of  Aberfoil,  we  once  more  enter  Callander  ;  or  proceeding 
by  the  valley  of  the  Forth  to  Stirling,  the  distance  is  fifteen 
miles. 


ROUTE  FIRST.— BRANCH  B. 

FBOM    FORT-WILLIAM    TO    AEI8AIG   AND    MOIDABT. 

Fort- William  to  Glenftnnan ;  Sir  Ewen  Cameron  of  Loehiel ;  Route  by  Mam-Clach- 
Ard,  1. — Prince  Charles'  Monument;  Erection  of  the  Prince's  Standard;  Loch 
Shiel,  2. — Kinloch  Aylort;  Borradale;  Landing-Place  of  the  Pretender,  3.— Ari- 
saig;  Ferry  to  Skye,  4.— Castle  Tirim;  Loch  Sloidart,  5. 

Miles. 

Fort- William  to  Glenfinnan  18 

Kinloch  Aylort    10 

Arisaig  12 

40 

1.  THE  Loch-na-Gaul  road,  as  it  is  called,  diverges  from  the  Inver- 
ness and  Fort-William  road  about  two  miles  from  the  latter 
place,  immediately  to  the  east  of  Inverlochy  Castle,  and  it  now 
crosses  the  river  Lochy  by  a  handsome  suspension  bridge,  whence 
it  proceeds  in  a  straight  line  to  the  canal,  and  the  commodious 
new  inn  at  Bannavie,  hard  by.  At  the  village  of  Corpach, 
about  a  mile  beyond,  is  an  obelisk,  the  inscription  on  which,  to 


176  SIR  EWEN  CAMERON  OF  LOCHIEL.         SECT.  III. 

the  memory  of  Colonel  John  Cameron  of  Fassifern,  who  fell  at 
Waterloo,  will  be  found  in  the  main  route.  The  mountain 
group,  of  which  the  huge  bulk  of  Ben  Nevis  forms  the  most 
prominent  member,  shews  to  great  advantage  from  this  side  of 
the  valley. 

The  road  along  Loch  Eil  side,  and  as  far  as  Glenfinnan,  is 
an  agreeable  level,  skirting  the  base  of  the  hills.  Winding 
onwards,  we  pass  rather  more  than  half  way  up  Loch  Eil,  Fassi- 
fern, the  house  of  Sir  Duncan  Cameron,  Bart.,  surrounded  by 
formal  clumps  of  fir  and  larch.*  This  gentleman's  ancestor, 
the  celebrated  Sir  Ewen  Cameron,  distinguished  himself  as 
Cromwell's  most  undaunted  and  uncompromising  opponent  in 
the  Highlands :  his  sturdy  spirit  induced  the  usurper  to  con- 
struct a  fort  at  Inverlochy,  which,  in  King  William's  reign, 
being  altered  and  enlarged,  received  the  name  of  Fort-William. 
Sir  Ewen,  then  a  young  man,  signalised  himself  by  a  gallant 
and  successful  attack  on  a  large  detachment  of  the  garrison 
(quadruple  his  own  force),  who  had  landed  on  the  east  side  of 
Loch  Eil,  to  lay  waste  the  lands  of  his  clan,  and  provide  them- 
selves with  timber  from  the  extensive  forests  which  bordered 
the  water.  Lochiel's  handful  of  men  lay  in  ambuscade,  till  the 
soldiers  coming  ashore  had  got  entangled  in  the  wood,  when,  by 
a  furious  and  sudden  onset,  they,  following  their  adversaries 
even  chin  deep,  drove  them  to  their  boats  with  the  loss  of 
upwards  of  a  hundred  of  their  fellows.  Sir  Ewen  encountered 
a  very  powerful  English  officer,  an  overmatch  for  him  in  strength, 
who,  losing  his  sword,  grappled  with  the  chief,  and  got  him 
under :  but  Lochiel's  presence  of  mind  did  not  forsake  him ;  for, 
grasping  the  Englishman  by  the  collar,  and  darting  at  his 
extended  throat  with  his  teeth,  he  tore  away  the  bloody  morsel, 
which  he  used  to  say  was  the  sweetest  he  had  ever  tasted  ! 

*  The  pedestrian  who  really  delights  in  hill  excursions,  would,  with  the  aid  of  a 
guide,  enjoy  one  of  the  most  magnificent  in  Scotland,  by  striking  over  the  mountains 
to  the  north  from  Fassifern,  through  Glen  Suile&g  (the  eye  valley),  to  Feath  Bheolan 
(the  marshy  pass),  which  conducts  by  the  pinnacle  of  Stron  Liath  to  the  pass  of  Gual- 
na-Hosnuich,  or  the  panting  pass,  leading  into  Glen  Camagorie,  or  the  rough-winding 
valley.  Proceeding  thence  over  Mam-nan-Long  to  Cean  Loch  Arkee  (described  in 
our  next  route),  leave  on  the  left  Glen  Cut-man  and  Glen  Pean  (the  glen  of  pellucid 
waters),  and  holding  onwards  right  up  Glen  Dessary,  the  hardy  adventurer  at  length 
attains  the  mountainous  pass  of  Mam-Clach-Ard  (simply  the  high  rocky  pass),  which 
in  wildness  and  ruggedness  rivals  Glcucoe,  and  at  the  northern  side  of  which  lies 
Caen  Loch  Nevis  in  the  district  of  Knoidart.  Before  attempting  this  grand  excur- 
sion, the  pedestrian  should  be  perfectly  satisfied  of  his  powers  to  endure  fatigue,  of 
the  settled  state  of  the  weather,  and  he  should  carry  a  good  stock  of  provisions  with 
him,  and  be  prepared,  if  need  be,  to  pass  the  night  in  a  poor  shepherd  s  cot. 


ROUTE  I.  B.        PRINCE  CHARLES'  MONUMENT.  177 

2.  At  the  head  of  Loch  Shiel  appears  a  round  narrow  tower 
which  no  traveller  can  behold  with  indifference.    It  was  erected 
by  the  late  Mr.  Macdonald  of  Glenaladale,  on  the  identical  spot 
where,  upon  the  19th  of  August  1745,  Prince  Charles  Edward 
first  unfurled  his  standard,  in  the  attempt  to  regain  the  throne 
of  his  ancestors,  so  honourable,  but  so  disastrous  to  his  unfortu- 
nate adherents  ;  and  it  has  been  surmounted   by  a  colossal 
statue,  by   Greenshields,   of  the   unfortunate   but    chivalrous 
prince,  in  the  full  Highland  garb,  his  extended  arm  pointing  to 
the  south  as  in  the  act  of  addressing  his  enthusiastic  followers. 
The  clan  Cameron,  to  the  number  of  700,  headed  by  "  the  gentle 
Lochiel,"  and  300  men  commanded  by  Macdonald  of  Keppoch, 
composed  the  greater  part  of  the  little  band  who  commenced 
this  hazardous  enterprise.     The  standard,  which  was  made  of 
red  silk,  with  a  white  space  in  the  centre,  and  twice  the  size  of 
an  ordinary  pair  of  colours,  was  unfurled  by  the  Marquis  of 
Tullibardine,  titular  Duke  of  Athole.     A  bronze  tablet  within 
the  monument,  with  an   inscription   in   Latin,  English,  and 
Gaelic,  records  the  transaction. 

Loch  Shiel,  which  separates  Inverness  from  Argyleshire,  is 
a  fresh-water  lake,  straight,  and  extremely  narrow,  but  upwards 
of  twenty  miles  long.  It  discharges  itself  by  a  small  streamlet 
into  the  sea  near  Loch  Moidart.  The  adjoining  mountains, 
being  the  termination  of  diverging  chains,  present  an  interest- 
ing irregularity  of  outline,  and  a  most  magnificent  disposition 
in  their  grouping. 

3.  Between  the  comfortable  small  inn  of  Glenfinnan,  at  the 
head  of  Loch  Shiel,  and  that  at  Kinloch  Aylort,  a  distance  of 
ten  miles,  there  is  another  fresh-water  lake,  Loch  Rannoch, 
about  five  miles  in  length,  which  is  separated  from  the  head  of 
Loch  Shiel  by  a  pass  of  no  ordinary  grandeur.     This  loch  varies 
in  its  breadth,  and  is  adorned  with  one  or  two  little  islets. 

By  far  the  finest  part  of  the  beautiful  ride  from  Fort- 
William  to  Arisaig  is  that  portion  between  Kinloch  Aylort  and 
the  house  of  Borradale,  (Macdonald  of  Glenaladale.)  It  com- 
prehends a  space  of  only  seven  miles,  but  very  rarely  indeed  is 
such  varied  or  interesting  scenery  to  be  met  with  in  so  small  a 
compass.  With  marine  landscape  are  combined  woodland 
glades,  and  a  peculiar  richness  of  vegetation  accompanies  our 
footsteps. 

It  was  on  the  shores  of  Loch-na-Nuagh,  below  the  house  of 


178  ARISAIG — CASTLE  TIRIM.  SECT.  III. 

Borradale,  that  the  Chevalier  Charles,  in  1 745,  first  touched  the 
soil  he  came  with  purpose  to  redeem  by  the  sword.  He  crossed 
from  Borradale  to  the  opposite  coast,  and  walked  by  Kinloch 
Moidart  to  Loch  Shiel,  where,  taking  boat,  he  proceeded  up  the 
lake  to  Glenfinnan,  at  the  entrance  of  which  his  Highland 
friends  rendezvoused  to  tender  him  their  allegiance  and  make 
offer  of  their  services. 

4.  Arisaig  consists  of  a  few  scattered  houses ;  on  the  face 
of  the  hill  above  them  a  neat  Roman  Catholic  chapel  has  been 
erected.     In  the  vicinity,  Arisaig  Cottage  (Lord  Cranstoun.) 
The  inn  is  large,  but  is  in  bad  condition.     This  line  of  road, 
owing  to  the  breadth  of  the  ferry  to  Skye,  and  the  want  of 
piers,  has  been  little  frequented  since  the  opening  of  a  com- 
munication by  Kyle  Rhea  ;  and  now  the  steam-boats  have  put 
an  end  to  the  ferry  from  Arisaig  to  Skye,  though  boats  for  pas- 
sengers, but  not  for  vehicles,  can  still  be  had.     The  steamers 
call  regularly  off  Arisaig.     A  road  has  for  some  time  been  in 
contemplation  from  Arisaig  to  Malag,  at  the  opening  of  Loch 
Nevis,  and  opposite  Armadale,  where  the  passage  across  would 
be  comparatively  short,  and  better  than  by  the  old  ferry  from 
Arisaig,  which  has  now  been  discontinued.     In  crossing  from 
Skye,  it  is  customary  to  land  near  Tray,  in  South  Morar,  which 
shortens  the  sail  to  ten  miles.     From  Tray  a  bad  district  road, 
scarcely  passable  with  a  gig,  leads  to  the  inn  at  Arisaig,  where 
the  parliamentary  road  from  Fort-William  terminates. 

5.  Those  whom  curiosity  may  induce  to  visit  the  ruins  of 
Castle  Tirim,  the  ancient  seat  of  Clanranald,  at  the  opening  of 
Loch  Moidart,  will  find  Arisaig  or  Kinloch  Aylort  the  best  points 
at  which  to  diverge  from  the  public  road.     From  the  former  the 
most  convenient  method  is  to  be  ferried  over  to  the  coast  of 
Moidart,  landing  near  a  farm-house  called  Samulaman,  whence 
an  easy  hour's  walk  by  a  country  road  will  bring  the  traveller 
to  another  farm-house,  Kyles,  on  Loch  Moidart,  and  opposite 
the  castle,  where  a  boat  can  be  procured  to  cross  the  remaining 
space,  which  is  about  three  quarters  of  a  mile.     The  distance 
from  Kinloch  Aylort  to  Kyles  is  eleven  miles  ;  a  communication 
is  formed  betwixt  them  by  a  bridle-road,  which  at  Kinloch 
Moidart  joins  the  parliamentary  one  to  Coranferry.     This  horse- 
track  keeps  by  the  side  of  Loch  Aylort,  a  narrow  arm  of  the 
sea,  studded  with  numerous  rocky  islets,  and  along  the  base 
of  Stachd  and  Roschbhen,  passing  about  half  way  to  the  castle, 


ROUTE  I.  B.  CASTLE  T1RIM.  179 

a  farm-house  called  Iren ;  when  within  half  a  mile  of  Samu- 
laman,  the  road,  as  already  mentioned,  strikes  across  Moidart 
to  Kyles.  0 

The  opening  of  Loch  Moidart  is  occupied  by  two  small 
islands,  (Teona  and  Rishka,)  adorned  with  birch  and  larch  plan- 
tations. At  the  other  extremity  of  the  loch,  the  low  heathy 
hills  skirting  which  have  no  interest,  stands  the  mansion  of 
Colonel  Robertson  Macdonald  of  Kinloch  Moidart. 

Castle  Tirim  is  built  on  a  low  peninsular  rock,  sometimes 
completely  surrounded  by  the  sea.  Its  form  is  pentagonal,  two 
sides  being  occupied  by  buildings,  and  the  others  formed  by  a 
lofty  and  very  thick  wall,  enclosing  a  spacious  court.  The 
central  part  of  the  castle  is  three  storeys  high  ;  and  each 
extremity  rises  to  the  height  of  four  storeys  with  corner  watch- 
turrets.  A  terrace  is  carried  along  the  interior  of  the  court 
wall,  and  from  the  promenade  thus  formed,  an  occasional  view 
is  commanded  of  the  sea  and  surrounding  country  ;  the  top  of 
the  wall  is  pierced  with  a  range  of  musket-holes.  All  the 
windows  look  into  the  court  ;  the  exterior  aspect  of  the  castle 
being  that  of  a  continuous  dead  wall.  From  this  circumstance, 
its  rising  also  on  three  sides  from  the  brink  of  the  rock,  and  con- 
taining a  well  within  its  walls,  Castle  Tirim  must  have  been  a 
very  secure,  as  it  was  a  capacious,  stronghold.  Ranald  (son 
of  John  of  Isla),  from  whose  son,  Allan  of  Moidart,  are  sprung 
the  families  of  Glengarry  and  Clanranald,  died  in  1386  "  in  his 
own  mansion  of  Castle  Tirim."  Tradition  reports  it  to  have 
been  built  by  a  lady — "  Bhelvi  nighn  Rhuouari,"  "  Helen,  the 
daughter  of  Roderick  ;"  and  it  was  burnt  in  1715  by  Allan  of 
Clanranald,  when  he  set  out  to  join  the  Earl  of  Mar,  previous 
to  the  battle  of  Sherifrmuir,  from  a  dread  that,  during  his 
absence  with  the  flower  of  his  clan  in  the  service  of  the  exiled 
Stuart,  it  might  fall  into  the  hands  of  his  hereditary  enemies 
the  Campbells. 


180  ACHNACARRY.  SECT.  III. 


ROUTE  FIRST.— BRANCH  C. 

LOCH    AUKAIt;. 

A' alley  of  Arkaig;  the  Dark  Mile,  1. — Achnacarry;  Mementos  of  Prince  Charles,  2. 
— Loch  Arkaig ;  Deer  Herds,  3. — Kinloch  Arkaig ;  Barracks ;  Prince  Charles  in 
his  Wanderings,  4. 

1.  THIS  beautiful  sheet  of  water,  though  only  two  miles  dis- 
tant from  Loch  Lochy  in  the  Great  Glen,  through  which  so 
many  travellers  are  now  daily  passing,  is  scarcely  known  to  any 
but  the  shepherds  who  live  in  its  vicinity.  It  is  separated  from 
Loch  Lochy,  into  which  it  pours  a  dark  and  sluggish  stream, 
by  a  valley  which  is  traversed  longitudinally  by  a  line  of  rocky 
knolls,  clothed  with  oak  and  birch  trees,  among  which  are 
scattered  some  large  and  hoary  trunks  of  ash,  alder,  and  haw- 
thorn. 

The  scenery  within  these  knolls  is  exactly  of  the  same 
description  as  the  Trosachs  of  Perthshire  ;  and  in  one  part  the 
road  through  them  is  so  completely  overshadowed  by  the 
branches,  as  to  have  obtained  the  name  of  the  dark  mile. 

2.  On  the  west  bank  of  the  river  Arkaig  is  the  house  of 
Achnacarry,  the  paternal  mansion  of  the  lairds  of  Lochiel,  chiefs 
of  the  clan  Cameron  ;  and  close  by  the  present  building  (which 
is  in  the  modern  castellated  style)  are  the  walls  of  the  old 
fabric,  burnt  by  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  in  1746,  and  the 
orchard  and  summer-house  where  the  "  undaunted  Lochiel" 
and  the  emissaries  of  Prince  Charles  Edward  hatched  the  plans 
of  the  rebellion. 

After  the  defeat  of  Culloden,  the  prince  found  a  refuge  in 
the  hills  to  the  north  of  Achnacarry,  in  one  of  which  the  cave 
is  still  shown  where  he  abode.  The  following  is  the  description 
of  his  appearance  at  this  time,  given  in  the  Journal  of  Mr.  John 
Cameron,  chaplain  at  Fort-William,  and  for  sometime  com- 
panion of  his  wanderings  : — "  He  was  then  bare-footed,  had  an 
old  black  kilt-coat  on,  a  plaid,  philibeg,  and  waistcoat,  a  dirty 
shirt,  and  a  long  red  beard  ;  a  gun  in  his  hand,  a  pistol  and 
durk  by  his  side.  He  was  very  cheerful  and  in  good  health, 
and,  in  my  opinion,  fatter  than  qn  he  was  at  Inverness." 

At  Achnacarry  is  a  double-barreled  fowling-piece,  of  an  old- 


ROUTE  I.  C.  LOCH  AKKAIG.  181 

fashioned  make,  (having  only  one  lock,)  which  the  prince  was 
in  the  practice  of  using  frequently,  and  which  bears  the  appro- 
priate inscription,  "  Tu  ne  cede  malis,  sed  contra  audentior  ito." 

3.  Loch  Arkaig  is  fourteen  or  fifteen  miles  long  :  it  throws 
itself  in  among  the  mountains  in  three  bold  and  magnificent 
sweeps,  and  the  level  course  of  its  banks  is  continued  on  from 
its  western  extremity  through  a  beautiful  pastoral  valley  called 
Glen  Dessary,  to  the  coast  of  Knoidart,  so  that  a  road  could  be 
carried  in  this  direction  with  great  ease.     The  parliamentary 
road  reaches  no  farther  than  the  foot  of  the  loch,  about  nine 
miles  from  Corpach,  passing  near  the  mouth  of  the  river  the 
farm-house  of  Clunes.     At  the  lower  end  of  this  lake  a  small 
wooded  island  has  been  for  ages  the  burying-place  of  the  family 
of  Lochiel ;  the  banks  of  the  loch,  till  lately,  were  all  along 
covered  with  a  magnificent  oak  and  pine  forest,  now  cut  down ; 
but  the  shoots  and  saplings  rising  from  the  old  stocks  are  again 
fringing  with  a  green  tufted  mantle  of  brushwood  the  sides  of 
the  hills  and  the  low  grounds  along  the  edges  of  the  water. 
Lochiel' s  celebrated  herds  of  red-deer  (among  the  most  nume- 
rous in  Scotland)  frequent  the  banks  of  this  lake,  and  are  ex- 
tremely prejudicial  to  the  young  forests,  and  to  the  labours  of 
the  few  husbandmen,  who  here  rent  some  patches  of  cultivated 
grounds.     Among  the  mountains  at  the  head  of  the  lake,  a 
grand  assemblage  of  rugged  peaks,  are  the  following  glens, 
leading  into  the  adjoining  districts:  —  Glen  Dessary,  already 
noticed  ;    Glen  Cuernan  and  Glen  Pean,  communicating  with 
Arisaig  and  Morar;  Glen  Camagorie,  striking  into  Glenfinnan 
and  Loch  Shiel,  and  Glen  Kingie,  which  conducts  to  Loch 
Quoich  and  Glen  Garry.* 

4.  At  Kinloch  Arkaig  (which  is  about  twenty  miles  from 
the  side  of  Loch  Lochy)  are  the  walls  of  an  old  barracks,  erected 
in  the  style  of  those  at  Inversnaid  and  Bernera,  by  order  of  the 
Duke  of  Cumberland,  after  the  battle  of  Culloden,   in  1746. 
This  was  one  of  the  most  distant  and  inaccessible  of  these  out- 
posts ;   it  was  raised  with  the  view  of  overawing  the  Clan 
Cameron  ;  but  it  is  said  not  to  have  been  used  for  more  than  six 
months. 

Prince  Charles  and  his  small  party,  eight  in  all,  having 
made  a  precipitate  and  narrow  escape  from  200  of  Lord  Lou- 
don's  men,  removed  from  his  retreat  near  Achnacarry  to  the 
See  Note,  page  176. 


182  PRINCE  CHARLES.  SECT.  III. 

top  of  the  high  mountain  of  Mullantagart,  in  the  braes  of  Glen 
Kingie,  where  he  remained  without  fire  or  any  covering,  and 
durst  not  rise  out  of  his  seat.  "  The  Prince  slept  all  ye  fore- 
noon in  his  plaid  and  wet  hose,  altho  it  was  an  excessive  cold 
day,  made  more  so  by  several  showers  of  hail.  From  thence 
we  went  that  night  to  the  strath  of  Glen  Kenzie,  killed  a  cow, 
and  lived  merrily  for  some  days.  From  y*  we  went  to  the  braes 
of  Auchnacarie.  The  water  of  Arkeg,  in  crossing,  came  up  to 
our  haunches.  The  Prince  in  y*  condition  lay  that  night  and 
next  day  in  open  air,  and  though  his  clothes  were  wet,  he  did 
not  suffer  the  least  in  his  health."  Mr.  Cameron  concludes  his 
journal  by  a  merited  compliment  to  the  patient  and  cheerful 
deportment  of  the  Prince  under  his  adverse  fortune.  "  He  was 
cautious  qn  in  ye  greatest  danger,  never  at  a  loss  in  resolving 
ql  to  do  with  uncommon  fortitude.  He  regretted  more  ye  dis- 
tress of  those  q°  suffered  for  adhering  to  his  interest,  than  ye 
hardships  and  dangers  he  was  hourly  exposed  to." 


ROUTE  FIRST.— BRANCH  D. 

LOCH  LAGGAN  ROAD  AND  PARALLEL  ROADS  OP  GLEN  ROY. 

Tlio  Corryarick  Road,  1. — The  Loch  Laggan  Road,  2.— Glen  Spean,  3.— Loch  Laggan, 
•k — Anecdote  of  Cluny  Macpherson,  5. — The  Parallel  Roads  of  Glen  Roy,  6.— Loch 
Spey,  7.— Glen  Turret,  8. 

•• 

Fort-William  to  Spean  Bridge 7 

Bridge  of  Roy  Inn  3 

(Grand  general  view  of  the  Parallel  Roads  of  Glen 
Roy— 4  miles  from  Bridge  of  Roy.) 

Inn  at  the  east  end  of  Loch  Laggan 25 

Bridge  of  Laggan 8 

Kingussie 11 

54 

1.  The  Loch  Laggan  road  forms  a  communication  between 
the  Great  Glen  and  the  central  districts  of  Badenoch,  Strath- 
spey, and  Athole ;  and  there  is  now  no  connecting  line  inter- 
mediate between  this,  at  the  western,  and  the  great  Highland 
road  from  Inverness  to  Perth,  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  the 
Great  Glen,  the  Corryarick  road,  from  Fort-Augustus  by  Gar- 


RCUTE  I.  D.  GLEN  SPEAN.  183 

vamore,  having  of  late  years  been  allowed  to  fall  into  disrepair, 
and  being  now  impassable  for  any  sort  of  vehicle,  though  still 
frequented  by  the  droves  of  sheep  and  cattle  on  their  way  to 
market.  In  commemoration  of  the  Corryarick  road — the  ne 
plus  vltra  of  the  peculiar  characteristics  of  the  old  military 
highways  in  the  Highlands — we  may  observe  in  passing,  that  it 
went  right  over  a  lofty  mountainous  pass,  accomplishing  the 
descent  on  the  southern  declivity  by  no  fewer  than  seventeen 
traverses,  like  the  wormings  of  a  cork-screw.  Garvamore,  a 
well-known  stage  on  this  road,  eighteen  miles  from  Fort-Au- 
gustus, and  thirteen  from  Dalwhinnie,  now  no  more  fulfils  its 
oft  welcome  service  of  shelter  and  refreshment  to  weary  man 
and  beast. 

2.  In  striking  contrast  with  the  Corryarick  is  the  Loch 
Laggan  road — a  parliamentary  one — admirably  engineered  and 
constructed ;  it  branches  off  from  the  Great  Glen  about  seven 
miles  from  Fort-William,  at  Spean  Bridge,  a  handsome  struc- 
ture across  the  river  of  that  name,  which  issues  from  Loch 
Laggan. 

From  Spean  Bridge  to  Loch  Laggan  the  distance  is  seven- 
teen miles,  and  the  length  of  that  lake  about  ten.  There  is  now 
a  good  inn  at  the  Bridge  of  Roy,  ten  miles  from  Fort-William, 
and  another  at  the  east  end  of  Loch  Laggan  (nineteen  miles 
from  Kingussie),  having,  instead  of  a  sign,  the  lintel  over  the 
door  cut  with  the  words,  "  Le  Teghearn  Cluane,"  or  "  The 
Laird  of  Cluny,"  to  denote  that  the  traveller  is  within  his  do- 
mains, though  not  now  happily  subject,  as  of  old,  to  his  right 
"  of  pit  and  gallows."  In  the  intermediate  space  of  twenty-five 
miles,  there  is  no  resting-place,  except  a  wretched  hovel  at  the 
west  end  of  Loch  Laggan. 

3.  About  three  miles  from  the  Bridge  of  Spean  the  river 
Roy  falls  into  the  Spean.     The  valley  is  here  well  cultivated, 
and  boasts  of  several  good  farm-houses,  as  Blairour  and  Tirind- 
rish,  Dalnapee,  Inch,  and  Keppoch — all  perched  on  the  gravel 
terraces  or  platforms  which  here  encircle  the  glen.     The  chief- 
tains of  Keppoch  were  always  distinguished  for  their  bravery, 
and  their  followers  were  among  the  most  hardy  of  mountaineers. 
These  Macdonalds  are  by  many  thought,  but  apparently  under 
a  misapprehension,  to  have  an  equally  good  title  to  be  consi- 
dered the  head  of  the  clan  as  any  of  the  three  rival  candidates 
for  that  distinction.     They  held  their  lands  of  the  clan  Chattan, 


184  GLEN  SPEAN — LOCH  LAGGAN.  SECT.  III. 

but  refused  to  acknowledge  the  right  of  their  superiors,  proudly 
appealing  to  the  claymore  instead  of  the  sheepskin.  They  are 
now  acknowledged  as  the  head  of  a  small  colony  of  respectable 
Roman  Catholic  families  who  inhabit  this  district ;  and  their 
mansion  contains  some  relics  of  the  '45,  and  a  few  fine  pictures 
brought  from  the  continent.  Glengarry's  Well  of  the  Heads 
(see  page  124)  recounts  the  murder  of  the  family  who  occupied 
the  old  castle  on  the  river's  bank,  of  which  the  site  is  still  shewn. 
The  Duke  of  Cumberland  burnt  the  next  house,  and  the  present 
residence  is  only  the  third  which  the  family  ever  occupied. 

For  two  miles  past  the  Bridge  of  Roy  the  channel  of  the 
Spean  is  remarkably  deep,  confined,  and  rocky,  and  its  waters 
descend  tumultuously ;  while  the  road,  at  a  considerable  eleva- 
tion, passes  through  a  fine  oak  coppice  wood,  mingled  with 
birch.  On  the  hill-face,  will  be  observed,  high  up,  a  single 
level  line  of  the  same  character  as  the  Parallel  Roads  in  Glen 
Roy.  The  cultivated  region  terminates  at  Tulloch,  a  substan- 
tial farm-house,  seven  miles  distant  from  Spean  Bridge,  and 
about  half  way  to  Loch  Laggan.  A  bleak,  ascending,  and  moun- 
tain-girt moorland  succeeds,  occasionally,  but  slightly,  enlivened 
by  a  few  straggling  birches,  which  retain  their  place  along  the 
banks  of  the  river ;  and  all  along  innumerable  examples  present 
themselves  of  the  scratching,  polishing,  and  rounding  off  of  the 
rocks,  especially  opposite  the  gorge  leading  to  Loch  Treig. 

4.  Loch  Laggan  is  about  ten  miles  long,  and  apparently  a 
mile  in  general  breadth,  embosomed  among  mountains,  the  de- 
clivities of  which  are,  for  the  most  part,  covered  to  the  water's 
edge  with  birch,  mingled  with  a. large  proportion  of  alder,  rowan 
tree,  aspen,  and  hazel,  the  latter  peculiarly  remarkable  from  its 
uncommon  size ;  all  literally  grey  with  age,  and  fast  yielding 
to  the  common  decay  of  nature.  On  the  south  side  two  small 
islands  are  seen,  with  ruins  almost  crumbled  down  to  the 
water's  edge.  The  one  is  called  Castle  Fergus,  which,  though 
it  may  have  been  occupied  by  the  Lairds  of  Cluny,  has  its 
erection  ascribed  to  King  Fergus,  who  used  this  as  one  of  his 
hunting-seats ;  but  whether  the  great  Fergus  II.,  the  founder 
of  the  Scottish  monarchy,  is  more  than  problematical.  The 
adjacent  isle  is  said  to  have  been  his  dog-kennel,  and  the  height 
to  the  south,  in  front  of  which  the  Marquis  of  Abercorn  has 
erected  a  large  and  beautiful  shooting-lodge,  is  called  Ardver- 
akie,  or  Fergus'  Hill — a  name  now  familiar  to  the  public — 


ROUTE  I.  D.  LOCH   LAGGAN.  185 

inasmuch  as  her  Majesty  the  Queen,  "  on  whose  empire  the  sun 
never  sets,"  sojourned  here  with  Prince  Albert  and  the  Royal 
Family  part  of  the  autumn  of  1848. 

The  Marquis  of  Abercorn  rents  these  extensive  wilds, 
including  Loch  Errocht  side,  as  a  deer  forest,  from  Cluny 
Macpherson.  A  small  lake  intermediate  between  the  loch  just 
mentioned  and  Loch  Laggan,  and  which  throws  into  the  latter, 
at  its  east  end,  the  river  Pattoch,  is  the  true  summit  level  of 
the  country,  and  thus  stands  above  all  the  other  lakes  which 
contribute  to  the  waters  of  the  Tay,  Spean,  and  Spey.  While 
standing  on  any  of  the  heights  hereabouts,  the  traveller  cannot 
but  remark  the  evidences  of  the  former  submergence  of  the 
country  under  the  sea,  and  also  perceive  how  distinct  the  cen- 
tral chains  of  gneiss  and  mica  schist  mountains  are  from  the 
group  of  higher  and  rougher  alps  which  trend  away  towards 
Ben  Nevis  and  Glencoe.  Fine  white  and  blue  granular  lime- 
stone abounds  all  along  Loch  Laggan  and  the  neighbouring 
ridges,  and  hence  the  fertility  which  is  gradually  stealing  over 
the  brown  wastes. 

5.  In  Glensheira,  Mr.  Baillie  of  Kingussie  has  erected  a 
shooting-lodge,  and  inclosed  grounds  about  it  for  plantations, 
from  whence  a  long  line  of  the  old  military  road  from  Corry- 
arick  may  be  seen  threading  its  way  for  miles  along  the  heath. 
The  adjoining  farm-steading  of  Shirramore  shews  what  may  be 
done  even  at  this  elevation  in  the  way  of  gardening,  and  leaves 
no  excuse  to  the  inn  of  Dalwhinnie,  or  any  other,  even  in  the 
highest  situation,  for  wanting  good  flowers  and  vegetables. 

While  resting  at  the  inn  with  the  Gaelic  motto  above  quoted, 
the  tourist  should  visit,  close  by,  the  little  "  Old  Kirk  of  Lag- 
gan," as  it  is  still  called.  It  was  the  ancient  Romish  chapel  of 
the  district ;  and,  besides  a  very  small  altar-stone,  it  has  two 
little  side  altars,  under  rounded  arches,  with  a  large  round 
granite  font  at  the  south  entrance. 

At  the  Bridge  of  Laggan,  about  eight  miles  from  the  lake,  and 
where  there  is  a  small  public-house,  the  Loch  Laggan  road  crosses 
the  Spey  by  a  handsome  framed  timber  bridge  of  100  feet  span, 
and  proceeds  along  the  north  side  of  that  river  through  the  country 
of  the  Macphersons,  passing  the  turreted  seat  of  Cluny,  chief  of 
the  clan,  and  joining  the  Perth  and  Inverness  road  near  the  Bridge 
of  Spey,  about  four  miles  from  Kingussie.  The  ancestor  of  the 
present  chief,  who  figured  in  the  rebellion  of  1 745,  contrived  to 

i2 


186  MACPHERSON  OF  CLUNY.        SECT.  III. 

secrete  himself,  after  the  battle  of  Culloden,  for  many  years  in 
the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  his  own  castle.  He  had  a 
small  hiding-hole  formed,  in  the  salient  angle  of  a  wooded  hill, 
of  sticks  and  turf,  with  so  much  art,  that  the  soldiers  stationed 
in  the  district,  though  they  suspected  he  was  in  concealment 
very  near  them,  and  of  course  kept  a  good  look-out,  were  never 
able  to  discover  his  place  of  retreat.  He  at  length  became  so 
adventurous  as  frequently  to  indulge  in  the  pleasures  of  his 
family  fireside.  On  one  of  these  occasions  the  military  got  in- 
timation of  the  old  gentleman  being  unearthed,  and  a  party 
were  despatched  in  perfect  certainty  of  securing  their  prey. 
Some  friendly  messenger,  observing  their  advance  to  the  castle, 
sped  with  all  haste  to  convey  the  unwelcome  intelligence.  Un- 
fortunately, poor  Cluny  was  at  the  time  in  a  state  of  insensibi- 
lity, having  indulged  over  freely  in  his  glass.  What  was  to 
be  done  ?  The  soldiers  were  close  at  hand.  Wrapping  him 
in  a  plaid,  his  domestics  hastily  carried  him  out,  and  con- 
cealed themselves  in  the  brushwood  which  skirted  the  river, 
till  the  red-coats,  who  had  just  gained  the  opposite  bank, 
crossed  the  ford,  and  proceeded  to  the  castle,  when  they 
passed  in  safety.  Shortly  after,  a  prattling  member  of  the 
clan  stumbled  by  accident  through  the  roof  of  his  chieftain's 
bower.  "  What !  is  this  you,  Cluny  ? "  exclaimed  the  man 
in  astonishment.  "  I'm  glad  to  see  you." — "  But  I'm  not  glad 
ft>  see  you,  Donald." — "  Surely  you  don't  doubt  me  ?  " — "  No  ; 
but  your  tongue  runs  so  fast  that  this  story  will  spread  like  wild- 
fire, and  by  to-morrow  morning  will  be  in  the  mouth  of  every 
old  woman  in  the  parish."  The  clansman  vowed  secrecy  ;  but 
Cluny,  knowing  his  lack  of  discretion,  and  averse  to  adopt  the 
bloody  alternative  which  self  preservation  suggested,  lost  no 
time  in  changing  his  abode.  His  fears  were  well  grounded  ;  for 
next  day  his  pursuers  duly  visited  his  empty  lair. 

6.  The  Parallel  Roads  of  Glen  Roy. 

These  remarkable  formations  have  been  long  known  to  the 
public  ;  but  the  question  regarding  their  origin  has  given  rise 
to  a  great  deal  of  very  violent  and  ridiculous  discussion  on  the 
part  of  those  who,  zealous  for  the  greatness  and  antiquity  of 
their  Celtic  ancestors,  have  maintained  them  to  be  the  works  of 
the  old  Fingalians  ;  while  from  writers  of  a  different  class  they 


ROUTE  I.  D.   PARALLEL  ROADS  OF  GLEN  ROY.          187 

have  received  much  patient  examination,  and  have  elicited 
several  important  physical  observations,  and  no  small  degree  of 
ingenious  argument.  The  theory  which  one  class  of  observers 
would  have  us  to  believe,  is,  that  the  roads  or  terraces  in  ques- 
tion were  formed  by  human  labour  for  the  purposes  of  hunting ; 
and,  on  the  supposition  that  the  country  was  anciently  covered 
with  forests,  that  they  might  have  served  as  avenues  for  the 
rapid  passages  of  the  huntsmen,  and  the  entrapping  or  exposure, 
and  more  easy  slaughter  of  the  deer. 

The  roads  or  lines  of  Glen  Roy  are  composed  of  sand  and 
gravel :  they  occupy  corresponding  elevations  on  the  opposite 
sides  of  the  glen,  and  are  perfectly  horizontal.  They  are  three 
in  number,  one  above  the  other,  on  each  side,  or,  we  should 
more  properly  say,  all  round  the  glen.  The  average  breadth 
of  the  terraces  or  lines  is  sixty  feet.  Their  course  is  occasionally 
interrupted  by  protruding  rocks,  or  deep  chasms ;  and,  in  the 
centre  of  the  valley,  there  are  one  or  two  detached  rocks  jutting 
up  like  islands,  which  have  rings,  or  platforms,  round  them  of 
a  similar  character,  and  at  the  same  height  as  the  lowest  lateral 
terrace.  The  surface  is  inclined,  so  that  standing  on  any  of 
them,  and  looking  along,  the  horizontal  continuity  is  less 
observable  than  when  the  eye  is  cast  around  the  glen,  and  sur- 
veys the  whole  series  at  once,  when  the  mathematical  regularity 
of  the  lines  distinctly  marked  on  the  hill  face,  as  a  friend  aptly 
remarked,  like  the  lines  of  text  and  half  text  on  a  writing  school 
copy-book,  and  generally  distinguishable  by  a  more  decided 
green,  or  a  verdant  tint  contrasting  with  purple  heath  or  grey 
rock,  is  certainly  very  striking.  As  the  enduring  memorials  of 
a  mighty  agency,  when  the  waters  covered  the  face  of  the  earth, 
they  are  impressive  in  their  peculiar  and  seldom  paralleled  tes- 
timony to  the  changes  on  our  terrestrial  sphere.  Glen  Roy  is 
not  the  only  valley  in  this  neighbourhood  in  which  these  singu- 
lar appearances  are  to  be  found.  The  same  or  similar  lines  are 
more  or  less  perfectly  continued  over  the  adjoining  valleys  of 
Glen  Turit,  Glen  Gloy,  Glen  Fintack,  and  Glen  Spean,  but  not 
approaching  in  effect  to  those  of  Glen  Roy ;  and,  on  a  more  exten- 
sive survey,  traces  of  a  similar  description  have  been  found  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Loch  Laggan,  and  in  the  open  country 
towards  Fort-William.  Further  observations  have  likewise 
fully  established  that  the  interesting  phenomena  of  parallel 
lines,  and  alluvial  banks,  corresponding  in  height,  though 


188  PARALLEL  ROADS  OF  GLEN  ROY.  SECT.  III. 

widely  separated  from  each  other,  are  not  confined  to  this 
corner  of  the  kingdom ;  but  that  similar  appearances  exist  in 
other  parts  of  the  Highlands,  and  in  the  south  of  Scotland  and 
England :  while  in  Germany,  Switzerland,  Italy,  and  America, 
they  occur  on  such  a  scale  as  makes  their  origin  quite  intelli- 
gible. The  whole  subject  has  of  late  been  investigated  with 
extraordinary  pains  and  nicety  of  observation  by  Mr.  Robert 
Chambers  of  Edinburgh.  Previously  scientific  enquirers  had 
confined  their  speculations  on  the  mode  of  operation  of  the 
acknowledged  agent,  water,  to  the  theory  of  a  lake,  the  barrier 
of  which,  whether  of  rock,  gravel,  or  ice,  had  given  way  at  suc- 
cessive elevations.  It  remained  for  Mr.  Chambers,  from  a  com- 
prehensive survey  of  similar  indications  throughout  the  king- 
dom, to  adduce  the  consistent  rationale  of  a  general  marine 
submergence  and  subsequent  elevation,  which  may  now  be 
received  as  the  correct  exposition  of  these  and  other  similar 
terraces.  Mr.  Chambers  and  D.  Milne,  Esq.,  were  the  first  to 
observe  that  the  terraces  often  pass  from  one  valley  to  another, 
along  the  ridge  or  water-shed,  at  the  top  which  separates  them, 
and  that  they  are  prolonged  far  off  into  other  glens,  there  never 
having  been  in  fact  any  inclosing  barriers. 

The  following  is  a  note  of  the  measurements  made  by  Dr. 
Macculloch  of  the  relative  elevations  of  the  lines  of  Glen 
Roy:  — 

Feet. 

Height  of  the  highest  line  above  Loch  Spey  63 

Do.  above  the  sea  at  Spey  Mouth 1266 

Do.  above  Keppoch 927 

Do.  above  the  highest  point  eastward  of  Loch  Laggan 432 

Do.  above  Loch  Lochy 1182 

Do.  above  Loch  Oich 1172 

Do.  above  Loch  Ness 1212 

Do.  above  Mouth  of  Ness  1266 

Do.  above  the  sea  at  Corpach  1262 

The  lower  line  is  above  the  bottom  of  the  valley  at  the  top 11 

The  lower  line  is  above  Keppoch  633 

•The  second  line  is  above  the  lower  line 212 

The  third  above  the  second  82 

The  most  favourable  point  of  view  is  that  first  attained 
approaching  from  the  bridge  of  Roy,  being  about  four  miles 
distant  from  the  inn.  A  straight  section  of  the  glen,  about  six 
miles  in  extent,  is  then  under  the  eye.  The  road  is  tolerable, 
so  that  the  tourist  may  gratify  his  curiosity  at  little  incon- 
venience ;  and  as  the  scene  is  a  fine  pastoral  valley,  the  Hank- 


ROUTE  I.  E.    THE  RIVER  GARRY  AND  LOCH  GARRY.  189 

ing  hill  sides  lofty,  steep,  and  continuous,  his  expectations  will 
not  be  disappointed. 

7.  Should  the  pedestrian  bend  his  steps  through  the  glen,  he 
will  find  a  snug  farm  house — Glen  Roy — about  ten  miles  from 
the  Bridge  of  Roy.     From  this  point  a  walk  of  about  half-a- 
dozen  miles  conducts  along  the  rocky  course  of  a  rapidly  shel- 
ving stream,  exhibiting  a  succession  of  cascades,  to  Loch  Spey — 
the  parent  source  of  the  river  Spey — a  bleak  moss-girt  sheet  of 
water,  imbedded  in  the  central  recesses  of  remote  mountain 
chains,  by  shepherds  and  sportsmen  only  trod.    He  will  get  into 
the  Corryarick  road — near  the  lodge  of  the  Glensheira  shootings, 
celebrated  for  their  abundant  stock  of  grouse — two  or  three 
miles  north  from  Garvamore,  and  about  eight  or  nine  miles  from 
the  Bridge  of  Laggan  public-house. 

8.  Or  if  his  object  be  to  regain  the  Great  Glen,  a  pretty  stiff 
hill  walk  of  about  six  miles  from  the  farm-house  of  Glen  Roy, 
by  a  beautifully  verdant  hollow  called  Glen  Turrit,  and  across 
the  intervening  hills,  will  bring  him  to  Laggan,  at  the  east  end 
of  Loch  Lochy. 


ROUTE  FIRST.—  BRANCH  E. 
FROM    INVERGARRY    TO   LOCH    HOFRNHEAD    AND    CLUANY. 

The  River  Garry  and  Loch  Garry,  1.  —  Loch  Quoich.  2.  —  Loch  Hourn  and  Pass  to 
Shielhouse,  3.  —  The  Rhaebuie  Road  ;  Gleu  Luina,  4. 

Miles. 

Invergarry  to  Tomandoun  .........................  •..  12        12 

Loch  Hournhead   .......................................  20 

32 
Tomandoun  to  Cluany  .................................  IOJ 


1.  THE  road  through  Glengarry  connects  the  Great  Glen  with 
the  head  of  Loch  Hourn,  and  leaves  the  former  at  the  comfort- 
able inn  of  Invergarry.  The  river  Garry  is  a  rapid  and  troubled 
stream,  which  discharges  itself  into  Loch  Oich,  from  Loch  Garry 
(about  three  miles  distant),  and  which  winds  through  a  magni- 
ficent amphitheatre  of  hills  clad  with  birch  and  scattered  firs. 


190  LOCH  QDOICH LOCH    HOURN.  SECT.  III. 

Loch  Garry,  though  comparatively  but  little  known,  is  among 
the  finest  of  our  mountain  lakes  ;  in  length  about  seven  miles  : 
its  banks,  consisting  of  a  series  of  low  swelling  eminences,  are 
clad  with  birch  trees,  of  late  years  sorely  diminished  of  their 
fair  proportions  ;  but  which  still,  though  much  thinned,  extend 
from  the  water's  edge  to  the  bases,  and  spread  up  the  ravines 
and  corries  of  the  high  receding  mountains  which  form  the  glen. 
On  advancing  beyond  a  bend,  in  which  the  loch  terminates  at 
the  eastern  extremity,  the  whole  extent  of  its  waters  and  wooded 
banks  comes  suddenly  into  view.  They  occupy  the  near  por- 
tion of  a  long  vista,  which  is  lost  in  a  noble  range  of  lofty  but 
distant  mountains,  stretching  across  from  Loch  Quoich  along 
the  head  of  Glen  Luine  to  Glen  Moriston. 

2.  The  first  public-house  on  this  road,  called  Tomandoun, 
now  a  tolerable  small  inn,  is  twelve  miles  from  Invergarry. 
Loch  Quoich,  which  occupies  a  considerable  portion  of  the  re- 
maining distance  to  Loch  Hournhead,  is  likewise  a  fine  sheet  of 
water,  but  with  little  wood.     It  is  now  embellished  at  the  west 
end  by  the  mansion  of  Mr.  Edward  Ellice,  M.P.,  who  has  im- 
proved his  Highland  property  with  judgment  and  taste.     The 
road  continues  to  ascend  till  within  three  miles  of  Loch  Hourn, 
where,  after  passing  through  a  barrier  of  rugged  rocks,  con- 
fusedly heaped  together,  it  suddenly  descends  from  its  eleva- 
tion, and  rapidly  attains  the  sea  level.      The  whole  distance 
from  Invergarry  is  strikingly  devoid  of  human  habitations. 
At  the  end  of  Loch  Hourn  a  single  farm-house  appears  ;  and  on 
the  further  side  of  a  small  burn  is  the  public-house,  or  inn,  close 
by  the  loch  side. 

3.  Loch  Hourn  is  a  narrow  arm  of  the  sea,  extending  inland 
about  twenty-five  miles,  through  a  series  of  high,  rough,  and 
steep  hills,  and  towards  its  head  it  becomes  almost  completely 
land-locked.     It  is  an  excellent  herring-fishing  station,  the  fish 
being  generally  very  plentiful  and  of  superior  quality.     A  road 
has  been  opened  along  a  small  part  of  the  coast  of  Knoidart, 
on  the  south  side  of  the  strait ;  but  the  remainder  is  barely 
passable  on  horseback,  the  rugged  track  crossing  very  consider- 
able elevations,  while  there  is  no  access,  save  for  pedestrians,  to 
Glen  Shiel  and  the  extensive  district  of  Glenelg.     The  route  to 
the  former  lies  across  Corryvarligan,  a  pass  about  2000  feet  high, 
from  the  top  of  which  the  bird's  eye  view  of  Glen  Shiel  and 
Glen  Oundlan,  lying  parallel  to  the  lower  portion  of  the  former, 


ROUTE  I.  E.  GLEN  LUINE.  191 

is  very  remarkable,  and  exceedingly  picturesque.  The  glens 
diverge  nearly  at  right  angles  from  one  another  ;  both  are 
straight,  narrow,  and  precipitous  ;  their  sides  bald  and  rocky, 
or  scantily  covered  with  heath,  and  the  summits  sharp  and 
serrated.  We  have  been  led  to  particularize  this  sequestered 
scene,  because  it  occurs  on  a  route  we  would  recommend  to 
tourists,  viz.,  to  ascend  Glen  Garry  to  Loch  Hournhead,  and 
thence  strike  across,  as  above  pointed  out,  by  the  pass  of  Corry- 
varligan,  to  the  inn  of  Shielhouse,  at  the  head  of  Loch  Duich  ; 
and  from  thence  to  proceed  back  to  the  Great  Glen  by  Glen 
Shiel  and  Glen  Moriston.  In  proceeding  to  Shielhouse,  we 
direct  our  course  along  Glen  Oundlan,  the  whole  distance  from 
Loch  Hournhead  requiring  about  five  hours'  smart  walking. 

4.  The  importance  of  the  road  from  Invergarry  to  Loch 
Hourn  is  enhanced  by  the  Rhaebuie  road  from  Tomandoun  in 
Glen  Garry  to  Cluany  in  Glen  Moriston,  connecting  the  two 
glens,  and  affording  a  more  ready  access  for  the  large  droves  of 
cattle  from  Skye  and  the  west  coast  of  the  country  on  their 
way  to  the  southern  markets,  to  the  Loch  Laggan  road,  and 
thence  to  Dalwhinnie.  But  this  road  possesses  few  attractions  ; 
for  tediousness,  it  may  fairly  compete  with  any  of  equal  length 
in  the  Highlands  ;  it  is  ten  miles  and  a  half  long  ;  and  cross- 
ing from  Tomandoun  into  Glen  Luine,  (lying  nearly  parallel 
with  Glens  Moriston  and  Garry,  and  falling  into  the  former  at 
Doe  Bridge,)  it  makes  a  tiresome  ascent  along  the  northern  side 
of  that  valley.  But  the  traveller's  labour  is  almost  repaid  by 
the  magnificence  of  the  upper  and  precipitous  part  of  Mam 
Cluany,  passing  at  the  base  of  which  the  Rhaebuie  joins  the 
Glen  Moriston  road  a  little  to  the  east  of  the  inn  of  Cluany. 

Glen  Luine  is  a  sequestered  pastoral  valley,  watered  by  a 
sluggish  and  tortuous  stream,  which  occasionally  spreads  out 
its  waters  into  a  small  marshy  loch.  Glen  Garry  was  purchased, 
on  the  sale  of  the  Glengarry  estates,  by  Lord  Ward,  and  Glen 
Quoich  by  Edward  Ellice  junior,  Esq.,  M.P.,  the  chief  only 
retaining  the  property  of  Knoidart. 


192  GLEN   MORISTON.  SECT.  III. 

ROUTE  FIRST.— BRANCH  F. 

FROM    INVEBMORISTOy    TO    KYLE    RHEA    AND    KYLE    AKI.X. 

Glen  Moriston,  1. — Loch  Cluany;  Cluany  Inn;  Glen  Shiel,  2. — Battle  of  Glen  Shiel, 
S.— Subterranean  Structure';  Glen  Shiel,  4. — Loch  Dnich;  Shielhouse  to  Kyle 
Akin.  5. — Village  of  Dornie ;  Ellandonan  Castle,  6. — Lochalsh,  7. — Falls  of  Glo- 
mak,  8. — To  Loch  Affrick  and  Strathglass,  foot-note. — Glenelg,  9. — Dunus  or 
Burghs  in  Glenelg,  10. 

Mi:   t 

Invermoriston  to  Torgoil  8J 

Cluany 16 

Shielh'ouse 114 

KyleRhea  ll| 

«7{ 

Shielhouse  36J 

Dornie 10 

Kyle  Akin  10 

5CJ 

THE  road  from  Invermoriston  to  Shielhouse,  which  forms  the 
great  line  of  communication  between  the  north-western  and  the 
eastern  coasts  of  Inverness-shire,  is  36^  miles  in  length  :  at 
Shielhouse  it  separates  into  two  branches,  leading  respectively 
to  Kyle  Akin  and  Kyle  Rhea,  the  two  ferries  communicating 
with  the  island  of  Skye. 

1.  The  lower  portion  of  Glen  Moriston  is  exceedingly  beau- 
tiful. On  every  side  the  eye  ranges  over  an  uninterrupted 
forest,  mantling  alike  the  bottom  of  the  valley  and  the  expanded 
mountain  sides ;  the  smiling  livery  of  the  birch — frequently 
diversified  and  contrasted  with  the  dark  and  sombre  hues  of 
aged  and  majestic  pines.  There  are  but  two  or  three  habita- 
tions to  break  upon  the  woodland  solitude,  thus  pleasingly  con- 
trasting with  Glen  Urquhart.  Invermoriston  House,  (J.  M. 
Grant,)  a  rather  old  mansion,  near  Loch  Ness  side,  is  hemmed 
in  by  an  amphitheatre  of  hills,  the  terminal  ones  crowned  by 
precipitous  frontlets  of  rock.  Behind  it  there  is  a  comfortable 
small  inn.  Between  them  the  river  forms  a  waterfall,  worthy 
of  a  visit.  The  course  of  the  lower  section  of  the  river  Moris- 
ton  is  frequently  impetuous  and  headlong;  at  times  dashing 
with  violence  from  side  to  side  of  the  deep,  narrow,  and  rocky 
channel,  which  in  the  course  of  ages  it  has  worn  for  itself ;  at 


ROUTE  I.  F.    GLEN  MOEISTON — LOCH  CLUANT.        193 

others  escaping,  tormented  and  foaming,  from  such  confined 
passage,  it  encloses  in  its  arms  some  wooded  islet  or  isolated 
rock,  where  the  aged  pine  holds  undisputed  sway,  and,  luxuri- 
ating in  its  undisturbed  freedom,  shoots  its  weather-beaten  stem 
into  a  thousand  fantastic  shapes ;  or  it  ripples  quietly  alongst 
low  birchen-clad  banks ;  and  thus  many  of  the  reaches  of  river 
scenery,  amidst  close  embowering,  but  far  extending  trees,  are 
of  surpassing  beauty. 

At  Torgoil,  where  there  is  a  respectable  public-house,  the 
road  crosses  the  river  Moriston  by  a  handsome  granite  bridge. 
Between  the  fifth  and  sixth  mile  above  Torgoil  Bridge,  and 
about  two  miles  from  the  end  of  Loch  Cluany,  we  recross  the 
river  at  Doe  Bridge,  where  we  meet  with  uncommonly  fine  spe- 
cimens of  the  fir  and  aspen. 

In  the  recesses  of  Corriegoe,  the  high  group  of  hills  to  the 
north,  intermediate  between  this  glen  and  Strathglass,  is  the 
cave  where  Prince  Charles  was  secreted  for  several  weeks  by  its 
bandit  occupants,  proof  against  the  tempting  reward  offered  for 
his  head :  and  three  miles  above  Torgoil,  close  by  the  road-side, 
is  the  spot  where  Mackenzie,  with  considerable  anxiety,  even  in 
the  agonies  of  death,  for  his  unfortunate  master,  diverted  for 
a  while  pursuit  from  the  royal  fugitive,  by  feigning  to  be  the 
Prince. 

2.  Loch  Cluany  presents  no  interesting  features.  The 
mountain,  on  the  south  side,  rises  rather  abruptly  from  the 
water,  and  a  few  trees  are  scattered  along  its  face :  occasional 
mossy  promontories,  projecting  into  the  loch,  complete  the  char- 
acter of  this  sheet  of  water.  Cluany,  distant  about  twenty-five 
miles  from  Invermoriston,  is  as  good  a  house  as  could  be  ex- 
pected, where  the  chief  customers  are  drovers :  to  them  travel- 
lers are  in  a  great  measure  indebted  for  the  goodness  of  the 
stabling  on  these  roads,  although,  in  some  places,  by  way  of 
making  the  most  of  a  thing,  the  stable  is  not  divided  into  stalls, 
drovers'  ponies  being  accommodating  animals,  who,  like  their 
masters,  can  sleep  three  in  a  bed.  From  the  east  end  of  Loch 
Cluany  to  about  four  miles  beyond  the  inn,  the  glen  is  pretty 
level,  and  barren  without  grandeur :  here  it  becomes  extremely 
narrow ;  and,  passing  a  low,  rocky  barrier,  we  suddenly  find  the 
waters  and  the  road  descending  into  Glen  Shiel,  through  a  nar- 
row pass,  between  mountain  walls  of  rock.  The  traveller  will 
be  struck  by  the  rugged  and  conical  character  of  the  mountains 


l'.)4  GLEN  SHIEL SUBTERRANEAN  CAVERN.        SECT.  III. 

in  this  quarter,  and  his  attention  will  be  particularly  attracted 
by  two  singularly  sharp-peaked  hills,  at  that  part  of  the  de- 
scent where  the  glen  bends  towards  Loch  Duich.  The  upper 
portions  of  Glen  Moriston  and  Glen  Shiel  are  destitute  of  trees 
and  houses  of  any  kind :  the  lower  part  of  the  Water  of  Shiel 
is  skirted  with  alders,  and  a  few  smoky  dingy  hovels. 

3.  Glen  Shiel  was  the  scene  of  a  skirmish  in  1719,  which 
put  a  speedy  termination  to  an  insurrection  then  attempted  in 
favour  of  the  exiled  Stuarts.     It  was  very  trifling,  and  got  up 
by  the  Marquis  of  Tullibardine  and  the  Earls  of  Seaforth  and 
Marischal,  in  consequence  of  an  invasion  of  England  projected 
by  the  court  of  Spain,  with  the  view  of  restoring  the  Stuart 
family,  and  resolved  on  by  the  advice  of  Cardinal  Alberoni. 
At  Cadiz,  an  armament  was  prepared,  consisting  of  a  number 
of  transports,  on  board  of  which  6000  troops  and  12,000  stand 
of  arms  were  embarked,  and  provided  with  a  convoy  of  ten 
ships  of  the  line  and  several  frigates,  the  command  of  which 
force  was  entrusted  to  the  Duke  of  Ormond.     The  above-men- 
tioned nobleman  having  landed  in  the  Western  Islands  of  Scot- 
land, with  several  gentlemen  who  had  been  attainted  in  1716, 
and  300  Spaniards,  endeavoured  to  excite  the  Clans  to  arms, 
but  with  little  effect.     They  were  encountered  in  Glen  Shiel  by 
General  Wightman,  commander  of  the  forces  in  the  north,  who 
had  hastened  from  Inverness,  on  the  first  news  of  the  rising, 
with  his  troops,  which  had  then  been  recently  reinforced  by  a 
body  of  2000  Dutch  soldiers.    The  insurgent  Highlanders,  after 
a  short  resistance,  fled  to  the  hills ;  the  Spaniards  were  made 
prisoners ;  and  the  Spanish  squadron  having  been  driven  back 
by  a  storm,  the  whole  plan  was  completely  frustrated.     A  small 
cascade  will  be  observed  on  the  left  hand,  in  descending  the 
glen,  which  indicates  the  scene  of  the  skirmish  ;  and  a  patch  of 
nettles  is  pointed  out  by  the  country  people  as  the  spot  where, 
according  to  their  accounts,  a  colonel  in  the  Dutch  service  fell. 

4.  About  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  inn   of  Shielhouse, 
there  is  a  remarkable  subterranean  cavern  close  by  the  road-side. 
In  entering  it  is  necessary  to  crawl  on  all-fours,  but  it  quickly 
rises  to  the  height  of  eight  feet,  and  becomes  broad  enough  to 
admit  of  the  advance  of  two  people  abreast.     The  bottom  is 
paved,  and  the  sides  lined  with  large  flag-stones,  and  it  is  also 
roofed  with  long  slabs  resting  upon  strong  cross  stone  rafters. 
This  structure  somewhat   resembles   what  are  called,  in   the 


ROUTE  I.  F.  LOCH  DUTCH.  195 

Orkneys,  subterranean  Picts'  Houses,  and  may  perhaps  have 
been  connected  with  some  ancient  Dune  or  burgh.  The  inn  of 
Shielhouse  does  not  realize  the  expectations  formed  from  its 
exterior,  the  accommodation  being  inconveniently  confined. 
From  the  head  of  Loch  Duich,  where  the  inn  is  situated,  the 
appearance  of  Glen  Shiel  is  strange  indeed.  The  mountains 
rise  almost  perpendicularly,  but  with  a  steep  unvarying  concave 
acclivity,  like  the  side  of  a  tent,  and  terminating  in  detached 
pinnacles.  The  opposing  ranges  rise  so  near  each  other,  that 
but  a  very  narrow  verdant  stripe  of  meadow  grass  separates 
their  respective  bases.  This  rich  connecting  band  forms  a 
strong  contrast  with  the  bright  purple  of  the  hills,  the  prevail- 
ing colour  as  high  as  the  hardy  heath  can  vegetate,  which, 
gradually  thinning,  gives  place  to  grey,  rocky,  and  barren  sum- 
mits. The  best  point  of  view  will  be  found  on  the  east  side  of 
the  glen,  on  the  face  of  the  hill,  immediately  above  the  bridge 
which  the  Kyle  Akin  road  crosses. 

5.  Loch  Duich  is  a  beautiful  arm  of  the  sea,  of  great  depth, 
running  up  along  the  west  side  of  Kintail.  Its  banks  on  the 
east  side  are  formed  by  mountains  rising  from  the  water,  fre- 
quently in  rocky  and  often  precipitous  acclivities,  but  more 
gently  sloping,  and  full  of  gentle  undulations  on  the  other, 
singularly  smooth,  and  carpeted  with  a  soft  velvet-like  emerald 
verdure,  variegated  with  trees  below,  and  rocks  above.  From 
the  summits  of  Scuir  Ouran  and  Scuir-na-Carnich,  the  two 
very  high  hills  of  the  range  extending  from  Kintail  along  the 
north  side  of  Glen  Shiel,  conspicuous  from  Shielhouse,  on  a  clear 
day,  the  Trafalgar  monument  at  Forres  may  be  distinguished. 

Of  the  two  roads  leading  to  Skye,  that  by  Kyle  Rhea  is 
about  five  miles  the  shorter,  to  the  point  of  junction  near 
Broadford  ;  but  the  Kyle  Akin  road  is  much  more  agreeable, 
being  more  level,  and  the  scenery  more  interesting  ;  it  has  the 
disadvantage,  however,  of  crossing  an  additional  ferry. 

The  Kyle  Akin  road,  on  leaving  Shielhouse,  makes  a  con- 
siderable circuit  round  an  inlet  of  Loch  Duich  ;  and,  crossing 
the  water  of  Crowe,  at  the  mouth  of  Glen  Liechk,  shortly  after- 
wards passes  the  church  and  manse  of  Kintail.  The  length  of 
the  road  from  Shielhouse  to  Kyle  Akin  is  about  twenty  miles, 
and  it  is  divided  into  two  nearly  equal  portions,  by  the  ferry  of 
Dornie.  Leaving  the  manse,  the  road  leads  above  the  house  of 
Inverinat,  beautifully  embosomed  in  ascending  ash  woods  and 


196  ELLANDONAN  CASTLE.  SECT.  III. 

arable  fields ;  and,  owing  to  the  precipitous  nature  of  the 
ground,  it  continues  to  ascend  pretty  high,  along  the  face  of 
the  hill  ;  but  the  views  it  commands  are  very  fine,  especially 
when,  as  we  approach  Dornie,  the  hills  of  Skye  come  in  sight. 
The  ravines  and  crevices  of  the  rocks  are  partially  filled  with 
ash  and  other  trees,  and  on  the  slopes  are  numerous  drystone 
huts,  mean  enough,  no  doubt,  but  their  accompanying  patches 
of  cultivated  ground  are  welcome  and  agreeable  to  the  eye. 

6.  Dornie  is  a  small  fishing  village  of  about  two  score  of 
houses  and  huts,  built  where  a  smaller  loch  (Long)  branches  off 
from  Loch  Duich,  and  on  the  south  side  of  the  connecting  strait. 
Close  by  the  village  are  the  ruins  of  Ellandonan  Castle,  the 
ancient  seat  of  the  Mackenzies  of  Seaforth.     They  stand  on  a 
rocky  islet,  and  are  surrounded  by  the  sea  at  flood-tide  ;  the 
castle  consisted  of  a  massive  square  keep  about  60  feet  high, 
only  one  side  of  which  remains  entire.     On  two  sides  of  this 
keep  are  the  ruins  of  other  buildings,  the  landward  part  of  the 
islet  forming  a  small  natural  glacis,  in  which  rises  up  a  spring 
of  fresh  water,  surrounded  by  strong  walls,  which,  extending 
to  the  castle,  afforded  the  inmates  safe  access,  at  all  times,  to 
the  well.     The  best  view  of  Loch  Duich  with  Ellandonan  and 
Dornie  is  obtained  from  the  north  side  of  the  ferry — the  village 
and  ruin  forming  the  fore,  and  the  precipitous  clustered  peaks 
of  Glen  Shiel  the  back  ground.     There  are  none  but  small 
public-houses  in  Dornie. 

Ellandonan  Castle  was  built  on  the  site  of  an  old  vitrified 
fort  by  Alexander  II.  of  Scotland,  as  an  "overhand"  against 
the  Danes  and  Norwegians.  After  the  battle  of  the  Largs, 
Alexander  III.  appointed  Coline  Fitzgerald,  an  Irish  gentleman 
who  fought  under  his  banners  at  that  engagement,  to  be  con- 
stable of  the  castle.  Coline  married  the  only  daughter  of 
Kenneth  Matheson,  former  constable,  after  whom  his  son  was 
named  Kenneth,  and  his  descendants  were  called  Mackennich, 
anfflice  Mackenzie.  Such,  at  least,  is  the  tradition  among  the 
clan. 

7.  From  Dornie  the  road  runs  along  a  stripe  of  meadow 
land  bordering  the  shore  of  Lochalsb,  and  a  range  of  verdant 
hills.     About  one  and  a  half  mile  onwards,  at  the  Kirkton  of 
Lochalsh  (formed  by  the  church,  school-house,  a  farm-house, 
and  some  huts),  the  road  to  Strome  Ferry  on  Loch  Carron 
ascends  to  the  right.     At  the  bend  of  the  coast,  between  Kyle 


ROUTE  I.  F.  LOCHALSH.  197 

Rhea  and  Kyle  Akin,  rounding  a  series  of  high  precipitous 
cliffs  faced  with  clambering  ash,  a  fine  semicircular  bay  opens 
to  view,  in  the  centre  of  which,  close  by  the  water's  edge,  stands 
the  house  of  Balmacara  (Lillingstone),  a  bow-windowed  struc- 
ture, with  long  irregular  wings.  Behind  it  rises  a  spacious 
elevated  recess,  laid  out  in  well-cultivated  fields,  chequered 
with  hardwood,  and  girt  with  beautiful,  high,  broadly  conical, 
and  slightly  spiral  hills  of  smooth  verdant  surface.  Here  there 
is  a  post-office  and  small  inn.  Towards  the  top  of  the  ascent, 
a  road  branches  off  on  the  right,  over  sandstone  ridges  rather 
pleasingly  wooded  and  cultivated,  to  the  fishing  village  of 
Plockton,  about  five  miles  from  Balmacara  :  a  collection  of  about 
a  hundred  stone-walled,  and  heather-thatched,  and  a  few  slated 
houses,  with  government  manse  and  church,  and  free  church,  at 
the  head  of  a  deeply  indented  little  bay  at  the  opening  of  Loch 
Carron,  and  opposite  Kishorn. 

8.  The  vicinity  of  Shielhouse  is  distinguished  by  the  high- 
est waterfall  in  the  Highlands — that  of  Glomak,  about  eight 
miles  distant  from  Shielhouse,  on  a  stream  which  descends  from 
the  head  of  Strath  Affrick  to  the  Elchaig,  running  into  Loch 
Long.  It  can  be  approached  on  Highland  ponies,  and  has  been 
so  frequently  by  ladies,  but  walking  is  preferable,  and  it  may 
be  easily  reached  in  three  and  a-half  hours.  The  path  leads 
from  the  Bridge  of  Linassie  which  crosses  the  Water  of  Crowe 
at  the  head  of  Little  Loch  Duich,  as  the  deep  bay  on  the  east 
side  of  the  head  of  the  loch  on  which  stands  the  church  and 
manse  of  Kintail  is  called,  and  proceeds  on  the  north  side  of  the 
water,  beyond  two  other  glens  which  open  on  the  right,  and 
straight  onwards  alongst,  and  finally  above  the  water-course 
along  the  face  of  a  steep  but  beautifully  green  ravine,  seamed 
with  rivulets ;  proceeding  throughout  in  almost  a  straight  line 
from  Linassie  to  a  narrow  pass  at  the  head  of  the  ravine,  about 
four  miles  from  that  place.  From  the  top  of  the  pass  continu- 
ing the  same  line  of  direction,  nearly  north-east  across  an  ele- 
vated moorland,  and  to  the  south  of  a  little  eminence,  the 
traveller  will  find  himself  above  the  water  just  at  the  top  of 
the  fall.  The  Water  of  Glomak  issues  from  a  series  of  three 
small  lochs  imbedded  amidst  a  grand  group  of  abrupt  serrated 
mountains,  Ben  Attow  at  the  head,  presenting  a  magnificent 
sheeted  precipice,  almost  vertical,  and  seemingly  not  less  than 
a  couple  of  thousand  feet  in  height.  The  hollow  in  which  they 


198  WATER  OF  GLOMAK.  SECT.  III. 

lie  communicates  with,  and  lies  at  right  angles  with  Strath 
Affrick,  which  stretches  easterly  to  Strathglass ;  a  noble  open- 
ing through  the  loftiest  mountain  ranges  in  the  country,  and 
which,  in  its  lower  portion,  embraces  the  pine-girt  waters  of 
Lochs  Affrick  and  Benneveian.  The  mountains  which  form  its 
northern  boundary,  terminate  in  Scuir-na-Caeran,  a  vast  moun- 
tain with  several  compressed  summits,  and  marked  by  a  preci- 
pitous-sided corry  at  the  top.  At  some  miles  distance  to  the 
north,  the  Elchaig  conducts  its  waters  to  Loch  Long,  through  a 
deeply  troughed  valley,  lined  on  the  north  by  high  and  very 
steep  hills  passing  above  into  a  great  rocky  expanse,  and  nearly 
parallel  with  Strath  Affrick.  Between  the  lower  hills  skirting 
the  Elchaig,  and  Scuir-na-Caeran,  extends  an  ascending  and 
elevated  moorland  plain,  which  the  Glomak  passes  over,  till  it 
encounters  the  granite  barrier  of  Glen  Elchaig,  through  which 
it  accomplishes  its  descent  by  a  tremendous  ravine,  into  which 
it  plunges  at  once  in  the  great  waterfall  of  Glomak.  Approaching 
from  Shielhouse,  a  steep  descent  from  the  height  above,  of  per- 
haps 400  feet,  ushers  us  on  the  margin  of  the  water,  and  on  the 
moorland  above  the  fall.  The  water  slants  a  little  along  the 
rock  from  which  it  first  starts,  and  then  falls  almost  perpendi- 
cularly at  one  corner  of  the  face  of  a  square  abyss  flanked  by 
black,  smooth  mural  rocks  richly  tinted  with  bright  verdure. 
About  midway  it  lights  on  a  ledge,  and  is  parted,  by  a  projec- 
tion of  rock,  into  two.*  The  depth  of  the  whole  has  been 
plumbed  and  found  to  be  of  the  great  extent  of  350  feet.  The 
ravine  below  is  truly  stupendous,  and  it  cannot  be  under  700 
or  800  feet  deep.  At  the  bottom,  for  perhaps  a  couple  of  hun- 
dred feet,  walled  with  rock ;  the  acclivities  above  very  abrupt, 
all  but  vertical,  and  of  a  fine  ferny  green,  but,  like  the  moun- 
tain wastes  around,  entirely  destitute  of  trees.  The  rapidly  in- 
clined lines  of  the  inflections  of  the  ravine  interlace  each  other, 
quite  concealing  the  water,  but  leading  the  eye  down  almost  to 
the  channel  of  Elchaig  about  two  miles  off, — the  lofty,  precipi- 
tous, and  rocky  further  sides  of  which  bound  the  view.  Foot- 
marks, admitting  a  cautious  descent,  will  be  found  conducting 
from  the  head  of  the  fall  to  the  green  summit  of  a  small  pro- 
jecting rock  on  the  west  side,  marked  by  a  dwarf  birch  and 
rowan  tree  about  opposite  the  middle  of  the  fall,  but  so  near, 
that  the  bottom  can  be  seen  only  from  the  brink.  From  this 
*  The  rock  over  which  the  water  plunges  is  a  dyke  of  granite  or  porphyry. 


ROUTE  I.  F.          FALL  OF  GLOMAK.  199 

point  the  water  is  seen  to  fall  as  from  the  lip  of  the  rock,  the 
rapid  at  the  top,  comprising  about  50  perpendicular  feet  of  the 
whole  height,  being  concealed  from  view.  The  sky  line  of 
rock  is  seen  from  the  grassy  point  as  farther  back  than  the 
rocky  eminences  on  either  hand,  which  may  be  about  200  yards 
apart,  and  the  mountains  beyond  are  not  at  all  visible.  The 
apparent  height  looks  just  about  double  that  of  Foyers ;  but 
estimating  the  length  of  the  descent  to  the  green  point,  the 
larger  ascertained  dimensions  are  obviously  correct.  The  body 
of  water  is  considerably  less  than  that  of  Foyers, — and  thus, 
unless  in  speat,  the  volume  of  water  is  disproportioned  to  the 
great  scale  of  the  precipitous  rocks.  The  descent  to  the  point 
is  not  unattended  with  a  sense  of  danger,  but  ladies  make  it  out. 
Objects  so  fraught  with  dizzying  suggestions  congregated  so 
alarmingly  close  to  the  spectator,  stun  and  overpower,  and  con- 
spire to  give  a  greater  impression  of  insecurity  than  need  be. 
To  approach  the  fall  from  the  Elchaig  is  no  easy  matter,  and 
requires  to  wade  at  times  in  the  channel  of  the  stream.* 

*  A  few  directions  mav  here  be  acceptable,  in  case  of  the  pedestrian  wishing  to 
continue  his  route  to  Loch.  Affrick  and  Strathglass.  The  way  fies  by  the  sources  of 
the  Glomak,  which  stream,  after  traversing  a  tract  of  broken  spongy  moss,  he  fords 
about  200  yards  below  the  lowest  little  loch  already  alluded  to,  and  follows  a  faint 
and  rough  tract  on  the  face  of  the  opposite  hill.  At"  the  head  of  the  uppermost  loch, 
which  is  about  a  mile  long,  and  called  the  Loch  of  the  Bealach,  the  water  shears  to 
the  east  through  a  wide  strath  whicli  opens  on  rounding  the  hill.  A  pass  will  be  ob- 
served on  the  hills  which  flank  the  glen  he  is  about  leaving  on  the  opposite  side :  this 
leads  by  Glen  Liechk  on  the  farther  side  of  the  hills  into  Kintail,  and  is  in  the  line 
which  a  road,  if  ever  formed,  as  once  intended,  between  Strathglass  and  Kintail,  will 
follow.  In  the  bend  of  the  mountains  a  solitary  shieling  will  be  observed  for  tending 
yeld  cattle  and  a  flock  of  goats  for  a  few  months  of  the  year,  certainly  as  far  re- 
moved from  haunts  of  men  as  could  well  be.  Hence  the  path,  which  is  much  inter- 
rupted, keeps  down  the  centre  of  the  fine  wide  and  straight  strath.  About  half-way 
to  Loch  Affrick  place  is  given  to  a  spacious,  smooth  moorland,  by  the  opening  up  on 
the  south  of  two  wide  glens  leading  through  the  massive  mountains  to  Cluauy  in 
Glen  Moriston,  and  by  Glen  Liechk  into  Kintail.  Here  will  be  found  a  solitary  shep- 
herd's bothie,  Aultbae,  where  a  refreshing  bowl  of  milk  will  prove  acceptable.  The 
ground  liitherto  traversed  since  leaving  the  Glomak  Water,  is  called  Greenivie.  Its 
ample  sides  descend  in  beautifully  curved  sweeps.  At  Aultbae, which  is  about  midway, 
and  perhaps  six  miles  from  Loch  Affrick,  Strath  Affrick,  a  continuation  of  and  in  the 
same  line  with  Greenivie,  properly  commences ;  and  it  does  so  in  a  splendid  level  mea- 
dow, fully  two  miles  in  length,  from  which  in  part  the  mountains  spring  at  once  with- 
out broken  ground.  Nearing  the  lake,  broken  skirting  eminences  nearly  fill  up  the 
bottom.  The  outlines  of  the  mountains  are  elongated  and  smooth,  and  their  surface 
affords  the  finest  pasture  for  sheep.  At  Coulivie  or  Annamulloch,  two  shepherd's 
houses,  on  opposite  sides  of  the  river,  not  far  from  where  it  joins  the  lake,  and  quite 
at  the  base  of  the  high  impending  mountains,  the  traveller  will  be  faiu,  after  a  ten  or 
twelve  hours'  walk  from  Shielhouse,  to  take  up  his  quarters  for  the  night,  an  intru- 
sion with  which  the  inmates  lay  their  account.  In  either,  he  will  find  a  very  snugly- 
boxed  and  floored  apartment,  ntted  up  for  the  occasional  accommodation  of  sports"- 
men,  good  English  blankets,  and  substantial  accessories  for  the  inner  man,  simple  but 
good  of  their  kind.  The  distance  hence  to  Struv,  in  Strathglass,  which  is  twenty 
miles  from  Inverness,  is  about  twenty-six  miles.  There  is  a  boat  on  each  of  the  lochs, 
perhaps  not  at  hand,  but  which  may  be  ensured  by  timeous  intimation  over  night. 


200  GLENELG DUNES   OR   BURGHS.  SECT.  III. 

9.  We  now  return   to   Shielhouse,   to   describe  the  road 
thence  to  Kyle  Rhea.     On  leaving  the  inn,  it  almost  imme- 
diately begins  the  very  laborious  ascent  of  Mam  Ratachan ;  in 
climbing  and  descending  which  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  whole 
way  (eleven  miles  and  a  half)  are  employed.     Having  sur- 
mounted it,  we  find  ourselves  descending  into  Glenelg,  a  valley 
quite  destitute  of  trees,  except  towards  the  sea ;  but  in  their 
stead  its  sides,  even  to  the  summit  of  the  hills,  are  covered  with 
rich  green  pasture ;  and  the  sudden  view  of  the  glen  and  of  the 
sea,  and  the  hills  of  Skye  beyond,  is  impressively  superb.     In 
the  glen  are  a  colony  of  huts  and  a  farm-house,  and  at  the 
opening  of  it,  the  manse,  and  ruins  of  Bernera  Barracks,  one  of 
the  military  stations  "established  in  the  Highlands  by  the  Hano- 
verian Government,  after  the  rebellions  of  1715  and  1745,  with 
the  Kirkton  of  Glenelg.     Bernera  Barracks  consisted  of  two 
parallel  houses,  capable  of  accommodating  about  two  companies 
of  soldiers.    They  are  rather  more  than  a  mile  distant  from  the 
ferry.    Kirkton  of  Glenelg  is  a  respectable  village,  picturesquely 
situated  on  a  small  bay,  and  contains  a  principal  street  of  slated 
houses,  and  is  embellished  with  trees  and  planting.    The  dis- 
trict of  Glenelg  consists  of  two  glens — Glen  More,  just  described, 
and  Glen  Beg.     The  whole,  with  the  estate  of  Glen  Shiel,  be- 
longs to  James  Evan  Baillie,  Esq.,  proprietor  of  other  large 
estates  in  Inverness-shire. 

10.  In  Glen  Beg  of  Glenelg  are  two  ancient  Burghs  or 
Dunes,  as  these  interesting  circular  buildings  are  generally 
called,  distant  about  seven  miles  from  Bernera.     They  measure, 
one  about  thirty  (apparently  six  or  eight  feet  less  than  the  ori- 
ginal height)  and  the  other  twenty-five  feet  high,  and  thirty- 
three  and  thirty  feet  inside,  and  fifty-seven  and  fifty-four  feet 
outside  diameter.     The  walls  are  double,  and  ten  feet  thick, 
curved  on  the  outer  side  and  bulging  out  at  the  top,  and  they 
contain  tiers  of  galleries  two-and-a-half  feet  wide  and  six  feet 
high — in  one  of  the  dunes  four  in  succession,  in  the  other  only 
two,  the  higher  galleries  contracting  almost  to  a  single  wall. 
Communication  between  the  galleries  is  by  openings  three  feet 
wide  and  five  high.     The  flooring  of  the  galleries  is  of  large 

Otherwise  the  wayfarer  must  plod  his  way  along  the  rough  track  on  the  north  side ; 
hut  we  can  promise  him  that  he  will  find  much  to  beguile  the  time,  in  the  grandeur 
and  severe  beauty  of  these  lakes,  and  of  the  very  imposing  mountain  masses  in  whose 
bosom  they  repose.  Their  features  will  be  found  fully  detailed  in  our  article  on 
Strathglass  (Route  iv.  Branch  A).  From  the  south  side  of  Loch  Affrick,  a  track  slants 
across  the  hill  to  Geusachan,  at  the  head  of  Strathglass,  about  eight  miles  off. 


ROUTE  I.  F.        DUNES  OR  BURGHS.  201 

flags  stretching  across  both  walls,  and  thus  strengthening  the 
building.  The  entrance  is  by  a  low  doorway,  which  could  be 
blocked  up  by  a  stone  dropped  from  overhead,  so  as  to  be  per- 
fectly secured  from  attack  ;  and  to  one  of  them  there  was  a 
subterraneous  passage  which  has  been  recently  filled  up. 
Though  no  cement  is  used,  the  building  is  so  closely  joined 
that  it  could  not  be  scaled  ;  and  thus  these  structures  formed 
places  of  very  safe  temporary  retreat,  in  case  of  hostile  inva- 
sion. Unfortunately  these  interesting  edifices  have  been  much 
dilapidated  for  the  sake  of  the  stones,  and  scarcely  half  is 
standing  of  the  most  entire.  The  foundations  of  a  third  re- 
main, and  there  are  traces  of  two  more  in  the  larger  valley. 
Glen  Beg,  in  which  these  structures  are  situated,  is  a  very  beau- 
tiful strath,  confined  at  the  entrance  by  abrupt  and  rocky  hills, 
and  afterwards  widening  out,  having  a  fine  stream  rolling 
through  it,  and  pleasingly  diversified  with  wood.  The  dunes 
now  referred  to  are  unquestionably  the  most  entire  in  the  south- 
ern parts  of  the  Highlands.  We  particularly  recommend  tour- 
ists not  to  omit  the  opportunity  of  seeing  these  singular  build- 
ings when  in  their  neighbourhood,  for  they  are  abundantly  de- 
serving of  inspection.  An  eminent  Danish  antiquary,  who  lately 
visited  them,  informs  us,  that  he  considers  them  as  very  ancient 
Celtic  structures,  and  not  the  work  of  Scandinavians, 


202  TOWN  OF  INVERNESS — INNS,  ETC.  SECT.  IV. 


SECTION   IV. 


TOWN    OF    INVERNESS. 

Tims,  Steamers,  &c. ;  Objects  worthy  of  Observation ;  Beauty  of  the  Scenery,  1. — 
Character  of  the  Surrounding  Country,  2. — Origin  of  the  Name ;  Situation;  Islands 
in  the  Ness,  3. — Stone  Bridge,  4. — Streets,  5.-Jail,  6. — Town-house,  7. — Popula- 
tion ;  Manufactures  ;  Trade,  8  — Churches,  9. — Academy ;  Schools ;  Infirmary,  10. 
Improvements;  Public  Charities ;  Walks;  Country  Seats,  11. — Antiquity  of  Inver- 
ness, 12. — Castles  of  Inverness;  Murder  of  King  Duncan,  13. — History  of  the 
Castle;  Duke  of  Gordon,  Heritable  Keeper;  Old  Fort-George,  14.— The  Burgh 
Charters,  15. — Early  disturbed  State;  Ancient  Commerce,  16. — B/)yal  Visits; 
Queen  Mary's  Visits,  17. —Cromwell's  Fort,  18. — Form  of  Architecture,  19.— 
Ancient  Politics  and  Manners,  20. — Magistracy,  21. — Spirit  of  Improvement,  22. 

Principal  Hotels. 

Caledonian  (Mr.  Spinks),  No.  17,  Church  Street ;  Union,  18  High  Street. 
Both  these  are  most  commodious  establishments,  where  every  comfort 
and  luxury  can  be  had.  Private  Royal  (Miss  M'Donald),  81-2  Church 
Street ;  Vine  (Thomas  Mackenzie),  7  Church  Street ;  Commercial  (Mrs. 
Napier),  Castle  Wj'iul.  On  the  west  side  of  the  river  Ness,  there  are  the 
Glenalbyn  (Harcomb),  Huntly  Street;  Star,  Grant  Street  (Merkinch); 
Caledonian  Inn,  Canal  Bridge  (Muirtown). 

The  principal  Lodging-houses  are— Mr.  Tail's,  19  Church  Street ;  Mrs. 
Hardie's,  18  Douglas  Row ;  Mrs.  M'Donald's,  14  Douglas  Row ;  Mrs. 
Robert  Eraser's,  46  Church  Street ;  Miss  M'Rae,  70  Church  Street ;  Mrs. 
More's,  Castle  Wynd ;  Miss  Kennedy,  9  Bank  Street;  Mrs.  M'Kenzie's, 
Academy  Street ;  Mr.  Maclean's,  Bridge  Street ;  Mr.  John  Clark's,  Mar- 
garet Street;  Mrs.  Cameron,  27  Rose  Street;  Mr.  Adam  M'Donald, 
confectioner,  (Peacock)  No.  32,  High  Street ;  &c. :  and,  during  the  shoot- 
ing season,  the  Caledonian  and  Union  and  Royal  Hotels  retain  a  number 
of  rooms  in  the  houses  of  private  families,  in  which  visitors  may  be 
accommodated  with  beds,  and  with  or  without  board  as  they  incline. 

Newspapers. 

Inverness  Courier  office.  No.  12,  Bank  Lane. 
.,     •   Advertiser  office,     18,  Inglis  Street. 

Banks. 

Caledonian  and  Savings,  High  Street;  British  Linen  Company,  High 
Street ;  Bank  of  Scotland,  Bank  Street ;  National,  Church  Street ;  Com- 
mercial Bank  of  Scotland,  Church  Street ;  North  of  Scotland,  Academv 
Street. 

Post  Office,  27  High  Street.— Police  Office,  36  Bridge  Street 

Booksellers. 

James  Smith,  49  High  Street;  Kenneth  Douglas,  2  High  Street;  D. 
Morrison,  1  Church  Street;  C.  Keith,  21  Church  Street;  D.  Frascr, 
Castle  Street. 


SECT.  IV.         TOWN  OF  INVERNESS — COACHES,  ETC.  2<J3 

Principal  Drapers. 

Tartan  Warehouse,  D.  M'Dougal,  12  High  Street ;  Andrew  Smith,  20 
High  Street ;  Donald  Fraser,  48  High  Street ;  D.  M'Lennan,  41  High 
Street ;  D.  Matheson,  6  Castle  Street.  Inverness  Woollen  Manufactory 
at  Holm — shop,  No.  4,  Bridge  Street. 

Coaches. 
The  Post-Office  changes  often  disturb  the  mail  hours. 

1.  Mail  to  Perth  (4  horses),  leaves  the  Caledonian  Hotel  and  Union 
Hotel  every  evening  at  a  quarter  to  7  o'clock,  and  arrives  from  the  south 
at  these  Inns,  at  6  A.M.     Fares— £2  :  5s.  inside,  and  32s.  outside. 

2.  Aberdeen  Mail — leaves  the  Caledonian  and  Union  Hotels  every 
afternoon  at  2  o'clock,  and  arrives  every  evening  at  ^half-past  7.     Four 
horses.     Fares — inside,  £2  ;  outside,  21s. 

3.  North  Mail,  by  Beauly,  Dingvvall,  Tain,  Dornoch,  to  Thurso  in 
Caithness — leaves  Caledonian  Hotel  at  i  past  6  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
and  arrives  at  5  P.M.,  in  time  to  join  the  Perth  Mail.  Four  horses.  Fares — 
inside,  £2:11:6;  outside,  £1 : 17  :  6 ;  and  to  Tain,  20s.  and  14s. 

4.  The  Duke  of  Wellington — day  stage-coach,  4  horses — in  connexion 
with  the  Highland  or  Perth  Mail — leaves  the  Caledonian  Hotel  every 
lawful  morning,  from  April  to  the  end  of  November,  at  6  o'clock  A.M., 
and  arrives  from  Perth  at  6  P.M.     Fares — inside,  35s. ;  outside,  25s. 

5.  The  Defiance — daily  stage-coach,  4  horses — leaves  the  Caledonian 
Hotel,  for  Nairn,  Forres,  Elgin,  Fochabers,  Huntly,  and  Aberdeen,  every 
lawful  morning,  at  6  o'clock  A.M.,  and  arrives  from  Aberdeen,  at  half-past 
6  o'clock  P.M.     Fares — inside,  £2 ;  outside,  £1 :  2s. 

6.  The  Star — daily  stage-coach,  4  horses — leaves  Caledonian  Hotel 
for  Nairn,  Forres,  and  Elgin,  at  4  o'clock  p.  M.  every  lawful  day,  and 
stops  at  Elgin,  where  it  arrives  at  9  P.  M.  that  night.    Another  coach,  in 
connexion  with  it,  proceeds  on  from  Elgin  every  morning  at  7  A.M.  for 
Aberdeen  ;  and  the  Star  leaves  Elgin  every  morning  at  7  A.M.  for  Inver- 
ness, which  it  reaches  at  half-past  12  o'clock  P.M.     Fares — inside,  16s. ; 
outside,  10s.  6d. 

7.  The  Caberfeigh — stage-coach,  2  horses — leaves  Caledonian  Hotel, 
every  day  in  summer,  at  3  o'clock  for  Dingwall  (via  Kessock  Ferry) 
and  Strathpeffer,  and  reaches  the  Spa  Hotel  there  at  6  P.M.     It  leaves 
Strathpeffer  at  8  o'clock  every  morning,  and  arrives  at  Inverness  at  11 
A.M.     Fares — inside,  10s. ;  outside  6s. 

8.  The  Duke  of  Wellington  to  Tain  starts  at  6  A.M.,  and  from  Tain 
at  3  P.M.  ;  but  either  this  or  the  Caberfeigh  is  likely  to  be  discontinued, 
or  to  go  only  to  Strathpeffer  via  Beauly. 

Steamers. 

1.  The  North  Star,  sails  from  the  Thornbush  Pier,  Inverness,  for  Lon- 
don, every  alternate  Monday ;  and  from  London  for  Inverness  every  other 
Monday ;  average  length  of  passage  sixty-three  hours.     Fares— cabin, 
£3 : 10s. ;  forecastle,  £2  :  5s.   N.B. — Calls  at  Chanonry  Point,  Invergordon, 
Cromarty,  Findhorn,  Burgh-head,  Banff,  and  Aberdeen. 

2.  The  Duke  of  Richmond  sails  from  Kessock  Ferry  roadstead  for 
Leith  every  Monday  morning,  and  the  Queen  on  Thursday  evening,  call- 
ing at  the  same  ports  as  the  North  Star ;  and  they  leave"  Leith  on  their 
return  voyages  every  Tuesday  and  Thursday  mornings.     Fares — cabin, 
16s. ;  forecastle.  8s. 

3.  The  Maid  of  Morven   leaves  Kessock  Ferry  every  Monday  and 
Thursday  morning,  for  the  ports  in  the  Moray  Firth  above  named,  and 


204  TOWN  OF  INVERNESS — STEAMERS,  ETC.        SECT.  IV. 

the  Little  Ferry  in  Sutherlandshire,  and  returns  every  succeeding  day. 
Fares — to  Burgh- head,  5s.  and  3s.  6d. ;  to  Little  Ferry,  10s.  and  5s. 

4.  The  Glasgow  Steamers  by  the  Caledonian  Canal. — Messrs.  G.  and  J. 
Burns  of  Glasgow  put  on  in  summer  a  line  of  swift  steamers,  by  which  there 
is  a  daily  sailing  to  and  from  Glasgow  and  Oban,  Fort- William,  Corpach, 
and  Inverness ;  and  to  and  from  Oban,  Tobermory,  Staffa  and  lona,  and 
Glencoe.  Fares  to  Glasgow — cabin,  £1 ;  forecastle,  8s.  Goods  Boats 
(Cygnet  and  Lapwing)  ply  at  cheaper  rates. 

N.B. — Coaches  and  Breaks,  or  Omnibuses,  attend  from  the  Caledonian 
and  Union  Hotels,  to  convey  passengers  to  and  from  the  steamers  on  their 
departure  and  arrival,  charging  Is.  for  every  passenger;  and  the  heavy 
goods  and  luggage  are  conveyed  by  carts,  which  are  always  in  waiting. 
The  steam  offices  are  9  Buchanan  Street,  Glasgow,  and  in  Church  Street, 
at  the  Thornbush  Pier  and  Kessock  Ferry,  Inverness,  where  the  adver- 
tisements, which  are  occasionally  altered,  may  be  seen. 

Carriers  of  goods  leave  Inverness,  twice  a-week,  for  Beauly,  Dingwall, 
Invergordon,  and  Fort-George;  and  once  a-week  to  Fort- Augustus, 
Kingussie,  Nairn,  and  Forres ;  and  once  a  fortnight,  or  when  the  weather 
permits  and  there  is  employment,  to  Perth,  Kintail,  Strathglass,  Loch 
Carron,  and  Skye ;  but  in  the  interior  of  the  country  no  public  carriers 
can  be  reckoned  upon  except  in  the  vicinity  of  the  great  roads ;  and  fami- 
lies and  sportsmen,  in  the  remoter  districts,  usually  keep  pony-cars,  or 
Whitechapel-carts,  for  fetching  home  parcels  and  provisions. 

A  passage- boat  plies  every  Tuesday  and  Friday  between  Inverness 
and  Fortrose,  (fare  3d.) ;  and  in  summer  another  goes,  on  these  days,  be- 
tween Inverness  and  Avoch. 

The  subjoined  note  gives  ample  information  as  to  the  cost  of  living  in 
Inverness,  and  the  same  prices  and  rents  prevail  (perhaps  a  shade  lower 
in  the  country  and  smaller  towns)  throughout  the  Highlands.* 

*  Good  beef  sells  at  5d.  to  7d.  per  imperial  Ib. ;  mutton  from  4d.  to  6d. ;  veal,  the 
quality  of  which  is,  however,  seldom  superior,  5d.  to  6d. ;  pork,  (of  which  no  great 
quantity  is  exposed,  on  account  of  the  demand  for  cured  pork  for  export  and  shipping,) 
Sid.  to  4^d.  There  is  an  abundant  supply  of  excellent  haddocks,  which  sell  at  from 
three  to  a  dozen  for  6d. ;  good  whitings  about  the  same  price ;  cod,  from  3d.  to  Is. 
a-piece,  according  to  the  size  and  quantity ;  superior  skate,  3d.  to  9d.  each.  Her- 
rings vary  much  in  price,  as  boats  only  occasionally  leave  the  fishery  ground  to  dispose 
of  this  fish  so  far  up  the  Firth.  They  sell  at  from  ten  to  fifty  for  6d.  Salmon  are  as 
high  as  Is.  to  Is.  (id.  and  2s.  6d.  per  Ib.;  the  salmon-fishers  being  under  an  engage- 
ment to  send  almost  all  that  maybe  caught  to  the  London  market.  Grilse  sell  for  4d. 
or  6d.  per  Ib.  The  price  of  oatmeal  is  15s.  to  20s.  per  boll,  of  10  imperial  stones,  and 
the  same  for  a  quarter  of  Angus  or  potato  oats ;  of  flour,  about  46s.  per  sack  of  280 
Ibs. ;  potatoes,  8s.  to  16s.  a  boll ;  hay,  6d.  to  Is.  a  stone.  Whisky  is  sold  at  7s.  to  10s. 
the  imperial  gallon ;  very  good  strong  ale  at  17s.  or  18s.  an  anker,  which  will  run  five 
dozen  of  bottles ;  table  beer  half  that  sum.  Fresh  butter  sells  «t  lOd.  per  Ib. ;  salt 
butter  at  16s.  to  21s.  per  stone  of  23  Ibs.,  and  16  oz.  to  the  Ib.  Honey,  in  the  comb, 
at  6d.  to  Is.  per  Ib.  Warm  milk  at  Id.,  and  skim-milk  at  a  halfpenny  the  English 
pint.  A  pair  of  fowls  cost  2s.  to  2s.  6d. ;  but  they  are  not  so  large  or  plumply  fed  as 
those  to  be  seen  in  the  southern  markets.  A  pair  of  chickens  8d.  to  Is.  6d. ;  of  ducks, 
Is.  6d.  to  2s.  6d. ;  geese  and  turkeys  bring  2s.  6d.  to  5s. ;  grouse,  Is.  to  3s.  6d.  a  brace ; 
hares,  Is.  3d.  to  2s.  each ;  rabbits,  8d.  a  pair.  Shop  goods  sell  pretty  much  as  in 
other  provincial  towns.  House  rents  are  moderate,  averaging  from  £10  to  £50,  and 
shops  the  same.  The  wages  of  housemaids  are  30s.  to  £3  per  naif-year;  average,  £2. 
There  are  generally  several  country  houses  to  let  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Inverness, 
at  from  £30  to  £200  a-year,  furnished  and  unfurnished,  and  with  garden-ground, 
offices,  and  grass  parks,  and  other  accommodations.  The  charges  of  the  principal 
inns  in  Inverness  are  much  the  same  as  those  in  Edinburgh. 


SECT.  IV.  OBJECTS    OF   INTEREST.  205 


List  of  Objects  and  Scenes  in  and  about  Inverness,  described  in 
this  work,  worthy  of  being  visited  by  Strangers. 

Distance  and 

Places.  direction 

from  Town. 

Castle  Hill,  County  Buildings,  Observatory,  Godsman's 
Walk,  Ness  Islands,  Cromwell's  Fort.  Town  Hall, 
Infirmary,  Academy,  Bell's  Institution,  High  Church, 
West  Church,  Episcopal  and  Roman  Catholic  Chapels. 

Craig  Phadrick  (a  vitrified  fort) 2  miles  West. 

Basin  and  entrance  of  the  Caledonian  Canal,  and  monu- 
ment at  Clachnaharry  1J  W. 

Tomnahurich,  or  Hill  of  the  Fairies   1  S.W. 

Torvain  Hill  (field  of  battle)    1  S.W. 

Kessock  Ferry    1  N. 

Ord  Hill  of  Kessock  (a  vitrified  fort) 2  N. 

Druidical  temple  of  Leys,  and  Leys  Castle  2J  S. 

Culloden  Moor  (field  of  battle)    5  S.E. 

Stone  monuments  at  Clava 6  S.E. 

Castle  Stewart    6  E. 

Castle  Dalcross  8  E. 

Fort-George   12  E. 

Fortrose  and  rains  of  the  Cathedral  of  Ross 12  N.E. 

Cawdor  Castle    15  E. 

Loch  Ness   7  S.W. 

Roman  station  at  Bona,  Loch  Dochfour   7  S.W. 

Glen  Urquhart  and  Castle  14  to  20  S.W. 

Falls  of  Foyers   19  S.W. 

TheAird..". 3  to  16      W. 

Beauly  Priory 12  W. 

Falls  of  Kilmorack    12  to  15      W. 

And  return  by  Aigas  Ferry,  which  is  15  or  16  miles  from  Inverness ;  or 
by  Erchless  and  Struy  Bridge,  4  miles  farther. 


(BEFORE  MACBETH'S  CASTLB.) 

King  Duncan.    This  castle  hath  a  pleasant  seat ;  the  air 
Nimbly  and  sweetly  recommends  itself 
Unto  our  gentle  senses. 

Banquo.    This  guest  of  summer, 

The  temple-haunting  martlet,  does  approve, 

By  his  loved  mansionry,  that  the  heaven's  breath 

Smells  wooingly  here :  no  jutty,  frieze,  buttress, 

Nor  coigne  of  vantage,  but  this  bird  hath  made 

His  pendent  bed  and  procreant  cradle :  Where  they 

Most  breed  and  haunt,  I  have  observed  the  air 

Is  delicate.  Macbeth,  Act  I.  Scene  VI. 


1 .  INVERNESS,  the  largest  town  in  the  Highlands,  and  long  re- 
garded as  the  northern  capital — its  history,  also,  forming  a 
prominent  part  in  the  scanty  measure  of  information  that  has 
reached  us  of  the  annals  of  the  Highlanders  in  general — merits 


206  CHARACTER   OF   THE  SECT.  IV. 

a  separate  description  ;  more  especially  as  this  town  is  the  most 
convenient  central  point  from  which  to  proceed  in  visiting  most 
of  the  interesting  scenes  which  it  is  the  object  of  this  work  to 
delineate. 

"  Inverness  has  been  strangely  underrated."  So  observes 
Dr.  Macculloch  (Letters  on  the  Highlands,  vol.  L),  who  has  even 
gone  the  length  of  drawing  a  comparison  between  the  beauties 
of  its  neighbourhood  and  that  of  Edinburgh.  "  The  Firth  of 
Forth  must  yield  the  palm  to  the  Moray  Firth,  the  surrounding 
country  must  yield  altogether,  and  Inverness  must  take  the 
highest  rank.  Everything  is  done,  too,  for  Inverness  that  can 
be  effected  by  wood  and  cultivation  ;  the  characters  of  which, 
here,  have  altogether  a  richness,  a  variety,  and  a  freedom,  which 
we  miss  round  Edinburgh.  The  mountain  screens  are  finer, 
more  various,  and  more  near.  Each  outlet  is  different  from  the 
others,  and  each  is  beautiful ;  whether  we  proceed  towards  Fort- 
George  or  towards  Moy,  or  enter  the  valley  of  the  Ness,  or  skirt 
the  shores  of  the  Beauly  Firth ;  while  a  short  and  commodious 
ferry  wafts  us  to  the  lovely  country  opposite,  rich  with  wood, 
and  country  seats,  and  cultivation.  It  is  the  boast,  also,  of  In- 
verness to  unite  two  opposed  qualities,  and  each  in  the  greatest 
perfection :  the  characters  of  a  rich  open  lowland  country  with 
those  of  the  wildest  alpine  scenery,  both,  also,  being  close  at 
hand,  and  in  many  places  intermixed ;  while  to  all  this  is  added 
a  series  of  maritime  landscape  not  often  equalled." 

2.  Inverness  stands  on  a  plain  at  the  meeting  of  three  large 
openings ;  namely,  the  basins  of  the  Moray  and  Beauly  Firths, 
and  the  great  glen  of  Albyn,  itself  also  once  the  channel  of  the 
sea,  and  still  covered  throughout  more  than  half  of  its  surface 
with  the  waters  of  a  chain  of  inland  lakes.  The  mountains 
which  skirt  and  hem  in  Loch  Ness  diverge  at  its  eastern  extre- 
mity, and  those  on  the  south  side,  assuming  an  easterly  direc- 
tion, towards  Nairnshire,  and  finally  subsiding  into  a  smooth, 
inclined,  and  unbroken  ridge  nearly  twenty  miles  long,  leave  as 
the  termination  of  the  Great  Glen,  a  wide  champaign  country, 
which  extends  to  the  shores  of  the  Moray  Firth.  On  the  north 
side  of  the  valley  the  mountains  gradually  give  place  to  round- 
backed  hills,  with  tabular  summits  and  rocky  sides,  which 
approach  within  a  mile  of  Inverness,  terminating  in  the  cele- 
brated vitrified  fort  of  Craig  Phadrick,  where  they  are  cut  across 
by  the  waters  of  the  sea  as  these  proceed  from  the  main  firth  to 


SECT.  IV.  SURROUNDING  COUNTRY.  207 

fill  the  inner  basin  of  the  Loch  or  Firth  of  Beauly ;  but,  resum- 
ing their  course  on  the  Ross-shire  coast,  the  same  line  of  hills, 
softened  in  feature,  is  prolonged  along  the  edge  of  the  sea  to- 
wards Fortrose  and  the  Sutors  of  Cromarty.  Standing  thus  on 
a  beautiful  plain,  skirted  by  variously  shaped  hills,  which  are 
diversified  with  hanging  woods,  cultivated  fields,  and  protrud- 
ing frontlets  of  rock,  Inverness  still  farther  possesses  the  advan- 
tage of  having  a  bank  of  terraced  ground  rising  behind  it  on  the 
southern  side  of  the  town  which  commands  the  finest  views,  and 
on  which  some  of  the  newest  houses  and  most  beautiful  villas 
of  the  neighbourhood  have  been  erected.  This  bank,  which  is 
about  ninety  feet  high,  forms  a  portion  of  a  great  gravel  ter- 
race, or  coast  line,  which  extends  from  the  confines  of  Loch 
Ness,  through  Inverness,  Nairn,  and  Moray  shires,  to  the  mouth 
of  the  river  Spey,  having  a  line  of  similar  height  and  characters 
opposed  to  it  on  the  Ross-shire  coast,  and  thus  indicating  a  for- 
mer elevation  of  the  sea,  or  some  other  great  body  of  water 
nearly  corresponding  with  the  summit  level  of  the  Great  Glen, 
which  lies  between  the  Lakes  Oich  and  Lochy.  The  surface  of 
this  terrace  composes  a  second  plain  above  that  on  which  the 
town  of  Inverness  chiefly  stands,  spreading  itself  out  till  it 
joins  the  base  of  the  hills  on  the  south.  This  plain  is  of  various 
breadth,  (generally  from  one  to  two  or  three  miles,)  is  highly 
cultivated,  and  adorned  by  numerous  country  seats. 

The  distant  mountain  screens  which  close  in  the  view  around 
Inverness  are  also  of  very  varied  aspect.  The  serrated  moun- 
tains about  Loch  Ness  terminate  in  the  high  dome-shaped 
summit  of  Mealfourvounie,  a  well-known  landmark  to  all  the 
country  round,  and  to  the  navigators  of  the  adjoining  firths. 
Towards  the  west  the  hills  of  Strathconon  and  Strathglass,  at 
the  head  of  Loch  Beauly,  rise  in  clusters  of  peaks,  while  almost 
the  whole  northern  horizon  is  occupied  by  the  huge  shapeless 
mountain  of  Ben  Weavis,  in  Ross-shire,  (upwards  of  3700  feet 
in  height,)  and  its  extensive  ramifications,  which  are  disposed 
in  long  round-backed  heathy  chains,  overtopping  the  eminences 
which  rise  from  the  margin  of  the  Firth  of  Cromarty.  Towards 
the  east,  the  waters  of  the  Moray  Firth,  stretching  out  into  the 
German  Ocean,  conduct  the  eye  to  the  dim  and  distant  moun- 
tain ranges  of  Sutherland,  Caithness,  and  Banff  shires. 

3.  The  name  of  Inverness  denotes  its  situation  as  near  the 
estuary  of  the  river  Ness,  which  flows  from  the  great  inland 


208         ISLANDS  IN  THE  NESS — STONE  BRIDGE.  SECT.  IV. 

lake,  into  whose  waters  fall  those  of  the  celebrated  cataract  of 
Foyers.  Hence  the  Gaelic  word  ess,  signifying  a  waterfall,  has 
been  bestowed  on  the  whole  country,  as  well  as  on  the  loch  and 
river.  The  course  of  the  last  is  only  about  six  miles ;  and  it  is 
equally  "  noble,  broad,  clear,  and  strong,"  whether  we  observe 
it  at  its  junction  with  the  sea,  or  where  it  flows  from  its  parent 
lake.  Its  banks  are  fringed  with  rows  of  trees,  and  many  beau- 
tiful seats  and  villas  ;  and  within  a  mile  of  the  town  it  is 
divided  into  two  branches  by  an  island,  or  rather  a  series  of 
islands,  luxuriantly  wooded.  These,  in  ancient  days,  were  ce- 
lebrated as  the  scenes  of  rural  feasts  given  by  the  magistrates 
of  Inverness  to  the  King's  judges  when  they  came  here  to  hold 
assize  courts.  Fresh  salmon,  caught  in  an  adjoining  pool,  are 
said  to  have  formed  the  chief  delicacy  at  those  banquets ;  while 
claret,  brandy,  and  hollands,  and  even  the  classic  sack,  circu- 
lated in  abundance  among  the  guests.  Their  more  refined  de- 
scendants, a  few  years  ago,  cut  the  surface  of  the  islands  into 
pleasure-walks,  and  connected  the  opposite  banks  by  chain- 
bridges  ;  but  a  great  speat  or  flood,  in  January  1849,  swept 
these  away,  and  submerged  the  islands  for  some  weeks.  The 
broad  valley  intervening  between  the  eastern  extremity  of  Loch 
Ness  and  the  sea,  is  diversified  by  the  wide  tabular  terrace 
already  alluded  to ;  which  also  is  found,  though  not  so  distinctly 
marked,  on  the  north  side,  where  it  is  broken  into  undulating 
knolls  and  hillocks.  This  higher  ground,  as  well  as  the  bottom 
of  the  valley,  is  wholly  composed  of  rolled  stones  and  gravel. 
A  projecting  portion  of  the  flat  or  table-ground  adjoining  the 
east  bank  of  the  river,  formed  the  site  of  the  ancient  castle ;  and 
immediately  below  and  around  it  were  clustered  the  principal 
and  oldest  streets  and  houses  of  the  town,  the  buildings  on 
the  western  bank  being  but  of  recent  erection. 

4.  In  the  year  1685,  a  handsome  stone  bridge,  of  seven 
ribbed  arches,  was  erected  across  the  river  by  means  of  public 
subscriptions,  and  large  contributions  from  the  town's  funds. 
One  of  the  arches  contained  a  vault  used  as  a  jail,  and  latterly 
as  a  mad-house,  which  was  only  closed  up  within  the  last  thirty 
years.  The  grating,  or  air-hole  was,  till  lately,  visible,  whence 
the  poor  captive  obtained  a  distant  view  of  the  hills,  and  of  the 
river  which  rolled  beneath  him,  whose  dismal  noise  was  only 
echoed  by  the  trampling  of  horses  and  passengers  over  the  roof 
of  his  damp  and  lonely  cell.  It  is  said  that  this  horrible  dun- 


SECT.  IV.        INVERNESS — STONE  BRIDGE JAIL.  209 

geon  was  only  abandoned  after  a  maniac  confined  in  it  had  been 
devoured  by  rats,  and  in  1735  the  town-treasurer  paid  12s. 
Scots  for  "  burying  a  man  who  died  in  the  bridge  vault !"  A 
wooden  bridge,  described  by  an  officer  in  Cromwell's  army  as 
"  the  weakest,  in  his  opinion,  that  ever  straddled  over  so  strong 
a  stream,"  previously  existed,  a  few  feet  below  the  stone  one, 
and  ushered  the  passengers  into  the  town  through  a  gateway 
under  one  of  the  houses.  It  fell  in  September  1664,  with  up- 
wards of  100  people  on  it  at  the  time,  yet  none  of  them  were 
drowned.  Its  successor  also  yielded  to  the  flood  in  1849,  above 
alluded  to,  which  was  aggravated  by  certain  defects  in  the 
works  of  the  Caledonian  Canal,  the  banks  of  which  gave  way 
in  several  places  at  the  upper  reach  or  summit-level  of  Loch 
Oich,  and  also  in  front  of  the  lock  at  Dochgarroch  (the  lower 
end  of  Loch  Dochfour),  where  there  was  an  artificial  outlet  or 
overflow  made  in  connection  with  the  raising  of  the  level  of  the 
lake,  for  the  surplus  water  to  escape  into  the  river  Ness,  but 
which  had  been  constructed  too  wide  for  the  discharging  area 
of  the  arches  of  the  Inverness  bridge.  The  community  of  In- 
verness have  since  brought  a  bill  into  Parliament  for  the  recon- 
struction of  their  bridge,  with  improved  approaches,  relying,  as 
they  obviously  were  entitled  to  do,  on  Government's  defraying 
the  cost,  in  reparation  of  the  damage  which  the  town  had  sus- 
tained, and  the  danger  to  life  to  which  the  inhabitants  had 
been  exposed. 

5.  The  town  occupies  both  sides  of  the  river  ;  but  the  most 
considerable  part,  both  in  extent  and  style,  of  the  houses  lies,  as 
already  stated,  on  the  east  side.   From  the  stone  bridge  the  main 
street,  divided  into  compartments,  called  Bridge  Street,  High 
Street,  and  Petty  Street,  proceeds  eastward  at  right  angles  to 
the  river  ;   and  from  it  Church  Street  and  Academy  Street 
diverge  northwards  in  a  direction  towards  (and  uniting  as  they 
approach)  the  harbour. 

6.  At  the  corner  of  Church  Street  is  the  old  Jail,  built  in 
1791  ;  its  steeple,  erected  on  a  plan  somewhat  similar  to  that 
of  St.  Andrew's  Church  in  Edinburgh,  is  130  feet  high,  and  is 
a  remarkably  handsome  structure.     This  building  cost  about 
,£1800,  and  the  spire  £1600  more,  which  sums  were  raised  by 
subscription,  and  contributions  from  Parliament,  and  the  north- 
ern counties  whose  criminals  are  sent  to  the  jail  of  Inverness 
for  trial  before  the  Circuit  Courts  of  Justiciary.     Although  a 

K2 


210  INVERNESS TOWN-HOUSE.  SECT.  IV. 

great  improvement  at  the  time  of  its  erection,  this  prison  has 
now  been  superseded  by  a  new  jail,  erected  on  the  Castle  Hill, 
alongside  of  and  in  unison  with  the  Castle,  or  County  Rooms,  a 
handsome  castellated  structure,  also  recently  built,  after  a  de- 
sign of  Mr.  Burns  of  Edinburgh.  From  their  elevated  position 
these  buildings  together  form  one  of  the  most  striking  features 
of  the  town.  With  all  its  defects,  the  late  jail  of  Inverness 
must  have  been  regarded  as  a  palace,  in  comparison  with  the 
older  prison  of  the  town,  which  was  used  after  the  vault  in  the 
stone  bridge  had  been  changed  into  a  bedlam.  Thus,  in  the 
burgh  records,  we  find  that  the  town-clerk,  on  29th  September 
1709,  "  paid  an  officer  4s.  6d.  Scots  to  buy  a  cart  of  peats  to 
be  burnt  in  the  Tolbooth  to  remove  the  bad  scent ;"  and  in  De- 
cember 1737  the  magistrates  ordered  the  same  functionary  to 
purchase  "  an  iron  spade  to  be  given  to  the  hangman  for  clean- 
ing the  Tolbooth  :"  from  which  our  readers  can  be  at  no  loss  to 
judge  of  its  condition. 

7.  Nearly  opposite  the  jail  is  the  Exchange,  with  the  Town- 
house, (erected  in  1708,)  and  the  ancient  Cross  of  the  burgh, 
at  the  base  of  which  lies  the  Clach-na-cudden,  or  "  Stone  of 
the  Tubs,"  the  famous  res  ting-stone  on  which  the  maid-servants 
in  passing  from  the  river,  were  wont  to  lay  down  their  water- 
pitchers.     It  is  reckoned  the  palladium  of  the  town,  and  at  one 
time,  along  with  the  Cross,  it  stood  out  on  the  side  or  middle 
of  the  street.     In  the  wall  above  are  the  royal  arms,  with  those 
of  the  town ;  and  within  the  hall  are  a  few  good  paintings  of 
local  benefactors.     From  the  east  end  of  the  Exchange,  Castle 
Street  (anciently  called  Doomesdale  Street,  because  it  led  up  to 
the  Gallows  Moor)  conducts  to  the  rising  ground  or  terrace 
above  mentioned.     Along  the  banks  of  the  river,  the  greater 
part  of  the  newer  buildings  have  been  erected ;  and  towards  the 
harbours  a  wooden  bridge  was  constructed  across  the  river  some 
years  ago,  which  has  proved  of  much  utility. 

8.  The  population  of  the  town  and  parish,  since  the  year 
1 791,  has  nearly  doubled.     At  present,  according  to  the  census  of 
1841,  it  is  15,308, — the  total  number  within  the  parliamentary 
boundaries  of  the  town  being  11,575,  of  whom  5067  were  males, 
and  6508  females.     In  1831,  it  amounted  respectively  to  14,324 
and  9663.     About  a  sixth  of  the  population  depend  chiefly  on 
agriculture  for  employment,  and  a  third  on  trade.     The  parlia- 
mentary constituency  of  Inverness,  at  the  first  registration  under 


SECT.  IV.  IMPROVEMENTS.  211 

the  Reform  Act,  was  466,  and  that  of  the  other  associated 
burghs  of  Forres,  Nairn,  and  Fortrose,  241.  At  present  (1850) 
the  number  of  persons  entitled  to  vote  in  Inverness  for  a  mem- 
ber of  parliament,  is  478  ;  and  in  the  sister  burghs  300  There 
are  no  professions  practised  peculiar  to  the  burgh  (but  anciently 
its  maltsters  were  numerous  and  wealthy)  ;  and  though  the 
advantages  of  its  situation  for  manufactures  and  commerce  are 
manifestly  great,  its  trade  cannot  be  considered  of  importance, 
there  being  only  two  manufactories  in  the  place,  one  for  bagging, 
and  the  other  for  woollen  cloths  ;  besides  a  distillery,  a  few 
breweries,  and  tan-works.  But  there  are  in  Inverness  two 
public  news-rooms,  six  banking-houses,  including  a  provincial 
bank,  several  printing  establishments,  and  two  weekly  news- 
papers. Besides  steamers,  the  port  possesses  230  coasting 
vessels  of  about  10,000  registered  tonnage  ;  and  it  is  now  be- 
coming a  great  and  cheap  resort  for  the  repair  and  fitting  out 
of  ships. 

In  the  year  1847  an  act  was  obtained  for  deepening  the 
channel  of  the  river  Ness  and  improving  the  harbour ;  and 
under  the  plans  then  sanctioned,  it  is  the  intention  of  the  har- 
bour trustees  to  dredge  the  river  and  form  a  wet  dock  and 
quays  and  breastworks  adjoining  the  timber  bridge,  and  between 
it  and  the  old  or  Citadel  Quay,  which  will  bring  the  trade  close 
to  the  doors  of  the  inhabitants,  and  to  the  east  side  of  the 
river,  and  to  a  spot  adjoining  the  terminus  of  the  proposed 
Great  North  of  Scotland  Railway.  The  present  Thornbush 
Pier,  near  the  mouth  of  the  river,  but  on  the  west  side,  it  is 
intended,  shall  be  enlarged  for  the  reception  of  the  largest-sized 
steamers  ;  and  when  these  operations  are  finished,  in  conjunction 
with  the  accommodations  of  the  Caledonian  Canal  basin  and 
wharves,  Inverness  will  have  as  complete  and  ample  a  harbour 
as  any  port  on  the  east  coast  of  Scotland,  and  one  which  will 
present  peculiar  facilities,  from  the  cheapness  of  labour  and 
timber  in  the  place  for  the  building  and  repair  and  outfit  of 
vessels.  The  town  has  also  lately  obtained  a  police  act,  under 
which,  and  the  attendant  assessment,  it  is  watched  and  lighted. 
It  is  well  supplied  with  good  haberdashery,  grocery,  ironmon- 
gery, wine,  bookselling,  confectionary,  perfumery,  fruit,  and 
other  shops,  and  with  butcher  meat ;  while  the  Inverness  bread 
is  distinguished  for  its  good  quality.  The  fish  market  is  also 
pretty  regularly  and  constantly  supplied,  and  at  moderate 


212  INVERNESS CHURCHES  —  SCHOOLS.       SECT.  IV. 

prices,  though  not  with  great  variety.  Dairy  produce  is  abun- 
dant, and  poultry  pretty  much  so,  though  not  fed  as  for  the 
southern  markets.  There  is  capital  salmon-fishing  in  the  river, 
and  permission  for  rod-fishing  to  be  had  by  the  day  or  week 
at  reasonable  charges. 

9.  Inverness  does  not  boast  of  many  public  buildings  erected 
in  good  taste.     Oliver  Cromwell  destroyed  all  the  old  ecclesi- 
astical ones ;  and  none  have  since  been  built  with  any  preten- 
sions to  beauty  except  the  Roman  Catholic  and  St.  John's 
Episcopal  Chapels.    The  new  Caledonian  Bank  in  High  Street, 
opposite  the  Exchange,  and  looking  up  Castle  Street,  is  un- 
questionably the  finest  building  in  the  north,  and  is  deserving 
of  notice.     It  embraces  ample  accommodation  for  business,  and 
also  a  large  house  for  the  manager.     The  design  was  furnished 
by  Mr.  Mackenzie,  architect  in  Elgin,  and  on  a  small  scale  in 
some  respects  resembles   the  Commercial   Bank,  Edinburgh. 
Above  the  basement,  which  contains  two  finely  carved  arch- 
ways, is  a  large  portico,  with  four  fluted  columns,  having  beauti- 
fully carved  Corinthian  capitals,  which  support  a  massive  pedi- 
ment, within  which  are  arranged  a  group  of  allegorical  figures, 
from  the  classic  chisel  of  Mr.  H.  Ritchie  of  Edinburgh.     The 
centre  figure  is  Caledonia,  holding  in  her  hand  the  Roman 
fasces,  emblematical  of  unity.     On  the  right  is  a  figure  repre- 
senting the  Ness,  from  whose  side  rises  another  female  form, 
symbolic  of  a  tributary  stream.     On  the  extreme  right  are  two 
small  figures  rowing  a  bark,  representing  Commerce.     On  the 
left  is  Plenty  pouring  out  the  contents  of  her  cornucopia ;  a 
reaper,  with  an  armful  of  cut  corn,  a  shepherd  and  sheep,  em- 
blematical of  the  rural  interests  of  the  country.    The  group  has 
been  generally  admired,  as  have  also  the  foliage  and  carvings 
in  the  lower  compartments  of  the  building.     The  Assembly  or 
Northern  Meeting  Rooms  are  clumsy  and  heavy  in  the  exterior, 
but  large  and  elegantly  fitted  up  within. 

10.  The  Academy  is  a  plain  building,  with  class-rooms  for 
five  masters,  besides  a  hall  in  which  is  a  beautiful  painting  of 
the  Holy  Family,  said  to  be  by  Sasso  Ferrato,  but  by  some 
thought  to  be  the  work  of  Perino  de  Vaga  ;  and  a  bust,  by 
Westmacott,  of  Hector  Fraser,  a  teacher  of  considerable  emi- 
nence in  this  place.     The  number  of  pupils  who  attend  this 
seminary  is  now  generally  from  150  to  200 :  formerly  the  num- 
bers were  greater.     There  is  a  library  and  small  museum  at- 


SECT.  IV.  SCHOOLS PUBLIC    CHARITIES.  213 

tached  to  it,  collected  by  the  Northern  Institution,  established 
here,  some  years  ago,  for  the  promotion  of  Science  and  Litera- 
ture. It  is  provided  with  able  masters.  Inverness  is  peculiarly 
well  supplied  with  public  schools  for  the  education  of  the  lower 
orders  and  the  poor.  Private  schools  and  academies  are  also 
numerous  ;  and  being  likewise  one  of  the  towns  comprehended 
in  the  late  Dr.  Andrew  Bell  of  Egrnont's  munificent  bequest  for 
the  purposes  of  education  in  Scotland,  his  trustees  (the  Magis- 
trates and  Town  Council)  have  lately  opened  a  handsome  insti- 
tution near  the  Academy,  in  which  a  large  number  of  children 
are  instructed  on  the  Madras  or  monitorial  system  of  Dr.  Bell. 
A  well  conducted  seminary  has  also  been  opened  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Free  Church.  Connected  with  the  Academy  is 
a  fund  left,  in  1803,  by  Captain  William  Mackintosh,  of  the 
Hindostan  East  Indiaman,  for  the  education  of  boys  of  certain 
families  of  that  name.  Its  whole  revenue,  with  its  lands,  is  now 
valued  at  ,£25,000.  To  improve  the  curriculum  of  instruction 
for  those  bursars,  it  has  been  proposed  that  the  Academy  and 
Mackintosh  funds  should  be  united,  in  the  hope  that  with  the 
eventual  assistance  of  Government,  the  number  and  status  of  mas- 
ters in  the  institution  may  be  so  increased  and  raised,  as  to  ren- 
der it  equal  to  some  of  the  Scotch  colleges,  and  a  general  place 
of  resort  for  the  North  Highlands.  A  bill  is  now  before  Par- 
liament for  so  far  effecting  these  very  desirable  objects. 

11.  Within  a  few  minutes'  walk,  by  the  river  side,  is  the 
Northern  Infirmary,  a  handsome  structure,  and  a  well-conducted 
institution,  supported  by  parochial  collections  and  private  sub- 
scriptions. The  Caledonian  and  Union  Hotels  are  spacious  and 
handsome  buildings.  The  town  is  well  paved,  watered,  and 
lighted  with  gas,  and  the  walks  around  it  are  unrivalled  for  the 
beauty  and  variety  of  the  scenery  they  command ;  and  Inver- 
ness is  one  of  the  most  attractive  residences  for  families,  and 
amongst  the  most  regular  and  well-built  provincial  towns  in 
Scotland.  The  climate  is  mild  and  salubrious,  and  families  who 
have  been  resident  in  tropical  countries  find  Inverness  well 
adapted  for  their  constitution,  owing  most  probably  to  its  being 
removed  from  the  keen  winds  which  blow  from  off  the  German 
ocean,  and  in  that  the  air  is  rendered  soft  and  balmy  by  the  pecu- 
liar position  and  form  of  the  Great  Glen,  which  carry  across 
the  Atlantic  vapours,  and  impart  somewhat  of  the  west  coast 
character  to  our  climate,  without  its  excessive  moisture.  The 


214     COUNTRY  SEATS — ANTIQUITY  OF  INVERNESS.    SECT.  IV. 

principal  seats  in  the  neighbourhood  are  Culloden,  Raigmore, 
Muirtown,  Leys  Castle,  Ness  Castle,  Culduthel,  and  Dochfour ; 
and  the  grounds  about  these  are  suited  to  extensive  estates. 
Leys  Castle  is  an  imposing  and  costly  structure,  in  the  Gothic 
castellated  style ;  a  square  building,  with  corner  and  entrance 
towers,  and  a  central  pavilion.  Most  of  the  others  are  else- 
where noticed. 

We  may  direct  the  stranger's  attention  to  the  view  from  the 
castle-hill,  and  to  a  promenade  recently  formed  to  the  north  of 
Cromwell's  fort,  afterwards  described,  along  the  mouth  of  the 
river  on  the  east  side,  and  leading  round  by  the  sea-side,  as 
giving  the  best  idea  of  the  locality,  and  presenting  landscapes 
not  often  surpassed. 

12.  Thus  far  of  the  statistics  of  the  town.     Its  history  is 
interesting.     Inverness  was  frequently  visited  by  the  Scottish 
sovereigns ;  and  for  many  ages  the  annals  of  several  adjacent 
parts  of  the  Highlands  are  scarcely  known,  except  through  their 
connexion  with  this  burgh. 

Without  recurring  to  the  usual  list  of  fables  which  invest 
Inverness  with  an  antiquity  higher  even  than  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Christian  era,  we  have  the  authority  of  Adamnan, 
in  his  Life  of  Columba,  for  stating  that  this  saint  sojourned 
"  ad  ostiam  Nessise,"  with  the  view  of  converting  Brudeus,  King 
of  the  Picts,  who  resided  here ;  and  that  in  this  place  he  had 
several  conferences  with  the  Scandinavian  Earl  of  Orkney. 

13.  On  the  rising  ground  to  the  east  of  the  town,  called  the 
Crown,  a  very  old  castle  stood,  around  which  were  built  the 
first  houses  of  the  burgh  ;  and  the  spot  is  still  shown  where  the 
cross  is  believed  to  have  stood,  and  a  large  stone  with  a  hole  in 
the  centre  for  an  upright  pillar,  has  recently  been  discovered 
underneath.     Macbeth,  being  by  birth  the  Maormor  (literally 
the  Great  Man)  of  Boss,  and  having  by  marriage  become  that 
of  Moray,  very  probably  had  possession  of  this  castle ;  but  anti- 
quaries seem  now  agreed  that  the  murder  of  King  Duncan  was 
not  perpetrated  within  its  walls. 

Malcolm  III.,  or  Caenmore,  is  said  to  have  razed  this  castle, 
and  to  have  built  another  on  the  eminence  already  alluded  to, 
close  by  the  river,  which  continued  ever  after  to  be  a  king's 
house  and  royal  fortress,  till  blown  up,  in  the  year  1746,  by  the 
troops  of  Prince  Charles  Edward  Stuart. 

14.  Shaw  Macduff,  a  son  of  the  sixth  Earl  of  Fife,  having 


SECT.  IV.  HISTOKY  OF  THE  CASTLE.  215 

come  north  with  Malcolm  IV.,  and  assisted  in  quelling  an  in- 
surrection of  the  men  of  Moray,  assumed  the  name  of  Mackin- 
tosh (son  of  the  Thaiie),  significant  of  his  high  birth.  He 
acquired  great  possessions,  and  was  made  heritable  governor  of 
this  castle.  In  1245,  Sir  John  Bisset  of  Lovat,  one  of  the 
greatest  neighbouring  barons,  was  confined  in  it  for  his  supposed 
connexion  with  the  murder  of  the  Earl  of  Athole :  he  was 
accused  also  of  acknowledging  the  Lord  of  the  Isles  as  a  sove- 
reign prince,  and  doing  him  homage.  During  the  minority  of 
one  of  the  captains  of  clan  Chattan,  or  chief  of  the  Mackin- 
toshes, the  castle  was  seized  by  the  Cumings  of  Badenoch,  who 
retained  it  till  1303,  when  it  was  captured  by  Edward  I.  of 
England,  from  whom  it  was  in  turn  taken  for  Robert  Bruce. 
Bruce  was  then  wandering  in  the  Ebudae;  and,  it  is  added, 
when  the  news  of  the  seizure  of  this  fortress  reached  his  ears, 
he  was  roused  to  the  daring  feats  which  afterwards  paved  his 
way  to  the  throne.  From  this  period  to  the  accession  of  James 
I.,  the  government  of  the  castle  was  retained  in  the  hands  of  the 
crown.  Donald  of  the  Isles,  who  fought  the  battle  of  Harlaw, 
in  1410,  with  the  Earl  of  Mar,  burned  the  town  of  Inverness  on 
his  march.  The  last-named  monarch  again  bestowed  the  castle 
on  the  captain  of  the  clan  Chattan,  and  at  the  same  time 
repaired  and  greatly  strengthened  it.  He  held  a  court  in  it,  to 
which  all  the  northern  chiefs  and  barons  were  summoned,  three 
of  whom  were  executed  here  for  treason,  while  Alexander,  Lord 
of  the  Isles,  son  of  Donald,  was  detained  in  custody  for  a  year. 
This  lord  avenged  the  affront  cast  upon  him  by  also  setting  fire 
to  the  town :  but  though  the  inhabitants  were  exposed  to  the 
rapine  of  his  followers,  he  was  defied  in  his  attempts  to  wrest 
the  castle  from  the  hands  of  Mackintosh  the  governor.  This 
island  chief  was  subsequently  defeated  by  a  royal  army  in 
Lochaber,  and  was  compelled  on  his  knees  to  beg  his  life  from 
the  king,  in  presence  of  the  whole  court  at  Holyrood,  and  was 
imprisoned  in  Tantallon  Castle.  His  successor,  John  of  the  Isles, 
invading  the  mainland  in  fulfilment  of  his  treaty  with  Edward 
IV.,  or  rather,  perhaps  Donald  Balloch  of  Isla,  also  a  party  to 
the  league  with  England,  took  the  castle  by  surprise.  His  rebel- 
lion drew  upon  John  the  forfeiture  of  the  earldom  of  Ross,  which, 
with  the  sheriffdom  of  Inverness  and  Nairn,  was  annexed  to  the 
crown. 

In  the  year  1508,  the  Earl  of  Huntly  obtained  the  appoint- 


216    OLD  FORT  GEORGE  —  BURGH  CHARTERS.   SECT.  IV. 

ment  of  heritable  sheriff  of  the  county,  and  keeper  of  the  castle. 
For  a  short  time  the  Regent  Moray  was  sheriff,  but  soon  after- 
wards the  Huntly  family  regained  all  their  possessions  ;  and  it 
was  only  in  1629  that  they  resigned  their  office  to  the  crown, 
for  which  a  compensation  was  granted  of  £2500.  At  that 
period  it  was  conferred  for  life  on  Sir  Robert  Gordon,  the  his- 
torian of  Sutherland. 

During  the  period  of  the  civil  wars,  this  castle  was  repeatedly 
taken  by  Montrose  and  his  opponents,  and  the  whole  country, 
even  in  this  northern  corner,  then  experienced  all  the  horrors 
of  a  hostile  invasion.  In  1649,  its  fortifications  were  nearly 
demolished  by  Mackenzie  of  Pluscardine,  Sir  Thomas  Urquhart 
of  Cromarty,  and  a  party  opposed  to  the  Parliament.  The  castle 
chambers,  decorated  with  stucco  busts  and  paintings,  and  hung 
round  with  tapestry,  then  fell  sadly  into  decay  ;  and  the  fort- 
ress seems  to  have  been  totally  lost  sight  of  till,  in  the  year 
1718,  we  read  of  its  being  again  repaired.  A  governor's 
house  was  at  that  time  added  to  it,  and  the  ancient  part 
formed  into  barracks  for  the  Hanoverian  soldiers.  It  was 
then  called  Fort-George,  and,  though  rendered  uninhabitable 
by  Prince  Charles'  troops  in  1746,  a  large  portion  of  its  walls 
remained  entire  till  a  recent  period. 

15.  The  first  charter  granted  to  the  burgh  is  attributed  to 
Malcolm  Caenmore.  This  is  erroneous,  there  being  no  Scottish 
records  known  earlier  than  the  time  of  Edgar,  his  son.  Inver- 
ness was  erected  into  a  royal  burgh  by  David  I.,  and  was  one  of 
the  "  loca  capitalia  per  totum  regnum."  It  was  thus  one  of 
the  earliest  free  towns  of  the  kingdom,  and  had  four  charters 
from  William  the  Lion,  which,  with  various  additional  grants, 
were  all  confirmed  by  subsequent  monarchs ;  and  at  last  con- 
firmed and  repeated  by  James  III.,  whose  charter,  embodying 
eight  previous  charters,  is  printed  at  full  length  in  Wight's 
Treatise  on  the  Scotch  Election  Laws.  The  great  charter  of  the 
town,  however,  was  bestowed  by  King  James  VI.  anno  1591,  a 
translation  of  which  was  afterwards  ratified  and  confirmed  by 
the  whole  estates  of  Parliament  in  1661  (Acts  Charles  II.  1661, 
c.  147,  folio  edit.  p.  110  of  vol.  7).  Three  of  William's,  and 
several  others  of  the  oldest,  charters  are  still  extant ;  and  per- 
haps no  burgh  in  the  kingdom  can  boast  of  so  complete  and 
ancient  a  series  of  records  as  that  which  is  in  possession  of  the 
magistrates  of  Inverness. 


SECT.  IV.    EARLY  DISTURBED  STATE  OF  INVERNESS.  217 

16.  Prior  to  the  invasion  of  Scotland  by  Edward  I.,  we  find 
that  Inverness  was  repeatedly  visited,  and  almost  made  a  con- 
stant residence  of  by  some  of  the  kings  ;  whose  presence  was 
continually  required  in  repelling  the  incursions  of  the  Danes 
and  northern  Vikingr,  and  subduing  the  insurrections  of  the 
turbulent  and  barbarous  natives. 

After  Bruce's  accession,  and  during  the  feeble  sovereignty 
of  the  Stuarts,  Inverness  was  exposed  to  the  oppression  of  the 
constables  of  its  own  castle,  besides  being  the  constant  prey  of 
the  Islemen  and  Highland  clans.  Its  annals  are  full  of  accounts 
of  burnings,  ransackings,  battles  fought  in  its  neighbourhood 
for  its  defence,  stratagems,  and  pecuniary  imposts  resorted  to 
by  the  magistrates,  for  keeping  off  or  soothing  its  barbarous 
and  cruel  neighbours.  It  was  evidently  the  seat  of  a  colony  of 
busy  merchants,  whose  names,  from  the  earliest  date,  indicate 
their  Flemish  or  Saxon  descent.  They  possessed  a  great  share 
of  the  scanty  commerce  of  the  country.  In  the  year  1280,  the 
town  was  resorted  to  by  a  French  count  as  a  fit  place  for  build- 
ing a  large  ship,  his  own  having  been  wrecked  in  the  Orkneys ; 
and  its  exports  of  hides,  herring,  salmon,  malt,  &c.,  were  known 
in  the  ports  of  the  Continent,  and  even  on  the  shores  of  the 
Mediterranean.  Few  of  the  wealthy  burghers  were  Highland- 
men  ;  but  to  the  attacks  of  these  restless  and  insatiable  neigh- 
bours they  were  constantly  exposed.  Yet  it  has  ever  been  the 
fashion  to  style  Inverness  the  capital  of  the  Highlands,  and  the 
metropolis  of  the  north.  It  was  the  emporium  of  commerce  ; 
but  the  Highlanders  acknowledged  no  capitals,  no  places  of 
resort,  except  the  chieftain's  castles  and  strongholds,  and  the 
open  gathering  hills. 

1 7.  In  this  town  our  monarchs  frequently  held  their  courts ; 
those  disobedient  to  the  king's  summons  to  attend  them  being 
cited  at  the  market-cross  of  the  burgh.     Here  the  justice  aires 
were  always  held  ;  and  the  proprietors  who  lived  on  the  lines 
of  road  conducting  to  the  town  were  obliged  to  escort  the  judges, 
and  see  them  safe  through  their  territories.    It  is  still  the  town 
where  the  circuit  courts  of  justiciary  for  the  trial  of  important 
criminal  offences,  and  civil  cases  appealed  from  the  local  judi- 
catories,  sit  twice  a-year,  for  the  northern  counties. 

One  of  the  last  royal  visits  to  Inverness  was  paid  by  Queen 
Mary,  who  came  north  to  quell  an  insurrection  of  the  Earl  of 
Huntly.  The  queen  caused  the  governor  of  the  castle,  who  held 


218  CROMWELL'S  FORT.  SECT.  iv. 

it  for  the  earl,  to  be  hanged.  This  unfortunate  princess  is  said 
to  have  been  much  attached  to  Inverness ;  and  the  house  in 
which  she  lived  subsisted  till  of  late  years.  It  was  a  curious 
structure,  situated  close  by  the  bridge,  and  at  the  base  of  that 
castle  wall  where  her  vassal  waved  his  banner  and  lorded  it  over 
his  sovereign.  Her  situation  so  near  the  castle  was  evidently 
dangerous ;  but  the  garrison  was  overawed  by  the  Erasers , 
Monroes,  and  Mackenzies,  headed  by  the  Lord  Lovat,  who 
crowded  to  the  queen's  protection. 

18.  Cromwell  (in  1652-7)  built  a  citadel  and  fort  on  the 
north  side  of  the  town,  near  the  mouth  of  the  river.     "  It  cost 
,£80,000  sterling,  and  was  nearly  five  years  in  building.    It  was 
a  regular  pentagon,  surrounded  at  full  tide  with  water  suffi- 
cient to  float  a  small  bark.     The  breastwork  was  three  storeys 
high,  all  of  hewn  stone,  and  lined  with  brick  inside.    The  sally- 
port lay  towards  the  town.     The  principal  gateway  was  to  the 
north,  where  was  a  strong  drawbridge  of  oak  and  a  stately  struc- 
ture over  it,  with  this  motto,  '  Togam  tuentur  arma.'     From 
this  bridge  the  citadel  was  approached  by  a  vault  seventy  feet 
long,  with  seats  on  each  side.     In  the  centre  of  the  fort  stood 
a  large  square  building,  three  storeys  high :  the  lower  storey 
contained  the  granary  and  magazine.     In  the  highest  was  a 
church  well  finished  within  a  pavilion  roof,  surmounted  by  a 
steeple  with  a  clock  and  four  bells  ;  at  the  south-east  stood  a 
long  building,  four  storeys  high,  called  the  English  Building, 
because  built  by  English  masons ;  and  opposite  to  it  a  similar 
one  erected  by  Scottish  architects.     The  accommodations  alto- 
gether would  lodge  1000  men.    England  supplied  the  oak  planks 
and  beams,  Strathglass  the  fir  ;  recourse  was  had  to  the  monas- 
teries of  Kinloss  and  Beauly,  the  bishop's  castle  of  Chanonry, 
the  Greyfriars'  Church,  and  St.  Mary's  Chapel  in  Inverness, 
for  the  stonework  ;  and  so  abundant  were  the  provisions  and 
supplies  of  the  garrison,  that  a  Scots  pint  of  claret  sold  for  a 
shilling  ;  and  cloth  was  bought  as  cheap  as  in  England."  *    On 
the  Restoration  this  fortress  was  demolished,  in  order  to  please 
some  of  the  Highland  chiefs,  who  were  then  deemed  loyal ;  and, 
judging  from  the  dates  of  many  of  the  older  houses  in  the  town, 
it  is  supposed  that  they  were  built  of  its  materials.     A  consi- 
derable part  of  the  ramparts  still  remains. 

19.  For  a  long  time  the  houses  of  the  burgh  seem  to  have 
*  Anderson's  Historical  Account  of  the  Family  of  Fraser,  p.  110. 


SECT.  IV.        ANCIENT   POLITICS   AND    MANNERS.  219 

been  crowded  near  the  castle,  and  along  the  Church  Street, 
which  was  commanded  by  it.  They  were  erected  in  the  old 
Flemish  style,  with  large  courts  and  arched  gateways,  and  gables 
turned  towards  the  street.  Even  in  the  middle  of  last  century, 
a  great  proportion  of  the  houses  were  thatched  with  heather 
and  straw,  and  few  of  the  ceilings  or  rooms  in  them  were  plas- 
tered. Formerly  most  of  the  neighbouring  proprietors  had 
houses  in  Inverness,  to  which  they  resorted  in  the  winter  sea- 
son ;  and  hence  the  society  partook  of  a  high  aristocratic  cha- 
racter. Till  within  these  few  years,  several  of  the  streets  had 
a  very  picturesque,  though  irregular,  appearance,  from  the 
hanging  balconies,  and  round  turnpike  stairs  and  towers  which 
projected  in  front  of  the  houses. 

20.  The  Invernessians  were  such  staunch  Jacobites,  that 
open  obstruction  was  given  by  the  magistrates  to  the  procla- 
mation of  George  I.'s  accession  to  the  throne  ;  and  they  stirred 
up  the  people  to  a  riot.     So  greatly,  too,  was  Episcopacy  rooted 
in  the  minds  of  the  people  of  this  town,  that,  in  1691,  when  the 
settlement  of  a  parish  minister  was  ordered  under  the  estab- 
lished Presbyterian  Church,  armed  men  were  stationed  by  the 
burgh  rulers  at  the  church  door  to  prevent  his  admission,  and 
Presbyterianism  had  to  be  enforced  by  the  aid  of  a  regiment 
sent  north  for  that  express  purpose. 

So  late  as  the  period  of  the  Disarming  Act,  men  in  all  parts 
of  the  Highlands  appeared  on  Sundays  as  if  fully  accoutred  for 
war ;  and,  seventy  years  ago,  only  three  ladies  with  straw  bon- 
nets were  to  be  seen  in  the  High  Church  of  Inverness.  It  ap- 
pears, by  the  town  records,  that  the  streets  were  for  the  first 
time  cleaned  at  the  public  expense  in  1746,  by  order  of  the 
Duke  of  Cumberland.  From  the  cheapness  of  foreign  wines, 
spirits,  and  ale,  dissipation  prevailed  here,  and  in  all  the  north- 
ern towns,  even  to  the  end  of  last  century,  to  a  degree  almost 
inconceivable.  Now,  no  distinctions  can  be  perceived  in  the 
dress,  manners,  or  modes  of  living  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
burgh  from  those  of  other  towns  in  Scotland.  Indeed,  the 
people  of  Inverness  are  usually  regarded  as  more  advanced  in 
refinement  than  most  of  their  neighbours ;  and  their  pronuncia- 
tion is  generally  considered  better  than  in  any  other  part  of 
Scotland. 

21.  The  town  is  ruled  by  a  provost,  four  bailies,  a  dean  of 
guild,  a  treasurer,  and  fourteen  councillors.     The  magistrates 


220  ANCIENT   POLITICS    AND    MANNERS.         SECT.  IV. 

walk  to  church  on  Sundays,  preceded  by  their  lictors,  as  in  the 
days  of  ancient  Rome;  and,  till  lately,  when  required,  they 
attended  in  a  body  the  funerals  of  the  inhabitants. 

•2~2.  Trade,  by  means  of  the  Caledonian  Canal,  is  reviving. 
Living  is  not  dear.  The  spirit  of  industry  and  speculation  has 
called  forth  several  companies  for  the  employment  of  capital 
and  the  embellishment  of  the  town.  Steam-boats  and  coaches 
have  rendered  it  a  great  thoroughfare.  Access  is  easily  had 
from  Inverness  to  all  parts  of  the  country ;  and  its  inns,  for 
elegance  and  comfort,  are  nowhere  surpassed  in  Scotland. 


ROUTE  II.        PERTH  TO  INVERNESS.  221 


SECTION  V. 

ROUTE  II. 

PERTH  TO  INVERNESS,  ACROSS  THE  GRAMPIANS,  BT  THE  HIGH- 
LAND ROAD,  THROUGH  ATHOLE,  BADENOCH,  STRATHSPEY,  AND 
STRATHDEARN. 

Perth  and  its  environs,  1. — Scone  Palace;  Glen  Almond;  Episcopal  College;  Luncarty; 
Auchtergaven ;  Birnamhill,  2. — Dunkeld — Town,  Cathedral,  and  Bishoprick,  3.— 
Woods  and  Walks,  4.— The  King's  Pass,  and  Upper  Vallev  of  the  Tay,  5.— Moulin- 
earn ;  Pitlochry ;  Fascally ;  Pass  and  Battle  of  Killiecrankie,  6. — Blair  Athole,  and 
Athole  House,"?. — Falls  of  the  Bruar  and  Fender ;  Glen  Tilt,  and  hunting  scenes, 
8. — Strowan ;  passage  through  the  Grampians  by  Drumouchter ;  Dalnacardoch,  9. 
Cairns,  encampments,  and  conflicts,  10. — Military  and  modern  roads,  11. — Dal- 
whinnie, 12. — Description  of  Loch  Errocht,  foot  note ;  Glen  Truim  and  Glenfer- 
nisdale,  13. — Craig  Dim,  14. — Battle  of  Invernahavon,  15.— Inn  and  village  of  Kin- 
gussie,  and  history-  of  the  ancient  Lordship  of  Badenoch,  16. — Embankments  on 
the  Spey,  17-— Ruthven  Barracks  and  Castle,  18.— Belleville ;  Castle  of  Raits,  inci- 
dent at,  19. — Views  of  the  Grampians ;  Tor  Alvie,  20. — Loch  Alvie  and  Kinrara, 
21.— Craigelachie ;  Strathspey ;  Aviemore  Inn,  22. — Dulnan  pine  forest ;  Carr 
Bridge,  23. — Slochniuichk ;  Mackintosh  of  Borlum ;  Banditti,  24. — Strathdearn  ; 
River  Findhorn;  Freeburn  Inn,  25. — Loch  Moy;  Moy  Hall,  26. — Strathnairii 
Daviot ;  views,  and  approach  to  Inverness,  27. 

Principal  Hotels. 
The  George ;  Salutation ;  Star ;  City. 

Stages.  Miles.          Miles. 

Dunkeld    15 

Moulinearn 9  24 

Pitlochrie 4  28 

Blair  Athole  or  Bridge  of  Tilt  Inns 7  35 

Dalnacardoch 11  46 

Dalwhinnie 13  59 

Kingussie 14  73 

Aviemore 12i  85i 

Bridge  of  Carr 7  92J 

Freeburn 9  lOlf 

Moy 4  105£ 

Craggy 4  109J 

Inverness 8  117i 

im 

1.  AFTER  reaching  Perth,  or  St.  Johnston's,  by  rail,  on  his 
way  north,  the  tourist  will  doubtless  rest  a  short  while  ere  he 


222  PERTH PUBLIC  BUILDINGS.  SECT.  V. 

proceeds  to  view  the  magnificent  panorama  around  the  reaches 
of  the  Tay,  as  it  emerges  from  the  wooded  highlands  towards 
the  north-west,  and  is  lost  in  the  Carse  of  Gowrie  on  the  east, 
and  to  take  a  turn  round  the  celebrated  walks  and  streets 
of  the  "  Fair  City."  If  historical  remembrances  render  Perth 
interesting  to  the  antiquary  as  the  scene  of  the  Gowrie  Conspir- 
acy and  of  the  first  exertions  of  the  reformer  Knox,  its  modern 
embellishments  and  agreeable  situation  will  not  fail  to  please 
the  general  tourist.  The  city  lies  in  a  low  plain  on  the  west 
bank  of  the  Tay,  where  its  course  bends  to  the  east,  and  in  a 
rather  compact  mass, — the  public  greens,  or  North  and  South 
Inches,  as  they  are  called,  and  which  are  not  only  of  great  im- 
portance to  the  commercial  interests  of  the  place,  but  afford 
most  agreeable  and  healthy  walks  to  the  inhabitants,  occupy- 
ing either  side  of  the  town,  along  the  margin  of  the  river.  Its 
streets  are  rather  narrow,  the  houses  of  a  greyish-red  or  dull 
freestone,  and  in  the  central  streets  generally  high  and  of  irre- 
gular elevations,  with  numerous  and  handsome  shops.  The 
population  exceeds  20,000.  Cotton  weaving,  chiefly  of  um- 
brella cloths,  as  also  linen  weaving  and  bleaching,  are  their 
principal  occupations,  there  being  about  1600  weavers  in  the 
town.  The  first  bleachfield  established  in  Scotland  is  that  of 
Tulloch,  in  the  vicinity.  Perth  was  at  one  time  celebrated  for 
its  glove  trade.  A  fine  bridge  of  900  feet  span,  with  ten  arches, 
built  in  1722,  bestrides  the  river  at  the  lower  end  of  the  North 
Inch ;  and  at  its  further  extremity  a  long  street,  called 
Bridgend,  runs  along  the  river.  The  railway  station  common 
to  the  various  railways  centering  in  Perth  is  on  the  west  side 
of  the  town,  and  the  Perth  and  Dundee  line  is  carried  across 
the  river  below  the  bridge  just  mentioned. 

The  Tay  is  navigable  to  Perth,  and  steamers  and  vessels  of 
large  burthen  come  close  to  the  town.  The  principal  edifices 
are,  the  County  Buildings,  a  porticoed  structure  fronting  the 
river,  between  the  bridge  and  South  Inch,  on  the  site  of  Gowrie 
House,  handed  down  to  fame  by  the  Gowrie  conspiracy,  with 
the  New  Jail  behind  ;  an  ornamental  round  structure,  contain- 
ing the  Water  Works ;  Marshall's  building,  another  round  two- 
storeyed  edifice,  erected  to  the  memory  of  Provost  Marshall, 
and  which  contains  the  Antiquarian  Society  museum,  and  a 
public  library ;  St.  John's  Church,  where  John  Knox  preached 
his  first  sermon  against  popery  and  church  buildings,  now 


ROUTE  II.  HISTORY  OF  PERTH.  223 

arranged  for  the  accommodation  of  the  congregations  of  three 
of  the  four  parishes  into  which  the  town  is  divided — a  very 
ancient  building,  surmounted  by  a  square  tower,  and  the  repre- 
sentative of  still  older  fabrics, — a  place  of  worship,  frequently 
renewed,  having  occupied  this  site  from  a  very  remote  antiquity, 
it  is  alleged  so  far  back  as  the  fifth  century,  and  thus  the 
oldest  stone  church  in  the  kingdom ;  the  Barracks,  which  can 
contain  one  thousand  infantry ;  a  large  structure,  the  Lunatic 
Asylum,  on  the  face  of  the  hill  above  Bridgend  ;  an  Infirmary  ; 
the  Public  Schools  in  Rose  Terrace,  fronting  the  North  Inch ; 
and  an  extensive  pile  of  regular  building  on  the  south  of  the 
South  Inch,  erected,  in  1812,  at  a  cost  of  £130,000,  and  used 
as  a  depot  for  French  prisoners,  of  whom  it  could  accommodate 
7000,  and  which  is  now  remodelled  into  a  central  prison  for  the 
northern  counties.  This  last  Inch,  which  is  surrounded  and 
intersected  by  a  double  row  of  trees,  and  lined  on  two  sides  by 
a  handsome  row  of  houses  and  villas,  was,  in  days  of  yore,  the 
field  where  games  and  feats  of  strength,  especially  of  archery, 
were  practised  ;  and  around  it  were  various  religious  edifices, 
all  razed  to  the  ground  in  1559 ;  and  near  it  the  Parliament 
House.  The  North  Inch  now  forms  the  Perth  race-course,  and 
is  peculiary  adapted  for  the  purpose. 

Perth  was  the  capital  of  the  kingdom  till  the  reigns  of 
James  the  Second  and  Third.  It  had  a  regular  Parliament 
House,  and  has  been  the  scene  of  many  historical  events. 
James  I.  was  murdered  in  the  monastery  of  the  Blackfriars ; 
and  his  body  and  that  of  his  queen,  and  of  Margaret,  queen  of 
James  IV.,  were  interred  in  the  Carthusian  monastery.  The 
Earl  of  Cornwall  was  murdered  by  his  brother,  Edward  III., 
before  the  high  altar  of  St.  John's.  The  city  was  at  one  time 
strongly  fortified,  and  is  supposed  to  have  been  so  originally  by 
Agricola,  and  the  fortifications  were  repaired  by  Edward  I.  and 
III. ;  and  Low's  Wark,  about  four  miles  up  the  Almond,  a  very 
curious  old  weir  or  dyke,  still  extant,  served  to  divert  a  large 
portion  of  the  stream  into  an  aqueduct  encompassing  the  walls. 
The  city  has  sustained  various  sieges. 

Perth  possessed,  prior  to  the  Reformation,  no  less  than  four 
monasteries,  two  nunneries,  and  a  number  of  other  religious 
houses. 

The  North  Inch  was  also  the  scene  of  a  remarkable  contest 
in  the  reign  of  Robert  III.,  between  a  select  band  of  the  Mac- 


224  ENVIRONS  OF  PERTH.  SECT.  V. 

intoshes   and  clan   Kay,  thirty   of  each,   arranged  .by  royal 

authority,  in  order  to  terminate  a  deadly  feud  between  these 

clans.     One  of  the  Macintoshes  having  lost  heart,  disappeared 

before  the  affray  commenced  ;  but  his  place  was  supplied  by  a 

.    '/^gallant  y^jjer  of  Perth,  of  the  name  of  Wynde,  who  volun- 

•— y-  teered  his  services  for  a  half  French  gold  dollar.     Twenty-nine 

Tap?"  of  the  MackaysJell,  and  the  survivor  swam  across  the  river  and 

*".' escaped ;  ten  of<the  Macintoshes  and  Wynde  remaining  masters 

*S>f  the  field.— (See  Sir  Walter  Scott's  "  Fair  Maid  of  Perth.") 

Cromwell  built  a  strong  citadel  on  the  South  Inch,  demolish- 
ing a  number  of  houses  for  its  erection. 

The  tourist  should  ascend  Moncrieff  Hill,  at  least  as  far  as 
the  railway  tunnel,  where  he  will  enjoy  one  of  the  richest  and 
most  beautiful  views  in  Scotland,  and  contemplating  which, 
he  will  be  able  to  appreciate  the  force  of  that  burst  of  admira- 
tion with  which  the  ancient  Romans,  on  their  passage  over  the 
same  ground,  hailed  the  plain  and  scenery  beneath  them — 
"  Ecce  Tiber  !  Ecce  Campus  Martius  ! "  The  opposite  height 
of  Kinnoul  Hill  commands  an  equally  fine  and  rather  more 
extensive  view,  especially  towards  the  interior  of  the  country, 
backed  by  a  long  line  of  the  Grampian  Mountains.  Beneath 
its  bold  acclivities  is  Kinfauns  Castle  and  beautifully  wooded 
slopes  falling  gradually  into  the  Carse  of  Gowrie,  through 
which  the  railway  trains  may  now  be  seen  dashing  to  and  from 
Dundee.  Visits  to  Scone  Palace,  to  Dupplin  Castle,  the  resi- 
dence of  the  Earl  pf  Kinnoul,  five  miles  west  of  Perth,  and  to 
Lynedoch  Castle,  will  afford  delightful  excursions  to  the  tourist 
ere  he  quits  this  neighbourhood.  The  old  village  of  Abernethy, 
near  the  northern  extremity  of  Glenfarg,  once  the  capital  of  the 
Scoto  Picts,  and  the  site  of  an  extensive  Culdee  establishment, 
and  characterized  by  a  remarkable  round  tower  similar  to  that  of 
Brechin,  and  the  work  certainly  of  a  very  remote  antiquity,  claims 
the  notice  of  the  antiquary.  And  the  village  of  Bridge  of  Earn, 
with  Pitkeathly  Mineral  Wells  adjoining,  also  lie  in  the  vicinity. 
In  an  opposite  direction  the  celebrated  Carse  of  Gowrie  invites, 
by  its  great  expanse  of  perhaps  the  most  fertile  land  in  Scot- 
land, embellished  too  with  numerous  country  seats.  And  the 
tourist  will  be  well  repaid  by  a  transit  by  rail  as  far  as 
"  Bonnie  Dundee." 

2.  Proceeding  now  towards  the  Highlands  on  the  Dunkeld 
road,  the  tourist  passes  several  large  printfields ;  and  at  the 


ROUTE  II.  SCONE — GLENALHOND.  225 

distance  of  two  and  a  half  miles  he  descries,  on  the  farther  side 
of  the  Tay,  the  sombre  walls  of  Scone,  a  large  structure  forming 
a  hollow  oblong  square,  formerly  a  palace  of  the  kings  of  Scot- 
land (now  the  seat  of  the  Earl  of  Mansfield,  representative  of 
the  Stormont  family),  whence  Edward  I.  removed  the  celebrated 
inauguration  stone,  previously  taken  from  Berigonium,  or  Dun- 
staffnage,  and  now  in  Westminster  Abbey,  where  it  still  forms 
part  of  the  coronation  chair  of  the  British  Monarchs.  Part  of 
the  walls  of  the  old  palace  form  the  sides  of  the  gallery,  an 
apartment  1 50  feet  in  length.  The  house  is  chiefly  remarkable 
otherwise  for  the  large  assortment  of  cabinets  and  some  fine 
specimens  of  Beavois  tapestry,  several  good  paintings,  and  a  bed 
of  flowered  crimson  velvet,  wrought  by  Queen  Mary  in  Loch- 
leven  Castle. 

The  river  Almond  here  crosses  the  road,  which  immediately 
thereafter  passes  under  the  Scottish  Midland  Railway  ;  leaving 
Glenalmond  on  the  left,  where  are  the  graves  of  "  Bessy  Bell 
and  Mary  Gray,"  and  the  modern  Castle  of  Lynedoch,  and 
Trinity  College,  opened  within  the  last  few  years  for  the  educa- 
tion of  the  clergy  and  youth  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  com- 
munion. As  yet  only  two  sides  of  the  large  quadrangle  (190 
feet  square)  have  been  built,  comprehending  the  wardens  and 
professors'  houses,  and  accommodation  for  about  130  boys,  in- 
cluding rooms  for  thirteen  divinity  students.  Funds  are  still 
wanting  for  the  erection  of  the  hall,  large  school-room,  cloisters, 
and  completion  of  the  chapel,  notwithstanding  the  munificent 
donations  of  the  Reverend  Charles  Wordsworth,  the  warden, 
which  alone  amounts  to  ,£10,000  !  About  two  miles  in  advance, 
a  road  leads  from  the  left  to  Redgorton  and  Monedie,  and 
another  upon  the  right  conducts  to  Luncarty,  now  the  site  of 
a  fine  bleachfield  close  to  the  Tay,  and  which  was  the  scene  of 
a  desperate  and  decisive  battle  between  the  Scots  and  the  Danes 
in  the  reign  of  Kenneth  III.  The  Scots,  when  nearly  overcome, 
were  rallied  by  a  peasant  of  the  name  of  Hay,  who,  with  his 
two  sons,  were  ploughing  hard  by,  and  whose  only  weapons,  it 
is  said,  were  plough  yokes.  Hence  the  Hays'  crest  for  many 
centuries  has  been  a  peasant  carrying  a  yoke  over  his  shoulder ; 
and  local  tradition  adds,  that  the  Scottish  king  having  promised 
the  peasant,  Hay,  as  his  reward,  all  the  land  his  falcon  would 
fly  over  before  alighting, — won  thereby  the  whole  country  to  the 
rocks  of  Kinnoul  Hill,  where  it  had  been  nestled. 


226  AUCHTERGAVEN — DCNKELD.  SECT.  V. 

Passing  now  the  fine  trouting  streams  of  Ordie  and  Shochie, 
and  the  beautiful  terrace  banks  overhanging  the  Tay,  the  road, 
nine  miles  from  Perth,  enters  the  straggling  village  of  Auchter- 
gaven,  and  then  ascending  a  long  moorish  ridge,  regains  the  val- 
ley of  the  Tay  from  amidst  the  copse  woods  and  policies  of  Murthly 
Castle  (Sir  William  Drummond  Stewart),  a  splendid  but  un- 
finished edifice,  in  the  Elizabethan  style,  with  an  old  castle 
near  it.  The  grand  entrance  to  the  Highlands  by  the  skirts  of 
Birnam  Hill  (1580  feet  above  the  sea)  ;  and  the  rough  eminences 
(all  composed  of  roofing  slate),  which  form  the  outer  flanks  of 
the  Grampians,  and  gorgeously  tangled  over  with  the  golden 
blossomed  furze,  at  the  same  moment  burst  into  view.  Bir- 
nam Wood,  so  fatal  to  Macbeth,  has  been  long  despoiled  of  its 
ancient  forests,  but  young  plantations  of  larch  clambering  up 
its  slopes  will  soon  conceal  them,  and  the  slate  quarries  that 
now  scar  them  to  a  great  depth.  The  hills  on  the  north  bank 
of  the  Tay  also  exhibit  deep  cuts  in  the  clay  or  roofing  slate  of 
which  they  are  composed,  and  which  both  to  the  south  and 
north  trends  off  in  a  thin  band  or  zone  seldom  exceeding  a  mile 
in  breadth. 

3.  Nestled  among  overhanging  rocks  and  woods,  and  built 
on  one  of  the  numerous  terraced  flats  which  skirt  both  sides  of 
the  noble  Tay,  Dunkeld,  the  true  entrance  to  the  Highland 
scenery,  has  long  been  regarded  as  one  of  our  most  elegant  and 
picturesque  towns,  and  is  a  resort  of  many  strangers,  on  account 
of  the  purity  and  softness  of  the  air,  and  the  great  variety  and 
beauty  of  the  walks  and  drives  around  it.  Before  crossing  the 
spacious  five-arched  bridge  which  leads  to  it,  a  road  will  be 
seen  inclining  to  the  left,  which,  after  passing  the  village  of 
Inver,  (where  Neil  Gow,  the  famous  performer  of  Scotch  reels, 
was  born,)  proceeds  along  the  west  bank  of  the  Tay  to  Ken- 
more,  and  the  western  districts  of  Perthshire.*  The  guardian 
mountain  screens  of  the  town  are  very  conspicuous  as  it  is  entered 

*  A  coach  usually  goes,  in  summer,  from  Dunkeld,  by  Kentnore  and  Killin,  to 
Loch  Lomond— and  one  is  talked  of,  to  branch  off  to  Callander.  It  leaves  Dunkeld 
at  7  o'clock  A.M.,  and  returns  at  8  P.M.  ;  fares,  30s.  and  £1.  This  is  a  route  every 
way  worthy  of,  and  suitable  for,  a  public  conveyance,  and  we  trust  will  lieri-utVr 
never  want  one.  A  mail  gig,  carrying  three  passengers,  also  runs  daily  (except  on 
Tuesdays)  from  Dunkeld,  as  far  as  Kenmore,  leavin;.'  Dunkrld  about  noon,  (fare,  6s.) 
There  is  also  a  gig  on  Mondays,  "Wednesdays,  and  Fridays,  from  Pitlochrie,  at  the 
foot  of  Killiecrankie  Pass,  to  Rannoch.  We  may  also  add,  that  a  daily  coach  leaves 
Dunkeld  every  morning  at  7,  for  Cupar-Angus,"  by  Blairgowrie,  in  connexion,  with 
the  railway  to  Dundee,  and  to  await  the  Dundee  steamers — the  distance  to  Dundee 
being  thirty  miles — and  returns  in  the  evening. 


ROUTE  II.  DTJNKELD.  227 

from  the  Perth  side,  the  most  northerly  being  Cragiebarns,  and 
farther  to  the  west  Cragievenean,  the  bold  and  lofty  sides  of 
both  which,  covered  with  dense  pine  wood,  form  a  protecting 
background,  and  hide  from  the  view  the  upper  valley  of  the 
Tay. 

Dunkeld  consists  of  two  streets,  one  leading  from  the  bridge, 
and  the  other  at  right  angles  to  it,  with  back  lanes  proceeding 
from  both.  At  the  west  end  of  the  latter  street,  running  pa- 
rallel with  the  river,  and  above  the  bridge,  stands  the  ancient 
and  venerable  cathedral  of  the  diocese  of  Dunkeld.  This 
building  measures  about  eighty  paces  in  length :  the  nave  is 
now  roofless,  but  the  choir  was  rebuilt  by  the  late  Duke  of 
Athole  on  the  original  model,  at  an  expense  of  .£5000,  and  is 
used  as  a  place  of  worship.  At  the  west  end  rises  a  buttressed 
tower,  ninety  feet  in  height,  and  twenty-four  feet  square,  and 
adjoining  it  a  small  octagonal  watch-tower.  Buttresses  project 
between  the  windows,  surmounted  above  the  church  by  traceried 
spiracles.  The  great  aisle  measures  one  hundred  and  twenty 
by  sixty  feet :  the  walls  are  forty  feet  high,  and  the  side  aisles 
twelve  feet  wide.  On  each  side  are  seven  spacious  Gothic 
arches,  with  fluted  soffits,  resting  on  six  plain  Norman-like 
pillars,  having  shafts  ten  feet  high,  and  four  and  a-half  in  dia- 
meter, and  two  half-columns.  Over  the  arches  there  are  two 
tiers  of  windows,  the  lower  semicircular,  the  higher  acute. 
The  windows  of  the  side-aisles  are  all  of  different  designs,  and 
chiefly  of  the  decorated  or  middle-pointed  Gothic ;  and  it  is 
interesting,  and  historically  curious  to  mark,  as  observed  by 
Mr.  Billings,  (Bar.  and  Eccl.  Antiq.  Scot.,)  "  even  in  this  dis- 
tant mountainous  see,  traces  of  the  Flamboyant  character  of 
the  French-Gothic  artists."  He  considers  it  probable  that 
there  was  no  part  of  the  building  erected  before  1230.  There 
is  the  tomb  and  statue  of  a  bishop  in  his  robes,  under  a  crock- 
eted  canopy,  believed  to  be  those  of  Bishop  Robert  Cardeny, 
who  founded  the  nave,  where  he  lies,  in  1406.  The  new  church 
is  handsomely  fitted  up.  In  the  spacious  vestry,  at  the  east 
end,  is  the  gigantic  stone  effigy,  arrayed  in  panoply  of  mail, 
which  formerly,  in  the  old  church  of  this  place,  surmounted 
the  grave  of  the  notorious  Earl  of  Buchan,  "  Wolf  of  Badenoch," 
the  natural  son  of  Robert  II.,  who  burnt  the  Cathedral  of  Elgin. 
The  Bishoprick  of  Dunkeld  was  established  by  David  I., 
A.D.  1127,  on  the  foundation  of  an  older  Culdee  monastery. 


228  BISHOPRIC  K  OF  DUNKELD.  SECT.  V. 

Gregory  was  the  name  of  its  first  bishop.  Robert  Creighton, 
the  last  and  thirty-ninth  bishop,  died  in  1550.  Bishop  Sinclair 
built  the  choir  in  1330.  The  great  aisle  was  completed,  in  1450, 
by  Bishop  Lauder,  who  also  added  the  chapter-house  in  1469 ; 
and  the  tower  was  finished  in  1501.  Immediately  behind  the 
cathedral  stands  the  ancient  palace  of  the  Dukes  of  Athole. 
It  is  an  old-fashioned  square  building ;  but  a  magnificent  new 
mansion  was  commenced  by  a  late  Duke,  the  progress  of  which 
has,  however,  been  suspended  since  his  death.  It  stands  behind 
an  eminence  bordering  the  river,  which  it  was  intended  should 
have  been  removed.  A  considerable  portion  of  the  walls  has 
been  erected  in  the  Gothic  style,  with  a  variety  in  the  fashion 
of  the  windows,  and  the  whole  will  form,  if  ever  completed,  an 
uncommonly  large  and  splendid  edifice ;  while  the  town,  cathe- 
dral, and  palace,  will  constitute,  with  the  fine  bridge,  a  re- 
markable assemblage  of  architectural  objects  lining  the  stream, 
and  embosomed  in  luxuriant  foliage. 

4.  At  the  end  of  the  cathedral,  the  stranger  is  shown  the 
first  two  larches  introduced  into  this  country :  they  were  ori- 
ginally treated  as  green-house  plants,  but  are  now  ninety  feet 
high,  and  one  of  them  measures  fifteen  feet  in  circumference 
two  feet  above  the  ground.  Hence  the  visitor  is  conducted 
along  the  east  bank  of  the  Tay,  by  a  terraced  walk  overshadowed 
by  enormous  larches,  beech,  ash,  oak,  horse-chesnut,  spruce, 
pine,  and  birch  trees.  Noble  oaks  line  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river.  The  woods  rise  high  on  the  right,  larch  and  pine  pre- 
dominating. A  great  portion  of  the  pine  and  spruce  tribe  are 
from  100  to  150  years  old,  and  the  oaks  are  of  great  growth. 
The  Tay  itself  is  peculiarly  beautiful  in  its  long  unruffled  ex- 
panse, and  its  gentle  flow  and  clear  waters.  This  river  is  the 
largest  in  Scotland,  and  its  tributaries  are  supplied  from  a 
space  of  2750  square  miles  The  population  of  Dunkeld  is 
about  1500 ;  the  two  principal  hotels  (and  they  are  both  ex- 
cellent) are  the  Duke's  Arms  and  Royal. 

From  the  base  of  Craigievenean  a  long  oak-clad  eminence 
projects,  across  which  the  guide  leads  the  way  to  a  hermitage 
on  the  wooded  banks  of  the  small  river  Braan.  A  fine  view  of 
Strath-Tay  is  presented  on  the  way  to  the  hermitage,  and  an- 
other favourable  point  of  view  is  from  the  hill-face  on  the  east 
of  the  town. 

Visitors  seldom  prolong  an  examination  of  the  pleasure- 


ROUTE  II.       PLEASURE-GROUNDS STRATH-TAY.  229 

grounds  beyond  a  few  miles ;  but  the  walks  through  the  policies 
of  Dunkeld  are  upwards  of  fifty,  independent  of  a  carriage-drive 
of  thirty  miles.  The  larch  woods  cover  an  extent  of  1 1 ,000 
square  acres ;  the  number  of  trees  planted  by  his  Grace  John, 
late  Duke  of  Athole,  being  about  twenty-seven  millions,  besides 
several  millions  of  other  sorts  of  trees.  From  the  hermitage 
the  traveller  ought  to  extend  his  ramble,  up  Strath-Braan  to 
the  Rumbling  Bridge  (distant  about  two  miles  and  a-half  from 
the  town)  which  is  thrown  across  a  narrow  chasm  eighty  feet 
above  the  water-way.  Immediately  beyond  the  bridge,  the 
Braan  pours  from  a  height  into  this  gulf  with  great  violence, 
a  tortuous  cataract  producing  a  decided  tremor  in  the  bridge. 
At  the  bottom  huge  masses  of  rock  have  fallen  across  the 
stream,  which,  escaping  beneath  them,  issues  below  through  a 
fissure  not  above  a  yard  wide  at  the  bottom,  whence  it  flows 
into  a  fearfully  still  and  dark  pool. 

5.  A  cleft  or  gorge  through  Craigiebarns,  called  the  King^s 
Pass,  from  its  being  a  favourite  spot  where  William  the  Lion 
is  said  to  have  often  rendezvoused  for  the  chase,  now  enables 
the  public  road,  by  a  short  cut,  to  attain  the  higher  valley  of 
Strath-Tay  without  following  the  windings  of  the  river.     It 
presents  most  magnificent  views  on  either  hand ;  and  the  tra- 
veller cannot  fail  to  be  struck  with  the  first  burst  of  the  strath 
above,  as  it  comes  into  view,  reposing  in  all  the  beauty  of  a 
broad  plain  of  arable  and  meadow-land,  intersected  by  a  large, 
deep,  and  winding  river,  which  is  skirted  by  numerous  parallel 
terraces,  rising  one  above  the  other,  and  by  circular  detached 
mounds — the  islets  in  a  former  great  inland  lake.     Above  this 
lovely  champagne  landscape,  the  hill-sides  present  either  craggy 
fronts,  or  long  smooth  slopes  bedecked  with  houses  and  cot- 
tages, and  dense  woods  of  pine,  larch,  and  birch  trees ;  while 
the  more  distant  ranges  of  the  Grampian  mountains,  and  of  the 
West  Highlands,  present  themselves  in  grim  frowning  majesty, 
and  in  chains  and  clusters  of  every  imaginable  form. 

6.  After  refreshing  himself  with  a  glass  of  Athole  Brose 
(a  celebrated  local  compound  of  whisky  and  honey)  at  Mou- 
lineam,  shortly  above  the  junction  of  the  Tay  and  Tummel, 
the  tourist,  if  he  stops  not  for  a  day's  angling,  will  pass  on 
along  the  birchen  bowers  of  Tulliemet  and  Dowally,  to  the  neat 
and  cleanly  village  of  Pitlochrie,  where  he  will  find  a  most 
excellent  inn  ;  and  leaving  the  mansion-house  of  Faskally  (the 


230        HLAIR-ATHOLE — PASS  OF  KILLIECRANKIE.        SECT.  V. 

beautiful  residence  of  Archibald  Butters,  Esq.)  on  the  left,  and 
the  bridge  over  the  Garry — whence  the  districts  of  Rannoch 
and  Tummel  can  be  reached — he  soon  enters  the  romantic  and 
classic  Pass  of  Killiecrankie. 

The  Blair,  or  plain  of  Athole,  on  which  we  next  enter,  is 
watered  by  the  river  Garry.  This  stream,  between  four  and 
five  miles  below  Athole  House,  is  joined,  from  the  westward, 
by  the  river  Tummel.  The  valley,  through  which  their  con- 
joined waters  roll  is  connected  with  the  Blair  of  Athole  by  the 
pass  of  Killiecrankie,  which  stretches,  for  the  space  of  a  mile 
or  more,  along  the  termination  of  the  river  Garry,  forming  an 
obtuse  or  nearly  right  angle  with  either  valley.  Here  the  hills 
rise  from  the  bed  of  the  river  with  a  very  steep  ascent,  lining 
it  on  the  western  side  with  a  perpendicular  wall  of  rock.  Both 
banks  are  enveloped,  to  the  height  of  several  hundred  feet, 
with  waving  birches  ;  the  western  slope  being  surmounted 
with  a  line  of  bare  precipices,  while  the  opposite  barrier, 
formed  by  the  lofty  Ben  Vracky,  continues  ascending  above  its 
wooded  portion  into  abrupt  and  unadorned  nakedness.  The 
terraced  sides  of  the  valley,  as  we  emerge  from  the  pass,  are 
adorned  by  several  beautiful  villas,  as  Urrard  House,  Killie- 
crankie, and  Strathgarry  cottages. 

Killiecrankie  is  well  known  as  the  scene  of  the  last  exploit 
of  Dundee,  or,  as  he  was  called,  "  the  bloody  Clavers,"  in  July 
1689.  General  Mackay,  the  covenanters'  leader,  anxious  to 
preoccupy  the  district  of  Athole,  which  was  well  affected  to- 
wards King  James,  and  by  his  presence  to  overawe  the  inhabi- 
tants, who  were  likely  to  declare  for  that  party  and  reinforce 
Dundee  with  1000  or  1500  men,  pressed  forward  with  his  army 
from  the  south  towards  Athole  House ;  while  his  opponent 
advanced  to  the  same  point  in  an  opposite  direction.  Dundee 
deemed  it  inexpedient  to  dispute  Mackay's  progress  through 
the  pass,  choosing  rather  a  pitched  encounter,  in  order  to  give 
full  scope  to  the  furious  onset  of  his  Highland  followers, 
which  he  felt  confident  would  accomplish  the  overthrow  of  the 
opposing  force,  and  whose  destruction  would  then  be  insured 
by  the  intricacies  of  the  defile  through  which  their  retreat 
must  lie.  Mackay's  army  of  4500  men  accordingly  were 
suffered  to  debouch  unmolested  upon  the  haugh,  or  open 
ground,  which  immediately  succeeds  to  the  pass  ;  while  Dundee 
with  his  band,  consisting  of  2000  Highlanders  and  500  Irish, 


ROUTE  II.  BATTLE  OF  K.ILLIECRANKIE.  231 

instead  of  advancing  directly  down  the  valley  of  Athole, 
ascended  the  Water  of  Tilt,  and,  fetching  a  compass  round  the 
hill  of  Lude,  made  his  appearance  on  the  hill-side,  about  the 
position  of  the  House  of  Urrard.  The  main  body  of  Mackay's 
forces  were  hastily  moved  forward  to  a  terrace  midway  between 
their  opponents  and  the  bottom  of  the  glen,  where  the  baggage 
was  left.  The  regulars  were  chiefly  raw  levies,  brimful  of 
exaggerated  notions  of  the  ferocity  and  warlike  character  of 
their  Highland  foes.  The  Highlanders,  on  the  other  hand, 
were  possessed  with  a  sovereign  contempt  for  the  red-coats,  and 
entertained  the  most  sanguine  confidence  of  victory.  The 
assault  commenced  towards  the  close  of  evening.  From 
their  vantage  ground,  Dundee's  rugged  followers,  bending  the 
body  low,  and  covering  themselves  with  their  targets,  rushed 
down  with  resistless  impetuosity.  The  opposition  offered  was 
heartless  or  unavailing.  With  the  exception  of  a  part  of  the 
right  wing,  Mackay's  army  was  completely  swept  away.  In 
riding  towards  a  party  of  his  men,  to  bring  them  to  the  attack 
of  this  body,  Dundee  received  his  death-wound.  His  rival, 
meanwhile,  having  manfully  stood  his  ground,  and  stemmed 
the  hostile  tide,  had  found  himself  alone  as  it  rushed  passed 
him,  and  observing  the  remnant  of  his  right  wing  standing 
firm,  he  put  himself  at  their  head,  and  counselling  his  men  to 
be  cool,  and  keep  together,  he  led  them  down  the  hill  and 
crossed  the  river.  Avoiding  the  pass,  this  small  division 
ascended  the  strath  for  six  or  seven  miles,  and  by  a  rugged 
mountain  tract,  reached  Menzies  Castle,  a  few  miles  to  the  east 
of  Taymouth,  whence  they  pursued  their  way  to  Drummond 
Castle  and  Stirling.  An  upright  stone  will  be  observed  in  a 
field  shortly  after  emerging  from  the  pass,  which  is  said  to 
mark  the  spot  where  Dundee  fell  in  the  hour  of  victory. 

7.  To  the  westward  of  Blair,  the  vale  of  Athole  is  wide,  flat, 
and  open,  and  the  hills  are  low,  and  seldom  precipitous.  Where 
the  valley  bends  from  an  easterly  to  a  southerly  direction,  in  a 
sloping  lawn  surrounded  by  broad  belts  of  trees,  stands  Athole 
House,  the  ancient  residence  of  the  dukes  of  that  name.  The 
house  is  a  long,  narrow  building,  of  three  storeys,  with  a  lower 
row  of  apartments  at  one  end.  It  was  formerly  much  higher, 
and  a  place  of  considerable  strength  ;  and  frequently  a  scene  of 
hostility  during  the  troublesome  periods  of  the  last  and  preced- 
ing centuries.  The  Athole  estates  are  celebrated  for  the  fine 


232  DLAIR  ATHOLE.  SECT.  V. 

quality  of  the  timber  with  which  they  abound.  The  greater 
part  was  planted  by  the  late  Duke  John  ;  and  the  trees,  parti- 
cularly the  larches,  are  remarkable  for  their  great  size  and 
straightness  of  stem. 

8.  Blair  is  noted  for  the  number  and  variety  of  interesting 
waterfalls  in  its  immediate  neighbourhood.  Three  miles  to  the 
westward  are  those  of  the  Bruar,  the  approach  to  which  is  now 
enclosed  within  a  wall,  and  the  entrance  guarded  by  an  old 
woman,  who,  however,  will  civilly  show  all  the  falls  for  a  small 
consideration.  The  streamlet  winds  through  a  confined,  perpen- 
dicular channel  of  rock,  above  which  the  sloping  banks  are 
covered  with  a  fir  plantation  for  which  they  are  indebted  to 
Bums'  well-known  "  Petition."  Commencing  the  ascent  of 
the  stream,  we  find  it  pouring  down  in  a  series  of  low,  con- 
tracted falls,  from  one  dark  basin  or  linn  to  another.  A  more 
considerable  cascade  succeeds  them  :  it  is  about  twelve  feet 
high,  the  water  issuing  from  below  through  a  natural  arch  of 
rock.  Above  this  fall  a  bridge  has  been  thrown  across  the 
chasm  ;  two  other  falls  are  seen  above  the  bridge,  the  remotest 
being  about  twelve  feet,  the  nearest  above  thirty  feet  high. 
Beyond  these  the  depth  of  the  dell  increases.  Heather,  in 
rich  wreaths,  hangs  from  the  cliffs  and  jutting  corners  of  the 
rocks  ;  tall,  graceful  larches  shoot  up  their  straight  stems,  and 
the  rowan  and  aspen  add  variety  to  the  foliage.  Above,  we 
reach  a  second  group  of  five  falls,  the  lowermost  about  thirty- 
five  feet  high  ;  the  others,  taken  together,  about  forty  feet. 
Here  there  is  a  second  bridge  ;  and  still  farther  up  a  third 
series  of  falls  exist,  to  all  of  which  a  good  pathway  on  each 
side  of  the  dell  conducts,  with  a  carriage-road,  leading  as  far 
as  the  second  set  of  falls. 

The  beauties  of  Lude,  of  Glen  Tilt,  and  the  Falls  of  Fender, 
rival  those  of  Bruar,  and  are  well  worthy  of  being  explored ; 
and  indeed  few  neighbourhoods  can  more  reward  the  tourist  for 
a  few  days'  stay  than  this,  the  more  especially,  as  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Tilt  he  can  be  luxuriantly  accommodated  at  either  of 
the  spacious  inns — the  Athole  Arms,  or  the  Bridge  of  Tilt  Inn ; 
and  we  trust  that  the  impolitic  attempt  lately  made  by  the 
advisers  of  his  Grace,  the  Duke,  to  exclude  the  public  from  the 
policies  and  ancient  district  road  through  Glen  Tilt,  will  be 
abandoned,  as  quite  beneath  the  dignity  and  the  hospitable 
courtesies  of  an  ancient  Highland  family.  Glen  Tilt  has  been 


ROUTE  II.  GLEN  TILT WATER  FALLS.  233 

long  cleared  of  its  population,  but  the  inhabitants  of  the  ad- 
joining districts  have  too  long  used  the  road  through  it  to  be 
now  prevented  for  the  sake  of  a  few  deer.  And,  besides,  the 
locality  is  too  classic,  in  a  scientific  point  of  view,  through  the 
writings  of  Playfair,  Hutton,  and  Macculloch,  to  be  so  shut  up. 
To  see  all  the  falls  which  occur  on  a  burn,  a  tributary  of  the  Tilt, 
it  should  be  ascended  for  three  miles  at  least.  The  Water  of 
Tilt,  which  passes  close  by  Athole  House,  runs  for  about  two 
miles  above  the  old  bridge  of  Tilt,  between  high  banks  rising 
from  the  water's  edge.  In  general  the  sides  are  very  steep, 
but  covered  with  birch  and  ash,  and  a  perfect  jungle  of  hazel. 
The  rising  sides  of  the  glen,  immediately  over  the  edge  of  the 
banks,  are  clothed  with  fir  and  larch,  to  which  corn-fields  suc- 
ceed. A  burn  falling  into  the  water  of  Tilt,  where  this  latter 
stream  flows  between  two  perpendicular  walls  of  limestone, 
gives  rise  to  the  Falls  of  Fender.  Birch,  ash,  and  other  trees 
crown  the  tops  of  the  ridge,  and  springing  from  the  stages  of 
the  rocks  with  a  profusion  of  hazel,  Guelder  rose,  and  other 
shrubs,  completely  overshadow  the  water  as  it  falls  into  the 
Tilt.  The  Fender  is  seen  through  a  narrow  recess,  making  a 
leap  of  about  thirty  feet ;  it  then  trickles  in  parted  streamlets 
over  four  successive  ledges  of  rock,  projecting  from  the  side  of 
the  bank  of  the  Tilt.  A  detached  portion  of  the  burn  escapes 
into  the  latter  a  few  hundred  yards  below  these  falls,  and  con- 
stitutes what  is  called  the  York  cascade.  About  a  mile  up  the 
Fender  is  a  third  beautiful  fall,  well  worthy  of  being  seen. 

Our  space  prevents  us  from  quoting  the  well-known  descrip- 
tions of  the  Royal  hunting  feats  which  of  yore  were  held  in 
Athole,  and  which,  on  a  small  scale,  have  been  repeated  even 
in  modern  times.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  the  forests  here  abound 
in  all  kinds  of  game  common  to  this  country,  and  that  the  Red 
Deer  are  greatly  increasing,  and  may  be  seen  marshalled  in 
herds  of  many  hundreds  at  a  time.  The  deer  on  the  Athole 
estates  are  computed  to  number  about  15,000.  The  repose  and 
utter  stillness  said  to  be  requisite  for  these  animals  are  inimi- 
cal to  agriculture,  and  even  to  sheep  farming,  and  hence  large 
tracts  of  the  property  are  kept  utterly  waste  and  desolate. 
Even  the  botanist  is  now  occasionally  prevented  from  wander- 
ing so  freely  as  he  used  to  do  over  Ben-y-gloe,  and  the  other 
high  mountains  of  the  district ! 

9.  The  road  northward  quits  the  vale  of  Athole,  at  a  bend 

L2 


234  DRUMOUCHTER DALNACARDOCH.  SECT.  V. 

about  three  miles  past  Blair,  opposite  the  mansion-house  and 
hamlet  of  Strowan,  the  ancient  holding  of  the  chief  of  the  Clan 
Robertson — a  name  next  to  that  of  Stewart  in  this  quarter,  and 
an  offshoot  from  which  family  migrated  several  hundred  years 
ago  to  Inverness,  and  after  rising  to  opulence  as  traffickers 
there,  became  the  proprietors  of  the  fine  estate  of  Inshes  near 
that  town.  Our  way  now  keeps  along  the  east  bank  of  the 
river  Garry,  and  gradually  ascending,  soon  leaves  the  region  of 
trees  and  cultivation  behind,  and  enters  upon  the  bleak  and 
moorish  wilds  of  Drurnouchter,  where  nought  but  stunted  grass 
and  heather,  dark  swamp,  impetuous  torrents,  grey  rock,  and 
frowning  heights  and  precipices  are  to  be  seen.  The  moun- 
tains also  are  heavy,  and  seem  broken  into  great  detached 
mounds,  rather  than  united  in  picturesque  chains. 

Even  the  comforts  of  the  "  Hospitium"  of  Dalnacardoch,  as 
the  inn  has  written  over  its  door,  can  scarcely  enliven  the  scene, 
and  the  traveller  will  always,  as  of  yore,  hasten  on  to  get  over  this 
pass  through  the  grampians — the  Druini-albin  or  great  back 
bone  of  Scotland — thankful  if  he  be  not  stopped  by  a  snow  storm, 
of  which  the  high  posts  painted  black  at  top,  and  ranged  at  inter- 
vals along  the  road  side,  are  rather  too  significant  memorials. 

Half  way  between  Dalnacardoch  and  the  next  inn,  Dal- 
whinnie  (thirteen  miles),  the  mountain  streams  part  at  the 
Badenoch  Boar  and  the  Athole  Sow,  as  the  two  opposite  moun- 
tains are  named,  some  running  eastward  to  join  the  Truim  and 
the  Spey,  while  others,  by  a  longer  circuit,  fall  into  the  Tay. 
This  spot  is  the  proper  boundary  between  the  counties  of  In- 
verness and  Perth,  and  of  the  great  districts  of  Athole  and 
Badenoch,  and  the  traveller  will  hereabouts  see  extensive  sec- 
tions of  the  gneiss  rock,  traversed  by  veins  of  large  white- 
grained  granite,  of  which  the  country  for  very  many  miles 
around  is  composed. 

10.  On  the  bleak  surface  of  the  moors  there  arc  numerous 
pillars  and  cairns,  memorials  of  those  who  have  perished  in  the 
snow,  or  fallen  fighting  for  their  homes  and  kindred.  The 
marks  of  an  encampment  of  a  party  of  Cromwell's  troops  still 
exist  at  Dalnaspidal,  a  short  way  within  the  Perthshire  bound- 
ary, where  they  received  a  check  from  the  Athole  men  and 
some  of  the  Camerons  of  Lochiel.  Here,  too,  General  Cope 
drew  up  his  army,  in  expectation  of  being  attacked  by  the 
Highlanders,  in  1745,  whilst  they  awaited  him  on  the  northern 


KODTE  II.  MILITARY    OPERATIONS.  235 

side  of  Corryarrick  ;  and  by  his  ill-advised  manoeuvre  in  quit- 
ting his  post,  and  marching  onwards,  left  the  road  open  to  the 
insurgents.  And  here,  early  in  the  year  1746,  Lord  George 
Murray  planned  and  executed  a  series  of  attacks  on  various 
posts  held  by  the  royalists.  A  battalion  of  the  Athole  brigade, 
and  a  body  of  Macphersons  commanded  by  their  chief,  Cluny, 
— that  is  to  say  common  peasants,  and  a  few  country  gentle- 
men without  military  experience, — under  Lord  George's  direc- 
tions, successfully  surprised  and  carried  twenty  detached  strong 
and  defensible  posts,  all  within  two  hours  of  the  night  ;  and 
the  different  parties  punctually  met  at  the  appointed  place  of 
rendezvous,  though  their  operations  lay  in  a  rugged,  moun- 
tainous country.  Of  this  exploit,  General  Stewart  of  Garth, 
in  his  "  Sketches,"  says,  "  I  know  not  if  the  whole  of  the  Pen- 
insular campaigns  exhibited  a  more  perfect  execution  of  a  com- 
plicated piece  of  military  service."  Lord  George  had  him- 
self marched  to  the  Bridge  of  Bruar,  with  twenty-five  men 
and  a  few  elderly  gentlemen,  when  he  was  informed  that  Sir 
Andrew  Agnew,  who  held  the  castle  of  Blair,  was  advancing 
with  a  strong  force  to  reconnoitre.  In  the  words  of  Home,  "  It 
was  daylight ;  but  the  sun  was  not  up.  Lord  George,  looking 
earnestly  about  him,  observed  a  fold-dike  (that  is,  a  wall  of 
turf)  which  had  been  begun  as  a  fence  for  cattle,  but  left  un- 
finished. He  ordered  his  men  to  follow  him,  and  draw  up  be- 
hind the  dike,  at  such  a  distance  one  from  another  that  they 
might  make  a  great  show,  having  the  colours  of  both  regiments 
flying  in  the  front.  He  then  gave  orders  to  the  pipers  (for  he 
had  with  him  the  pipers  both  of  the  Athole  men  and  the  Mac- 
phersons) to  keep  their  eyes  fixed  on  the  road  from  Blair  ;  and 
the  moment  they  saw  the  soldiers  appear,  to  strike  up  with  all 
their  bagpipes  at  once.  It  happened  that  the  regiments  came 
in  sight  just  as  the  sun  rose,  and  that  instant  the  pipers  began 
to  play  one  of  the  most  noisy  pibrochs.  Lord  George  and  his 
Highlanders,  both  officers  and  men,  drawing  their  swords,  bran- 
dished them  about  their  heads.  Sir  Andrew,  after  gazing  awhile 
at  this  spectacle,  ordered  his  men  to  the  right-about,  and 
marched  them  back  to  the  Castle  of  Blair.  Lord  George  kept 
his  post  till  several  of  his  parties  came  in ;  and  as  soon  as  he 
had  collected  300  or  400  men,  secure  of  victory,  and  certain  that 
his  numbers  would  very  soon  be  greater,  he  marched  to  Blair, 
and  invested  the  castle." 


236  DALWHINNIE — LOCH  ERROCHT.  SECT.  V. 

11.  Two  or  three  miles  below  the  shooting  lodge  of  Dal- 
uaspidal,  at  the  east  end  of  Loch  Garry,  and  the  opening  along 
which  affords  an  interesting  view  of  Schihallion  and  the  moun- 
tains  towards   Loch  Rannoch  and  Loch  Tay,  a  large  stone 
stands  on  the  right-hand  side  of  the  road,  with  the  year  1729 
carved  upon  it.     It  was  here  that  the  troops,  who  formed  the 
lines  of  road  from  the  opposite  points  of  Inverness  and  Dun- 
keld,  met  one  another  ;  and  thus  marked  the  spot  and  date 
when  and  where  they  finished  their  labours. 

The  new  road  formed  by  the  Parliamentary  Commissioners 
for  Highland  roads  and  bridges,  follows  nearly  the  same  line  as 
the  old  military  one  observed  ;  and,  from  its  position,  and  the 
undulating  nature  of  the  ground,  it  is  occasionally  liable  to  be 
blocked  up  in  winter  with  snow.  No  greater  quantities 
accumulate,  however,  than  are  frequently  encountered  on  the 
coast  roads  ;  and  it  is  unquestionable  that,  if  the  pass  of  Drum- 
ouchter  were  a  little  better  inhabited  than  it  is  at  present, 
there  would  be  no  difficulty  in  keeping  open  the  passage  at  all 
times  of  the  year ;  and,  even  at  present,  this  route  is  not  nearly 
so  often  obstructed  by  snow  as  the  coast  road  from  Aberdeen  to 
Inverness.  (See  section  1,  page  50,  as  to  the  railway  projected 
to  pass  in  this  direction.) 

12.  A  few  miles  more,  and  we  descry  the  Inn  of  Dalwhinnie, 
partly  surrounded,  like  the  wells  of  the  desert,  with  the  verdure 
of  a  larch  plantation,  the  only  green  and  pleasing  sight  on 
which  the  eye  can  rest  for  many  miles  around.     "  But  who 
shall  praise  Dalwhinnie  ? "  as  Dr.  Macculloch  says  :  "  no  one 
but  the  commissioners  who  built  it,  and  who  desire  you  to  be 
thankful  that  you  have  a  place  to  put  your  head  in."     If  the 
rain  or  snow  do  not  urge  the  traveller  to  get  forward  on  his 
journey,  the  coldness  of  the  climate,  and  the  appearance  of 
the  red  grouse  and  of  the  alpine  plants  here  growing  close  by 
the  roadside,  should  do  so.     From  the  inn,  however,  which  is 
comfortably  kept  by  Mr.  Grant,  who  has  also  a  due  supply  of 
post-horses,  chaises,  gigs,  and  dog-carts,  a  glimpse  should  be 
taken  of  the  mountain  Benalder,  situated  on  the  north  side  of 
Loch   Errocht,   a  small   part  of  which  is  here   visible.     An 
extraordinary  cave,  or  cage,  as  it  is  called  by  Home,  exists  in 
this  mountain,  in  which  Prince  Charles  Stuart  found  refuge  for 
a  short  time,  during  his  wanderings.* 

*  The  tourist,  if  he  has  time,  will  be  gratified  by  an  excursion  to  Loch  Errocht, 


ROUTE  II.  GLEN    TRUIM.  237 

13.  Taking  leave  of  Dalwhinnie,  whence  the  traveller,  if 
bound  for  the  west  coast,  assumes  the  road  which  branches  off 
on  the  left,  about  half  a  mile  on,  for  Catlodge  (eight  miles),  and 
then  proceeds  by  Loch  Laggan,  glad  that  he  has  got  over  a 
little  more  than  half  distance  from  Perth  to  Inverness,  soon 
enters  Glen  Truim — a  rough  inclined  plain,  which  descends 
rapidly  towards  Strathspey.  At  Ettridge  Bridge  (five  miles 
from  the  last  stage),  the  old  military  way  left  Glen  Truim  and 
proceeded  in  a  direct  line  eastwards  through  Glenfernisdale  to 
the  barracks  of  Ruthven  opposite  Kingussie — keeping  all  the 
way  along  a  fine  gravel  terrace,  and  considerably  shorter  than 
the  present  line  of  road,  which  makes  a  detour  to  secure  a 
foundation  of  rock  for  a  bridge  across  the  Spey.  The  old  road 
(which  every  pedestrian  at  least  should  follow)  is  overhung 
with  beautiful  birch  woods  ;  and  indications  of  the  country's 
having  been  at  one  time  thickly  peopled  are  everywhere  visible 
in  the  numerous  sites  of  cottages,  the  ploughed  ridges,  and  the 
vast  quantities  of  stones  piled  up  (now  grass-covered  mounds), 
which  were  gathered  off  the  fields  !  Hundreds  of  families  have 
thus  made  way  for  the  sheep  of  a  few  large  tenants  ;  and 
if  the  inquisitive  stranger  should  enquire  who  those  tenants 
are  here  and  elsewhere  in  Badenoch,  he  will  find  that  chiefly 
they  are  majors  and  captains,  who,  at  the  instigation  of  the 
late  celebrated  Jane,  Duchess  of  Gordon,  served  in  the  Penin- 

which  is  twenty  miles  long  by  about  one  mile  broad.  It  is  the  highest  of  the  great 
chain  of  Perthshire  lakes,  the  combined  waters  of  which  supply  the  Tay ;  but  being 
very  little  depressed  below  Dalwhinnie  Inn,  it  could  almost  be  drained  into  the 
Truim,  and  would  thence  flow  into  the  Spey.  Thus  it  occupies  the  summit  level  of  the 
country  (about  1500  feet  above  the  sea),  and  the  numerous  parallel  terraces  and 
gravel  banks  seen  here  in  all  directions,  shew  that  even  the  highest  of  the  Grampian 
ridges  and  valleys  were  once  submerged  beneath  the  ocean.  The  north  side  of  the 
lake,  for  about  six  miles  down,  is  flanked  by  a  high  grassy  hill  sloping  gently  down  to 
the  water's  edge,  after  which  succeed  the  nnigh  precipices  of  Ben  Alder.  On  the 
south  side  there  is  a  greater  intermixture  of  rock  and  wood,  and  the  lower  end  of  the 
lake  conducts  to  the  desolate  and  dreary  swamps  of  the  Moor  of  Kannoch.  The  Mar- 
quis of  Abercorn  rents  all  the  northern  hills  from  Cluny  Macpherson  as  a  deer  forest, 
and  at  the  base  of  Ben  Alder  his  Lordship  has  a  shooting  lodge,  communicating  by  a 
country  road  with  his  residence  at  Ardverackie,  on  Loch  Laggan,  where  her  Majesty 
and  Prince  Albert  passed  the  autumn  of  1848. 

Formerly,  before  the  dismemberment  of  the  Duke  of  Gordon's  Highland  estates, 
the  southern  side  of  Loch  Errocht  was  used  by  his  Grace's  tenants  of  Dalwhinnie  and 
Breachachy  as  the  summer  shealing  of  their  cattle ;  and  the  north  side  by  Cluny 's  tenants 
for  the  same  purpose.  At  that  time,  about  seventy  years  ago,  from  £10  to  £15  of  rent 
were  paid  yearly  for  what  now  yields  at  least  ten  times  as  much.  The  sites  of  the  herds' 
huts  or  bothies  are  still  visible,  and  the  piles  of  stones  heaped  near  them,  are  the  im- 
perishable memorials  of  their  presence,  and  of  the  attempts  which  they  made  to  improve 
the  pastures.  Black  cattle  and  horses  were  then  the  sole  stocks  of  these  Highland 
tenants.  Sheep  were  few,  and  kept  only  in  small  flocks  near  the  houses,  for  their 
wool  and  mutton  for  domestic  use ;  and  in  summer  the  ewes  were  milked  daily,  a 
practice  which  prompted  some  of  our  most  beautiful  and  tender  pastoral  songs. 


238  BATTLE  OF  INVERXAHAVON.  SECT.  V. 

sular  war,  or  received  honourable  scars  at  Waterloo,  and  who, 
on  the  return  of  peace,  took,  at  high  rents,  extensive  tracts  of 
their  native  soil,  where,  in  general,  they  have  not  made  rich 
by  farming. 

14.  Descending  now  rapidly  by  the  post  road  along  the 
birch-clad  banks  of  the  Truim,  Glen  Truim  House  (Macpher- 
son)  is  seen  on  a  high  ridge  on  the  left,  and  immediately  to  the 
east  of  it  rises  the  lofty  serrated  mountain  of  Craigdhu  (the 
Black  Rock),  the  ancient  natural  beacon  of  the  district,  over- 
looking the  countries  of  Laggan,  Badenoch,  and  Strathspey, 
with  an  enormous  circuit  of  the  Grampian  and  Monaliagh 
mountains,  and  which  is  the  rendezvous  or  gathering  hill  of  the 
clan  Macpherson.     At  the  farther  extremity  of  this  hill  the 
rivers  Truim  and  Spey  unite,  the  public  road  crossing  a  little 
way  below  their  junction  by  an  old  military  bridge  of  three 
arches,  and  then  dividing  into  two,  the  main  branch  continues 
northwards  past  the  poor  hamlet  or  village  of  Newtonmore, 
and  the  other  fork  turns  westward  on  its  course  by  Cluny  and 
Loch   Laggan   for  Fort- William   and   the  west  coast.     (See 
Route  i.  D.) 

15.  At  Invernahavon,  near  the  junction  of  the  rivers  just 
named,  a  celebrated  clan  battle  was  fought,  in  the  reign  of  James 
I.,  between  the  Mackintoshes  and  Camerons.     The  lands  of 
Mackintosh,  in  Lochaber,  were  possessed  by  a  set  of  Camerons, 
who  always  refused  to  pay  their  rents,  which  were  accordingly 
levied  by  force,  and  consisted  principally  of  cattle.     Acknow- 
ledging no  right  but  that  of  occupancy,  and  provoked  by  the 
seizure  of  their  herds,  the  Camerons  at  length  resolved  on  mak- 
ing reprisals  ;  and  they,  therefore,  poured  down  upon  Badenoch 
above  400  strong,  headed  by  a  Charles  Macgilony.     The  Laird 
of  Mackintosh,  thus  obliged  to  call  out  his  followers,  soon 
appeared  with  a  force  sufficient  for  the  emergency.   The  David- 
sons  of  Invernahavon  and  the   Macphersons  of  Cluny  con- 
tended for  the  right  hand  in  the  line  of  battle  ;  and  Mackintosh, 
as  umpire,  having  decided  in  favour  of  the  former,  the  whole 
clan  Macpherson  withdrew  from  the  field  in  discontent.     From 
the  equality  of  numbers  thus  created,  the  conflict  was  sharp 
and  bloody ;  many  of  the  Mackintoshes,  and  almost  all  the 
Davidsons,  were  killed.    The  Macphersons,  provoked  at  seeing 
their  brave  kinsmen  nearly  overpowered,  rushed  in,  and  totally 
defeated  the  Camerons,  whose  leader  they  pursued  to  Glen 


ROUTE  II.  KINGUSSIE.  239 

Benchar,  and  overtook  and  slew  him  on  a  hill  still  called  by 
his  name,  Corharlich,  or  Charles'  hill. 

16.  Three  miles  on  we  reach  the  good  inn  and  village  of 
Kingussie,  the  latter  having  no  trade  or  manufactures,  and  yet 
possessing  a  large  pauperized  population,  chiefly  thrown  in 
upon  it  by  the  successive  clearings  of  the  adjoining  districts. 
It  was  commenced,  on  the  precincts  of  an  ancient  monastery, 
about  the  end  of  the  last  century,  by  the  Duke  of  Gordon,  with 
the  view  of  introducing  the  spinning  of  wool  and  the  manufac- 
ture of  woollen  cloths,  which  have  not  succeeded,  and  the 
inhabitants  are  now  entirely  dependent  for  employment  on  the 
neighbouring  corn  and  sheep  farmers.  The  Court  House, 
Churches,  Bank  (a  branch  of  the  British  Linen  Company),  and 
many  of  the  private  dwellings,  as  well  as  the  Inn,  are,  however, 
substantially  built  of  the  beautiful  grey  and  white  granite,  in 
which  the  district  abounds.  Among  the  privations  of  the 
poor  people  the  scarcity  of  fuel  is  often  severely  felt  in  winter, 
as  some  of  the  most  accessible  peat  mosses  are  nearly  exhausted, 
and  the  cost  of  carting  coals  so  far  inland  is  beyond  their 
means  ;  yet,  we  regret  to  say,  that  the  consumpt  of  whisky 
here,  and  in  all  the  Highland  villages,  is  most  inordinate  and 
disgraceful..  James  Evan  Baillie,  Esq.,  of  Culduthel  and 
Glenelg,  formerly  of  Bristol,  is  also  the  proprietor  of  the  Kin- 
gussie estate,  which  he  bought  on  the  demise  of  the  late  Duke 
of  Gordon.  His  possessions  extend  now  over  a  principal  part 
of  the  great  lordship  of  Badenoch.  More  anciently  this  was 
also  the  land  of  the  Cumings,  a  family  which  ruled  here  with  a 
rod  of  iron  during  the  reigns  of  the  early  Scottish  sovereigns, 
especially  the  Alexanders.  Their  fortresses,  as  at  Lochan 
Eilan  and  Lochindhorb,  were  numerous,  extensive,  and  strong  ; 
and  the  style  of  building  employed  in  them  can  even  yet  be 
distinguished  from  that  of  the  common  baronial  peels  of  the 
country. 

The  part  which  this  family  took  in  the  wars  between  Bruce 
and  Baliol,  and  the  extent  to  which  they  even  attempted  to 
push  their  own  pretensions  to  the  crown,  are  well  known. 
Their  subsequent  misfortunes  paved  the  way  for  the  friends  of 
Robert  I.,  who  were  installed  into  their  possessions  by  this 
prince  and  his  immediate  successors.  Extensive  tracts  of  coun- 
try were  conferred  on  Randolph,  Earl  of  Moray,  and  the  Lord 
Seneschal,  brother  of  the  king,  and  on  the  famous  Wolf  of 


240  LORDSHIP  OF  BADENOCH.  SECT.  V. 

Badenoch,  natural  son  of  Robert  II.,  on  whom  also  were  be- 
stowed those  most  extraordinary  powers  of  barony  and  regality 
by  which  the  influence  of  the  crown  in  the  Highlands  was  al- 
most annihilated.  But  various  donations  were  also  granted  to 
certain  individuals  known  as  "  kindly  tenants  "  of  the  king,  who 
held  them  during  his  pleasure,  and  likewise  to  churchmen, 
through  whose  subinfeudations  several  independent  though  in- 
ferior families  became  established  in  the  country.  A  constant 
struggle  was  hence  maintained  between  these  and  their  power- 
ful neighbours,  as  was  strongly  illustrated  in  the  history  of  the 
clan  Gregor.  The  Shaws  of  Rothiemurchus  were  also  particu- 
larly conspicuous  in  this  respect.  They  were  independent  of 
all  the  great  lords  ;  and  held  their  duchus,  or  estate,  of  the 
bishops  of  Moray,  for  the  supply  only  of  a  certain  quantity  of 
tapers,  and  of  wood  for  the  occasional  repair  of  Elgin  cathe- 
dral. 

In  later  times,  the  Dukes  of  Gordon  ruled  over  Badenoch. 
The  Mackintoshes  and  Grants  have  also  territories  in  this  dis- 
trict ;  and  to  the  westward  the  parish  of  Laggan  belongs  prin- 
cipally to  that  important  division  of  the  clan  Chattan,  the 
Macphersons,  of  whom  Macpherson  of  Cluny  is  the  chief. 

17.  Extensive  and  costly  embankments  along  the  Spey  com- 
mence near  Kingussie,  and  extend  down  several  miles  till  the 
river  loses  itself  in  Loch  Insh,  on  its  way  to  which  it  winds 
through  a  succession  of  most  beautiful  meadow  haughs,  where 
the  natural  grass  is  carefully  cut  and  preserved  as  hay,  and 
along  which  there  are  numerous  pools,  abounding  in  water-fowl, 
and  covered  over  by  tall  reeds  and  water  lilies.     A  wooden 
bridge  has  recently  been  erected  south  of  the  west  end  of  the  vil- 
lage, communicating  with  the  south  bank  of  the  Spey,  and  with 
an  excellent  district  road  to  Rothiemurchus,  which  the  tourist 
will  find  to  abound  in  magnificent  views ;  and  if  the  approaches 
to  this  bridge  could  be  well  protected  from  the  over-flowings  of 
the  river,  the  public  road  should  cross  here  by  a  stone  bridge 
and  proceed  southwards  by  the  direct  line  through  Glenfernis- 
dale,  already  alluded  to.     Before  the  erection  of  this  bridge, 
the  right  bank  of  the  Spey  could  only  be  reached  by  a  ferry 
below  the  village,  whence  a  broad  piece  of  marshy  meadow  had 
to   be  passed  ere  the  solid  ground  adjoining  the  Mount  of 
Ruthven  was  attained. 

18.  This  mount  has  the  ruins  of  an  old  barrack  on  it,  which 


RODTE  II.    RUTHVEN  BARRACK  AND  CASTLE.         241 

have  an  imposing  appearance,  but  which  were  much  inferior  in 
strength  and  size  to  the  more  ancient  castle  which  they  dis- 
placed, and  which  belonged  to  the  wild  Cumings,  Earls  of  Bade- 
noch.  Queen  Mary  frequently  visited  this  castle,  that  she 
might  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  the  chase  in  the  adjoining  forests. 
The  barrack,  built  of  its  stones  in  1718,  was  defended  against  a 
whole  Highland  host,  by  twelve  men,  under  the  command  of  a 
Serjeant  Mulloy,  in  February  1746,  when  the  rebels  set  it  on 
fire  ;  and  it  was  at  this  place  that  the  chiefs  reassembled  their 
forces,  to  the  number  of  8000,  two  days  subsequent  to  the  battle 
of  Culloden,  in  the  hopes  of  Prince  Charles  again  taking  the 
field. 

Ruthven  was  also  celebrated  of  old  for  a  good  inn  and  an 
excellent  school ;  and  the  tourist  who  has  time  should  by  no 
means  pass  it  without  a  visit,  as  the  mount  commands  a  most 
magnificent  view,  especially  of  the  course  of  the  Spey,  and  of 
the  many  curious  gravel  terrace  banks  which  line  it  on  both 
sides,  and  which  are  here  elevated  about  1000  feet  above  the  sea. 

19.  Continuing  now  along  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  the 
road  passes  in  front  of  the  mansion-house  and  lawn  of  Belle- 
ville (Miss  Macpherson),  where,  on  a  little  knoll  by  the  way- 
side, may  be  seen  a  small  obelisk,  erected  in  memory  of  the 
former  proprietor,  Macpherson,  the  first  translator  of  Ossian's 
Poems,  and  whose  fame  as  an  original  poet,  or  as  a  mere  com- 
piler, has  been  the  subject  of  much  discussion.  His  residence 
occupies  the  site  of  the  ancient  Castle  of  Raits,  another,  and 
the  principal  stronghold  of  the  great  family  of  the  Cumings. 
An  incident  which  occurred  at  this  castle  is  worth  recounting. 
Cuming,  one  of  the  old  proprietors,  jealous  of  a  neighbouring 
chieftain  (the  Laird  of  Mackintosh),  invited  him  and  his  kin- 
dred to  a  great  banquet,  disguising,  under  the  mask  of  hospi- 
tality, the  atrocious  purpose  of  slaughtering  his  guests  una- 
wares. The  company  were  to  be  so  arranged  at  table  as  that 
the  Mackintoshes  should  be  separated  from  one  another,  and 
the  appearance  of  a  boar's  head  was  to  be  the  signal  for  each 
Cuming  to  stab  the  stranger  who  sat  beside  him.  Mackintosh 
discovered  the  plot ;  nevertheless,  he  accepted  the  invitation, 
having  previously  informed  his  clansmen  of  the  signal,  and 
bade  them  anticipate  their  treacherous  entertainers.  Accord- 
ingly, when  the  feast  waxed  high,  the  boar's  head  was  intro- 
duced. The  Mackintoshes  seized  the  moment ;  and  with  the 


242  TOB  ALVIE — LOCH  ALVIE.  SECT.  V. 

barbarity  and  decision  common  in  those  dark  and  bloody  days, 
inflicted  the  most  ample  and  speedy  revenge  on  their  foes. 

20.  Our  route  now  continues  through  birch-clad  knolls  and 
small  farms,  formerly  the  abodes  of  a  numerous  and  warlike 
peasantry,  followers  of  the  Gordon,  "  The  Cock  of  the  North," 
with  a  few  gentlemen's  residences  (as  Kincraig  and  Invereshie), 
scattered  at  wide  intervals.     Cairngorm,  Ben  Macdhui,  and 
the  central  group  of  the  Grampians,  lift  their  huge  sides  and 
summits  on  the  right,  and  we  see  long  stretches  of  the  vast 
solitudes  which  surround  them,  terminating  in  the  deer  corries 
and  precipices  which  lie  concealed  in  the  deep  shadows  of  the 
mountains.   To  the  stranger  will  be  pointed  out  the  high  passes 
of  Gaick  and  Minikaig,  which  abound  in  red  deer  and  game  of 
all  kinds,  and  where  many  a  life  has  been  lost  in  the  snow,  on 
their  journeys,  of  smugglers,  drovers,  and  of  the  peasantry,  by 
these  short  cuts  to  the  Lowlands.   (See  Branch  c.  to  this  Route.) 
In  front  the  high  rocky  crag  which  rises  before  us  is  Tor  Alvie ; 
and  the  woods  and  fields  which  sweep  round  it  are  parts  of  the 
pleasure-grounds   of  Kinrara,  the  favourite  seat  of  the  late 
Duchess,  and  of  her  son  George,  the  last  of  the  Dukes  of  Gor- 
don.    On  the  eastern  brow  of  the  Tor  is  a  rustic  hermitage, 
commanding  a  most  extensive  view  of  the  valley  of  the  Spey  ; 
and  at  the  other  extremity  of  the  ridge,  an  enormous  cairn  of 
stones  records  the  fame  of  the  heroes  of  Waterloo ;  and  above 
has  been  superadded  a  monument  to  the  Duke  of  Gordon's 
memory. 

21.  Loch  Alvie  next  presents  itself  on  the  left  of  the  land- 
scape, with  its  neat  manse  and  church  standing  on  a  peninsula 
near  the  west  end.     Clumps  of  trees  and  corn-fields  grace  its 
margin  ;  and  on  quitting  them,  the  house  and  grounds  of  Rothie- 
murchus  come  into  view  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Spey.     It 
has  been  remarked,  that  Loch  Alvie  is  one  of  the  thousand  lakes 
one  meets  with  in  the  Highlands,  with  no  very  conspicuous 
features,  yet  possessing  beauties  such  as  language  can  rarely 
describe.     "  It  is  the  pellucid  water  murmuring  on  the  pebbly 
shore,  the  dark  rock  reflected  on  the  grassy  surface,  or  dancing 
on  the  undulating  wave,  the  wild  water-plants,  the  broken 
bank,  the  bending  ash,  the  fern,  the  bright  flowers,  and  all  the 
poetry  of  the  margent  green,  which  give  to  these  scenes  a  feel- 
ing that  even  painting  cannot  reach ;  a  beauty  that  belongs  to 
nature  alone,  because  it  is  the  beauty  of  life ;  a  beauty  that 


ROUTE  II.  KINRARA — AVIEMORE  INN.  243 

flies  with  the  vital  principle  that  was  its  soul  and  its  all."  The 
scenery  hereabouts  has  been  described  by  none  more  beautifully 
or  correctly  than  by  the  author  from  whom  we  have  just  quoted 
(Dr.  Macculloch.)  "  A  succession  of  continuous  birch  forest, 
covering  Kinrara's  rocky  hill  and  its  lower  grounds,  intermixed 
with  open  glades,  irregular  clumps,  and  scattered  trees,  pro- 
duces a  scene  at  once  alpine  and  dressed  ;  combining  the  dis- 
cordant characters  of  wild  mountain  landscape  and  of  ornamental 
park  scenery,  while  the  variety  is  at  the  same  time  such  as  is 
only  found  in  the  most  extended  domains."  In  an  old  burying- 
ground  at  a  short  distance  from  the  house  of  Kinrara,  which  is 
dedicated  to  Saint  Eda,  stands  a  handsome  granite  monument, 
erected  to  the  memory  of  Jane,  late  Duchess  of  Gordon,  who 
herself  chose  this  picturesque  spot  as  her  last  resting-place. 

22.  The  beautiful  and  bold  projecting  frontlet  of  Craig- 
elachie  now  comes  prominently  into  view  on  the  left.  It 
separates  Badenoch  from  Strathspey  ;  was  the  hill  of  rendez- 
vous for  the  people  of  the  latter,  and  the  boundary  and 
ancient  ward-hill  of  the  district.  "  Stand  fast,  Craigelachie !  " 
is  the  war  or  gathering  cry  of  the  clan  Grant,  the  occupants 
of  this  great  strath.  From  its  swelling  base  and  rifted  preci- 
pices, the  birch  trees  wave  in  graceful  clusters ;  their  bright 
and  lively  green  forming  a  strong  contrast  in  the  foreground 
to  the  sombre  melancholy  hue  of  the  pine  forests,  which  in  the 
distance,  on  the  south,  stretch  up  the  sides  of  Glenmore  and 
the  Cairngorms.*  In  the  eastern  front  of  the  hill  stands  the 
high  old  steep-roofed,  but  comfortable  Inn  of  Aviemore,  where 
the  tourist  should  stop,  if  he  means  to  explore  the  district  or 
to  visit  Cairngorm  and  the  other  scenes  described  in  Branches  c. 
and  D.  of  this  Route.  In  clear  calm  weather  the  majesty  of  our 
Highland  scenery  is  nowhere  felt  more  impressively.  The 
Grampians  are  here  magnificent  in  their  bulk,  and  elegant  as 
well  as  varied  in  their  outlines,  while  in  the  elevated  summit 
of  Ben  Macdhui,  they  rival  Ben  Nevis  itself. 

Strathspey's  proud  river  also,  the  broad  rolling  waters  of 
which  every  way  befit  the  majestic  scenery  through  which  they 
flow,  occupies  the  middle  of  the  spacious  valley  before  us. 
Now,  it  slowly  moves  through  dark  and  deep  linns ;  now,  rush- 

*  In  the  small  lake  behind  the  Inn  of  Aviemore,  at  the  base  of  Craigelachie,  the 
botanist  will  find  quantities  of  Nuphar  minima,  the  smallest  and  rarest  of  British 
water  lilies.  On  the  neighbouring  hill  he  will  likewise  discover  several  alpine  plants, 
as  Alchemilla  alpina,  Rumex  dyginus,  Saxifraga  aizoides  and  S.  hypnoides,  &c. 


244  NATIVE  PINES CARR  BRIDGE.  SECT.  V. 

ing  over  a  wide  gravelly  bed,  it  shows,  by  the  rents  in  the  soil, 
and  the  sudden  bends  in  its  course,  the  strength  and  fury  of 
its  wintry  floods.  Its  banks  are  occasionally  fringed  with  rows 
of  birch  and  alder;  but  anon,  the  silvery  line  of  its  waters 
will  be  seen  shooting  into  some  thick  and  dark  grove  of  pine 
trees,  again  to  emerge  far  away  by  the  side  of  cultivated  fields 
and  humble  hamlets.  The  appearance,  in  short,  of  the  strath, 
which  is  now  visible  for  twelve  miles  of  its  course,  transports 
the  imagination  to  the  days  of  Roman  warfare,  or  to  the  woody 
solitudes  of  America.  Till  within  a  few  years,  Strathspey 
might  have  been  described  as  a  plain  covered  with  pristine 
forests,  laid  open  occasionally  by  the  sweeps  of  a  large  river, 
and  by  the  deep  indentations  of  its  alpine  tributaries ;  for  its 
surface  has  been  but  recently  touched  by  the  hand  of  man. 

23.  Between  Aviemore  and  the  next  stage,  Carr  Bridge 
(eight  miles),  the  road  cuts  across  a  portion  of  Morayshire, 
and  again  re-enters  Inverness-shire.     In  this  space  it  passes 
along  a  series  of  undulating  knolls,  containing  between  them 
many  small  lakes  or  tarns,  abounding  in  water  fowl,  and  on 
one  of  which  are  the  ruins  of  an  old  castle.     The  road  after- 
wards goes  through  a  small  portion  of  the  ancient  pine  forest 
of  Dulnan,  where  the  size  and  fantastic  forms  of  the  native 
tree  may  still  be  seen  in  perfection,  and  where  occasionally  the 
traveller  may  suddenly  come  upon  numerous  black  cock  and 
the  small  fairy  red  squirrel.     Half  way  he  passes  on  the  right 
a  district  road  striking  off  to  Grantown  and  the  lower  portions 
of  Strathspey,  and  on  crossing  the  rapid  river  Ihilnan  to  the 
comfortable  little  Inn  of  Carr  Bridge,  he  meets  another  branch 
of  the  same  road  coming  northward  from  Strathspey. — (See 
Branch  D.  Route  n.) 

24.  Turning  now  to  the  left,  the  road  passes  over  the  re- 
mains of  part  of  the  ancient  Caledonian  forest,  which  was  burnt 
down  by  general  Wade  to  insure  an  easy  access  to  Inverness  ; 
and  which,  if  again  enclosed  by  the  proprietor,  the  Earl  of 
Seafield,  would  soon  send  up  a  plentiful  stock  of  fir  trees  to 
cover  the  nakedness  of  these  most  dreary  wastes ;  and  so  we 
hasten  on  towards  Strathdearn,  or  the  country  watered  by  the 
river  Findhorn.     But  the  deep  and  anciently  dangerous  pass  of 
Slochmuichk  (the  wild  boar's  den  or  hollow)  is  on  before  us 
(about  three  miles),  now  to  be  dreaded  only  as  the  last  spot 
where  snow  is  likely  to  be  encountered  to  any  great  depth  on 


ROUTE  II.       MACKINTOSH  OF  BORLUM.  245 

one's  journey  northwards  during  winter.  It  was  at  one  time  a 
favourite  haunt  of  banditti,  some  of  whom,  even  for  years  after 
the  suppression  of  the  rebellion  of  1745,  continued  to  infest  the 
passage  by  the  Grampians  to  the  low  country. 

This  pass  was  also  particularly  noted  as  having  been  the 
occasional  resort  (about  the  middle  of  last  century)  of  Mackin- 
tosh of  Borlum,  a  property  near  Inverness,  who  was  a  man  of 
education  and  respectable  family,  of  insinuating  manners,  but 
of  a  character  not  unlike  that  of  his  contemporary,  Simon,  Lord 
Lovat.  He  had  a  good  deal  of  the  old  mercenary  soldier  about 
him,  with  an  air  of  French  politeness  which  was  common  to  the 
Highland  gentlemen  of  the  period ;  and  though  secretly  leagued 
with  a  gang  of  desperadoes,  he  continued  for  a  long  time  to  de- 
ceive the  public,  and  lull  the  suspicions  of  his  friends.  His 
history  is  well  known,  and  is  depicted  in  Sir  Thomas  Dick  Lau- 
der's  interesting  novel  of  Lochandhu.  His  last  exploit,  which 
compelled  him  to  flee  from  the  country,  was  an  attempt  to  rob 
Sir  Hector  Monro  of  Novar,  on  his  journey  northwards,  after 
his  return  from  India,  in  the  year  1770.  Three  of  his  accom- 
plices, one  of  them  his  own  natural  brother,  were  seized  and 
hanged  at  Inverness.  Mackintosh  is  said  to  have  gone  to 
America,  and  served  under  General  Washington  ;  and  a  report 
prevails  that  he  revisited  his  native  country  some  years  ago. 
Another  celebrated  freebooter  was  John  Gunn ;  a  personage  in 
whom  were  combined  the  rude  manners  of  the  bandit,  with  the 
more  generous  sentiments  of  chivalry.  His  ordinary  abode  was 
among  the  wild  recesses  of  Strathspey,  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Cairngorm  and  Aviemore.  At  the  same  period,  the  vicinity  of 
Shian,  of  Invergarry,  and  the  confines  of  Lochaber,  were  tenanted 
by  a  savage  tribe  of  Kennedys,  who  levied  tribute  over  an  ex- 
tended range  of  country.  David  Scrymgeour  of  Birkhill,  and 
Alexander  Campbell  of  Delnies,  successively  sheriffs-depute  of 
Inverness-shire,  after  the  suppression  of  the  insurrection  in 
1746,  failed,  though  repeated  were  their  endeavours,  to  extir- 
pate these  mauraders  ;  and  when  Simon  Fraser,  Esq.  of  Farra- 
line,  was  appointed  successor  to  Mr.  Campbell,  in  May  1781, 
he  found  the  state  of  police  totally  inefficient,  and  property 
incapable  of  protection  on  any  other  ground  than  by  the  volun- 
tary payment  to  the  heads  of  the  robber  troops  of  either  money 
or  cattle ;  black  mail,  as  in  the  remotest  ages,  being,  in  fact, 
thus  demanded  and  agreed  to.  Mr.  Fraser,  who  had  quitted  a 


246  BANDITTI STKATHDEARN.  SECT.    V. 

military  life  to  embrace  that  of  the  gown,  at  the  desire  of  his 
chief,  General  Fraser  of  Lovat,  with  whom  he  had  served  in  the 
American  war,  set  himself  earnestly  to  work  to  effect  the  total 
suppression  of  such  an  alarming  evil.  With  the  assistance  of 
a  stout  and  courageous  Highlander,  Mr.  John  Mackay,  sheriff- 
officer  at  Fort-Augustus,  as  his  aide-de-camp,  and  by  unre- 
mitted  perseverance,  he  finally  effected  his  purpose ;  traversing 
with  his  faithful  adherent  the  most  inaccessible  districts,  re- 
peatedly incurring  personal  danger  in  many  shapes,  and  having 
been  more  than  once  fired  upon  in  his  hazardous  journeys.  So 
imminent  was  the  risk  he  ran,  that  he  rarely  moved  from  home 
without  a  brace  of  pistols  on  his  person.  Acting  on  the  old 
adage,  "  Set  a  thief  to  catch  a  thief,"  he  nominated  Donald 
Mhor  Oig  Cameron,  in  Blairroy  of  Lochaber,  himself  a  noto- 
rious cateran,  as  one  of  the  constables  of  the  county,  and  en- 
gaged his  good  offices  on  the  side  of  order.  By  his  aid,  the 
whole  tribe  of  the  Kennedys  was  hunted  down  and  dispersed, 
one  being  hanged  at  Inverness,  and  others  being  banished  be- 
yond seas.  Two  were  secured  near  Callander  by  a  masterly 
manoeuvre  of  Mr.  Mackay,  who  had  tracked  them  thus  far. 
They  were  drinking  in  a  change-house,  when  he  suddenly 
entered  and  called  on  them  to  submit,  as  escape  was  impos- 
sible. They  credited  his  tale,  and  quietly  allowed  themselves 
to  be  handcuffed,  when  he  led  them  off  prisoners  :  but  no  words 
can  paint  their  rage  and  mortification,  on  finding  they  had  fallen 
victims  to  stratagem,  and  that  their  captor  was  unattended. 
Another  important  ally  to  Mr.  Fraser,  in  discovering  the  haunts 
of  the  Kennedys,  was  Donald  Dhu  Piddick  (as  his  sobriquet 
went),  in  the  Braes  of  Lochaber,  a  man  somewhat  above  the 
vulgar,  and  intimately  acquainted  with  the  habits  of  the 
people. 

25.  Emerging  from  Slochmuichk,  we  now  enter  the  district 
of  Strathdearn,  and  after  crossing  the  river  Findhorn  two  miles 
on,  we  reach  the  inn  of  Freeburn,  where  we  again  come  in  sight 
of  the  Findhorn,  sweeping  with  rapid  pace  through  a  series  of 
alluvial  banks  and  terraces,  which  occupy  the  whole  of  the 
plain  between  the  observer  and  the  base  of  the  opposite  moun- 
tains. To  the  east  the  river  is  lost  sight  of,  as  it  plunges  into 
a  dark  ravine  called  the  Streens,  from  the  sides  of  which  rise 
precipitous  mountains  of  granite.  (See  Branch  E.  Route  n.) 
About  a  mile  south  of  Freeburn,  a  country  road  branches  off  to 


ROUTE  II.    LOCH  MOY MOT  HALL STRATHNAIRN.  247 

the  interior  of  Strathdearn,  and  the  upper  reaches  of  the  Find- 
horn,  which  all  belong  to  gentlemen  of  the  clan  Mackintosh. 
(See  Route  n.  Branches  E.  and  F.) 

26.  The  road  now  descends  rapidly  towards  Inverness,  and 
three  miles  on,  after  passing  a  hard  gravelly  ridge,  covered 
with  a  dense  fir  wood,  we  come  suddenly  on  Loch  Moy,  about 
450  feet  above  the  sea,  with  Moy  Hall,  the  residence  of  Mac- 
kintosh of  Mackintosh,  chief  of  the  clan,  fronting  us  at  the  far- 
ther extremity.     This  lake,  with  its  trees  and  island,  are,  as 
has  been  observed  by  Dr.  Macculloch,  "  as  a  gleam  of  sunshine 
in  a  cloudy  day;  yet  one  that  renders  the  adjoining  waste 
darker  and  more  dreary."     Of  its  island,  and  its  castle,  the  seat 
of  the  chief  of  the  ancient  and  powerful  clan  Chattan,  there  is 
no  lack  of  legendary  story;  and  in  recounting  the  old  clan 
fights,  as  detailed  by  Sir  Robert  Gordon — "  the  Curse  of  Moy," 
as  preserved  in  song — and  the  heroism  of  its  lady  and  its  black- 
smith, who  saved  Prince  Charles  in  1746 — the  stranger  will 
have  enough  to  muse  on  as  he  hastens  by  its  low  and  woody 
shores.     Besides  the  main  island,  fortress,  and  parterre,  "  where 
many  a  garden  flower  still  grows  wild,"  there  is  a  small  islet  of 
loose  stones  (said  to  be  artificial)  near  the  southern  end  of  the 
lake,  which  formed  the  chieftain's  prison-house.     A  handsome 
granite  obelisk,  seventy  feet  high,  on  a  base  of  about  twenty 
feet  square,  has  been  erected  on  the  largest  island,  to  the  memory 
of  the  late  Sir  JSneas  Mackintosh,  Bart.,  chief  of  the  clan.    On 
the  west  side  of  Loch  Moy  are  the  church  and  manse  of  the 
parish ;  and  at  the  north  end,  Moy  Hall,  the  principal  residence 
of  the  chief  of  Mackintosh,  who  has  erected,  hard  by,  a  small 
but  convenient  inn  for  the  use  of  the  public. 

27.  Hence  we  descend  rapidly  from  Strathdearn  to  Strath- 
nairn,  the  valley  watered  by  the  river  Nairn,  and  passing  the 
inn  of  Craggy  (six  miles  from  Inverness),  and  the  road  which 
leads  westwards  to  the  district  of  Stratherrick  (see  Route  u. 
Branch  F.),  we  cross  the  river  at  a  sharp  angle,  and  then  breast 
the  hill  of  Daviot,  crowned  at  top  by  the  site  of  an  old  ward  or 
beacon  fort,  and  having  below  the  ungainly  church  and  manse 
of  the  parish.     A  little  eastwards  is  the  house  of  Daviot  (^Eneas 
Mackintosh,  Esq.)  on  the  site  of  a  very  ancient  castle  of  that 
name,  past  which  a  distant  view  is  obtained  of  the  lower  parts  of 
Strathnairn,  of  the  policies  of  Kilravock  and  of  the  Thane  (now 


248  MORAY    FIRTH — INVERNESS.  SECT.  V. 

Earl)  of  Cawdor,  and  of  the  plains  of  Nairn  and  Moray.  Im- 
mediately thereafter  the  waters  of  the  "  bright,  bright  sea "  of 
the  German  ocean  are  descried  with  delight,  and  upon  the  verge 
of  the  horizon  the  Ord  of  Caithness  and  the  dim  outlines  of  the 
finely  peaked  chain  of  mountains  which  separate  that  county 
from  Sutherlandshire.  To  the  right  hand,  on  the  same  level 
with  the  spectator,  and  at  a  distance  of  about  a  couple  of  miles, 
lies  the  moor  of  Culloden,  famous  in  story.  Directly  below,  the 
Moray  and  Beauly  Firths  display  their  winding  shores,  and  the 
fertile  tracts  of  corn  and  woodland  skirting  them,  over  which 
the  Ross-shire,  the  Strathconan  and  Strathglass  mountains,  with 
the  huge  Ben  Wyvis  in  the  centre,  and  beautifully  peaked  sum- 
mits to  the  west  and  south-west  of  it,  are  spread  out  in  glorious 
majesty.  The  Great  Glen  of  Scotland  also  opens  up  on  the  left 
hand,  terminated  in  the  west,  so  far  as  the  eye  can  penetrate 
"  into  the  bowels  of  the  land,"  by  the  beautiful  dome-shaped 
mountain  of  Mealfourvounie ;  and  in  front,  just  beneath  the 
rough  and  wooded  escarpments  of  the  vitrified  fortress  of  Craig 
Phadrick,  we  descry  the  smoke  of  Inverness — the  low-lying 
Highland  capital,  with  its  castle,  spires,  and  shipping.  This 
is  altogether  a  magnificent  scene.  (For  a  full  description  of 
Inverness  see  Section  iv.) 


ROUTE  SECOND.-BRANCH  A. 

FROM  CEIEFP  AND  GREENLOANINO  STATION,  BY  LOCHEARNHEAD, 
KILLIN,  AND  KENMORE,  TO  TUMMEL-BRIDGE  AND  BLAIR,  AND 
BY  ABERFELDY  TO  DPNRELD;  AND  BY  CURRIEMUCKLACH  AND 
ABERFELDY  TO  DALNACARDOCH. 

Strathearn;  Crieff,  1. — Drummond  Castle,  2. — Ferntower;  Monument  to  Sir  David 
Baird,  8. — Roman  Camps  at  Ardoch,  4. — Ardoch  to  Crieff;  Mnthil.  5. — Monz.ie; 
Seats  on  direct  Perth  Road,  6. — Glen  Almond ;  Pass  to  the  Highlands  by  Amulree, 
7  —Crieff  to  Comrie ;  Ochtertyre ;  Glen  Turret,  8— Comrie ;  Devil's  Caldron,  9  — 
Comrie  to  Loch  Earn ;  Aberuchill  Castle ;  Dalchonzie ;  Dunira,  10. — St.  Milan's ; 
Sept  M'Neish,  11.— Loch  Earn;  Falls  of  Edinamnle,  12.— Loch  Tav;  Killin,  13. 
— Finlarig;  Falls  of  the  Lochy,  14.— Drummonu  Hill;  Falls  of  Acharn,  15. — 
Kenmore ;  Taymouth  Castle ;  Pleasure-grounds,  16. — Fortineal  -,  Remarkable 
Yew  Tree;  Comrie  Castle,  17. — Glen  Lyon,  18. — Cushitille  to  Kinlock  Bannock ; 
Ttrmmel  Bridge ;  Dalnacardock,  and  Falls  of  Tvmmel,  19. — Castle  Menzies,  20. — 
Falls  of  Aberfeldy,  21.— Aberfeldy  to  Dunkeld;  Grandtullv  Castle,  22. 


ROUTE  II.  A.  STRATHEARN — CRIEFF.  249 


Comrie 6| 

St.  Fillan's 5| 

Lochearnhead 8 

Killin  7 

Kenmore 16 

Aberfeldy  6 

Grandtully  Arms 7 

Dunkeld  10 

66 

Aberfeldy  by  Lochearnhead  49      

Cushivilfe  6 

Kinloch  Rannoch 13 

Tummel  Bridge 7 

Do.  direct  from  Cushiville 10 

Dalnacardoch  10 

Falls  of  Tummel  10 

85 

Crieffto  Curriemucklach 11 

Amulree 1 

Aberfeldy  11 

23 


1.  THE  district  of  Strathearn,  which  intersects  the  southern 
portion  of  Perthshire,  in  a  winding  line  nearly  due  east  and 
west,  joining  Strath  Tay  at  Perth,  is  one  of  the  most  fertile  and 
highly  embellished  tracts  our  country  has  to  boast  of.  Crieff  has 
always  been  regarded  as  the  capital  of  this  beautiful  valley.  It 
stands  on  the  brow  of  a  terrace  forming  the  haunch  of  an  emi- 
nence of  some  pretensions,  and  overlooks  a  reach  of  Strathearn, 
here  of  great  width,  presenting  a  very  extensive  level  expanse 
of  country  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation.  Sheltered  from  the 
easterly  winds  by  a  wooded  hill,  it  has  long  been  noted  for  the 
salubrity  of  its  climate,  and  it  is  supplied  with  water  of  pecu- 
liar purity.  It  enjoys  a  remarkable  freedom  from  deadly  epi- 
demics, and  the  banks  of  the  Earn  are  among  the  favoured  loca- 
lities which  have  been  spared  the  scourge  of  the  cholera.  To 
the  westward  the  country  south  of  the  Earn  gradually  rises  in 
wooded  slopes  towards  the  massive  larch  and  pine-covered  hill 
of  Turleum,  on  the  south  side  of  a  succeeding  and  narrower 
reach  of  the  strath.  The  town  consists  of  three  main  streets, 
concentrating  in  a  neat  square,  adorned  by  a  well  surrounded 
by  lime  trees.  On  the  north  side  is  the  principal  hotel  (the 


250  CRIEFF.  SECT.  V. 

Drummond  Arms — Robertson).*  An  ancient  stone  cross  in  the 
street  leading  eastward  well  merits  the  antiquary's  attention, 
though  its  history  is  unknown.  In  the  same  direction  is  an 
institution,  for  the  education  chiefly  of  young  ladies  connected 
with  the  Episcopal  church,  called  St.  Margaret's  College,  of 
which  the  bishop  of  the  diocese  is  visitor.  It  forms  a  pleasing 
feature  in  the  entrance  from  Perth.  The  accommodation  and 
arrangements  are,  we  believe,  such  as  ensure  a  due  amount  of 
solid  instruction,  and  of  polished  accomplishments,  combined 
with  domestic  privacy  and  comfort.  At  the  opposite  end  of  the 
town  a  handsome  massive  lodge  attracts  the  eye,  with  a  neat 
Episcopal  church  close  by. 

Crieff  is  rich  in  historical  associations,  and  is  a  place  of  very 
respectable  antiquity  ;  the  earliest  notice,  however,  occurring 
in  a  charter  dated  in  1218.  From  a  very  early  period  it  was 
the  accustomed  court  place  of  the  Seneschals  of  Strathearn, 
whose  very  ancient  earldom  was  our  only  County  Palatine.  The 
Perth  family  became  heritable  stewards  of  Strathearn  in  1488. 
They  were  noted  for  their  stern  or  sanguinary  judicial  adminis- 
tration. The  huge  iron  stocks  in  which  many  a  cateran  did 
penance  for  his  larcenies  are  still  preserved,  as  also  the  far-famed 
"  kind  gallows  of  Crieff,"  referred  to  in  Waverley,  on  passing 
which  the  Highlanders  used  to  touch  their  bonnets,  with  the 
ejaculation,  "  God  bless  her  nain  sell,  and  the  Teil  tamn  you." 

The  neighbourhood  of  Crieff  presents  within  a  narrow  com- 
pass, as  has  been  said  with  truth,  quite  a  galaxy  of  aristocratic 
mansion  houses.  Is  it  owing  to  a  consequent  impress  of  exclusive- 
ness  on  the  otherwise  courteous  proprietors,  that  one  is  struck 
by  the  equally  marked  absence  of  the  villas  of  the  middle  classes, 
the  usual  concomitants  of  a  respectable  town  ?  A  stingy  denial 
of  feuing  sites  is  one  of  the  most  ungracious  and  unworthy  acts 
possible  on  the  part  of  landed  proprietors ;  and  the  good  folks 
of  Crieff  have  well  grounded  cause  of  complaint  of  the  priva- 
tions, in  the  midst  of  "  enough  and  to  spare,"  to  which  they  are 
subjected  in  this  respect,  and  which  cannot  but  operate  as  a  hin- 
drance to  the  improvement  and  increase  of  the  place. 

2.  Of  the  country  seats  the  most  distinguished  is  Drum- 

*  Among  the  stage  coaches  from  and  to  Crieff  in  all  directions.  Mr.  Robertson  of 
the  Drummond  Anus  lias  started  a  daily  mail  coach  to  Lpchearnhead  and  Killin,  and 
we  believe  to  Callander,  which  is  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  public,  accommo- 
dation. A  roach,  in  connexion,  runs  between  Killin  and  I/och  Lomond.  Also  one 
from  Crieff  by  Amulrcc  to  Dunkeld.  The  distance  from  Edinburgh  or  Glasgow  to 
Fort- William  or  Oban,  rin  Crirff,  can  be  accomplished  in  one  day. 


ROUTE  II.  A. 


DRUMMOXD    CASTLE. 


251 


mond  Castle  (Lord  and  Lady  Willoughby  de  Eresby)  four  miles 
distant.  The  castle  surmounts  a  rocky  eminence,  in  the  midst 
of  a  park  of  the  most  spacious  dimensions,  "  a  waste  of  lawn  and 
pasture "  skirting  the  ample  sloping  base  of  Turleum  with  its 
mantle  of  larch.  Gentle  hill,  shelving  dale,  and  undulating 
slopes  diversify  the  policies,  which  extend  two  miles  either  way, 


Drurumond  Castle. 


dotted  with  clumps  and  noble  avenues  of  aged  timber.  The 
pastures  are  alive  with  hundreds  of  red  and  fallow  deer,  which 
gaze  upon  the  stranger  or  bound  away  from  his  advancing  steps  ; 
while  on  the  north  an  extensive  artificial  sheet  of  water,  en- 
circled by  fine  oaks,  with  foliage  depending  to  the  water's 


252  DRUMMOND    CASTLE — FERNTOWER.  SECT.  V. 

edge,  presents  its  troops  of  stately  and  graceful  swans  and  other 
waterfowl.  Matchless  flower  gardens,  well  known  by  repute 
to  every  florist,  lie  on  the  south  side  of  the  castle  rock.  Figures 
intricately  mingled,  but  "  not  without  a  plan,"  and  mathema- 
tically cut  in  sward  of  velvet  smoothness,  interspersed  with 
groups  of  statuary,  form  an  extensive  level  parterre,  which  is 
connected  by  a  shelving  bank  of  shrubbery  to  a  terrace  and  an 
esplanade,  which  leads  by  an  archway  into  the  castle  court. 
The  inhabited  portion,  an  irregular  range  of  building,  rises  ab- 
ruptly from  the  edge  of  the  rock.  To  the  quadrangular  space  in 
front,  the  main  access  is  across  a  half-moon  court  at  the  fur- 
ther end,  formed  by  the  ruins  of  an  old  square  keep  and  its  ac- 
cessories, to  an  arched  outer  entrance  under  which,  the  approach 
has  been  cut  through  rock.  Towering  as  it  thus  does  above  a 
demesne  of  such  exquisite  character,  itself  the  centre  of  an  ex- 
panse of  rich  and  profusely  wooded  country,  with  the  Gram- 
pians in  sight  on  the  north,  Drummond  Castle  may  well  be 
pronounced,  in  the  words  of  Macculloch,  "  absolutely  unrivalled 
in  the  low  country,  and  only  exceeded  in  the  Highlands  by  Dun- 
keld  and  Blair." 

James  the  Fourth,  the  merry  and  chivalrous  monarch,  fre- 
quently visited  Drummond  Castle,  and  the  tragic  story  of  the 
fair  but  ill-fated  Margaret  Drummond  is  a  well-known  incident 
in  early  Scottish  gossip.  Her  present  Majesty  and  Prince  Al- 
bert also  honoured  it  with  their  presence  in  September  1842. 

3.  Strangers  may  be  gratified  at  Ferntower  House,  within  a 
mile  of  the  town,  with  a  sight  of  Tippoo  Saib's  sword,  presented 
to  Sir  David  Baird  at  Seringapatam,  and  of  a  great  painting  by 
Wilkie  of  the   "Finding  of  the  Body  of  Tippoo"  after  the 
storming  of  that  important  fortress,  in  which  Sir  David  Baird 
bore  a  conspicuous  part. 

Among  other  of  the  delightful  walks  and  excursions  which 
the  neighbourhood  presents,  "  Lady  Mary's  Green  Walk,"  along 
the  banks  of  the  Earn,  conducts  to  Tomnachastle — a  fine  wooded 
eminence,  three  miles  from  Crieff,  on  which  an  obelisk  of  Aber- 
deen granite,  84  feet  high,  has  been  erected  to  Sir  David's  me- 
mory. The  view  from  the  Knock  of  Crieff  is  also  worthy  of 
attention,  and,  if  time  permit,  that  from  the  top  of  Turleum 
will  be  found  still  more  commanding  and  interesting. 

4.  Before  quitting  this  locality  we  are  tempted  to  wander 
a  few  miles  further  south,  and  make  room  for  a  somewhat  de- 


ROUTE  II.  A.          ROMAN  CAMPS  AT  ARDOCH.  253 

tailed  description  of  the  celebrated  Roman  Camps  at  Ardoch, 
in  Strathallan,  a  district  shelving  down  to  Dunblane  and  the 
Bridge  of  Allan,  which,  immediately  connected  as  they  were 
with  the  gallant  and  patriotic  struggles  of  our  brave  Highland 
ancestors,  and  unquestionably  the  most  entire  specimen  of 
Roman  castramentation  in  Scotland,  and  we  believe  in  Britain, 
can  hardly  be  deemed  out  of  place.  They  are  said  to  have  been 
the  Castra  Stativa  of  Agricola,  when  on  this  side  of  Bodotria, 
skirmishing  with  the  hardy  sons  of  Caledonia,  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Galgacus. 

Since  the  opening  of  the  line  of  the  Scottish  Central  Rail- 
way, the  Greenloaning  Station  has  been  regarded  as  one  of 
the  principal  starting  points  to  the  Western  Highlands  of  Perth- 
shire. To  meet  the  convenience  of  travellers,  stage-coaches  ply 
thrice  a  day  to  Muthil  and  Crieff,  and  private  conveyances  are 
also  in  attendance  on  the  trains.  And  the  line  of  road  leading 
between  Greenloaning  and  Crieff  (11  miles),  runs  through  a 
tract  of  country  of  great  natural  beauty — rich  with  historical 
associations.  Shortly  after  passing  the  village  of  Braco  (1  mile), 
and  ascending  the  rising  ground  beyond  the  bridge  which 
crosses  the  Knaick,  the  road  leads  right  through  the  Camps. 

The  extensive  space  occupied  by  the  camps  consists  of  four 
departments.  The  position  was  happily  selected  for  defence  ; 
on  the  west  the  Camp  was  safely  protected  by  the  abrupt  steep 
rising  from  the  river  Knaick,  and  having  two  fossae  between  it 
and  the  banks  ;  on  the  south  by  a  deep  morass,  which  extended 
a  considerable  way  eastward,  with  its  two  fossae  also  ;  and  on 
the  east  and  north  by  deep  intrenchments  of  five  ditches  and 
six  ramparts  parallel  to  the  station  ;  all  of  which  were  doubt- 
less amply  sufficient  to  guard  those  within,  and  to  ward  off  the 
assaults  of  a  besieging  army.  The  area  of  the  station  within 
the  intrenchments  may  still  be  seen,  and  is  of  an  oblong  form, 
420  feet  by  375,  with  its  four  sides  nearly  facing  the  cardinal 
points  of  the  compass.  The  place  of  the  Practorium  or  general's 
quarter  is  a  regular  square  of  sixty  feet  in  the  side,  in  the  rear 
or  part  furthest  distant  from  the  enemy  ;  but  it  is  marked  off 
rather  irregularly,  for  on  inspection  it  is  not  found  to  be  exactly 
in  the  middle  between  the  gates,  nor  parallel  with  those  of  the 
station.  It  is  however  elevated  above  the  general  level  of  the 
ground,  and  appears  to  have  been  enclosed  by  a  stone  wall. 
Within  this,  also,  there  are  the  foundations  of  a  building  30 


254  ROMAN  CAMPS  AT  ARDOCH.  SECT.  V. 

feet  by  27,  which  gives  some  probability  to  the  conjecture  that 
there  was  a  place  of  worship  once  here,  which  is  still  called  the 
Chapel  Hill.* 

Of  the  four  gates  which  belonged  to  the  Roman  Station, 
three  only  are  now  to  be  distinguished,  the  fourth  being  scarcely 
traceable.  Fronting  the  Praetorium  is  the  Praetorian  Gate, 
crossing  the  north  lines  in  an  oblique  direction.  Opposite  to 
that  gate,  and  behind  the  Praetorium  where  the  Decuman  Gate 
should  be,  is  a  road  leading  out  of  the  Camp,  which  may  have 
been  the  Decuman  ;  and  onwards  to  the  right  and  left  of  the 
Prsetorium  are  to  be  seen  the  two,  which  were  called  principal 
gates,  as  being  at  the  ends  of  the  principal  street  which 
crossed  the  camp  in  front  of  the  Praetorium.  Upon  the  Poly- 
bean  system  of  castramentation,  this  fort  would  accommodate 
1200  men. 

Immediately  adjacent  to  the  north  side  of  the  station,  is  the 
Procestrium  or  Pro-castrum  (for  a  camp),  or  an  addition  to  the 
other,  as  probably  used  by  Agricola,  for  containing  his  baggage, 
when  he  thought  of  dividing  his  army  into  three  parts,  in  order 
to  watch  the  movements  of  Galgacus,  and  fight  him  from  the 
neighbouring  hills.  This  Procestrium  seems  to  have  been 
strongly  fortified,  and  a  subsequent  work  to  the  other,  for  part 
of  the  area  of  the  Great  Camp  was  included  in  it ;  but  its  in- 
trenchments  are  levelled  by  the  plough,  while  the  corner  of  the 
former  is  yet  visible.  Its  south  gate  is  also  to  be  seen,  as  con- 
necting it  with  the  station,  and  this  again  with  the  fragments 
of  another  gate  on  the  north  side.  It  was  of  an  oblong  shape, 
consisting  of  1060  feet  by  900,  and  capable  of  accommodating 
4000  men. 

North  west  of  the  Procestrium  is  the  Great  Camp,  so  styled 
from  its  size.  Its  mean  length  is  2800  feet,  and  its  mean  breadth 
1950  ;  it  would,  therefore,  according  to  the  Polybean  system, 
hold  about  26,000  men  ;  and  this  was  what  induced  General 

*  There  is  a  deeply  imbedded  subterranean  apartment  which  had  probably  been 
a  water-tank,  somewhere  below  the  Prsetorinm,  out  of  which  at  one  penod  a  number 
of  Roman  helmets,  spears,  and  other  memorials  were  recovered.  But  the  search  was 
interrupted  by  the  foulness  of  the  air.  The  opening  of  the  aperture  having  been 
afterwards  shut  up,  all  subsequent  attempts  to  find  it  Rave  proved  unavailing.  Many 
stone  coffins  have  oeen  found  at  different  times  in  digging  about  the  camps,  or  near 
them,  and  some  of  the  skeletons  contained  in  them  are  said  to  have  been  of  an  un- 
common size.  Among  others  in  a  stone  coffin  found  about  a  mile  west  from  the 
camps,  a  skeleton,  seven  feet  long ;  and  a  mile  and  a  half  distant,  in  the  Muir  of  Or- 
chil, another  of  the  same  length,  in  Cairn  Woehil.  These  have  generally  been  in  cairns 
or  heaps  of  stones. 


ROUTE  II.  A.    ROMAN  CAMPS  AT  ARDOCH.  255 

Roy  to  believe  that  it  was  in  this  camp  that  Agricola  held  his 
great  army  previous  to  his  dividing  it  into  three  bodies,  in  or- 
der to  meet  and  conquer  the  Caledonians. 

The  form  of  this  camp  is  oblong,  but  not  so  regular  as  that 
of  a  parallelogram — a  fact  which  seems  to  prove  that  the 
Romans  did  not  adhere  to  mathematical  nicety,  where  the  na- 
ture of  the  ground  did  not  well  permit.  The  public  road  to 
the  north,  known  of  old  as  the  military  road,  enters  by  its 
south  gate,  and  so  has  cut  down  one-half  of  the  epaulment 
which  covered  it ;  but  the  other  half  still  remains  rather  en- 
tire. The  north  gate  is  a  little  east  of  the  road,  covered  by  a 
straight  traverse,  and  another  gate  on  the  west  is  in  the  same 
way  protected.  On  the  east  side,  towards  the  north,  there  is  a 
gate  that  has  been  defended,  not  only  by  a  square  redoubt, 
within  the  lines,  but  also  by  a  clavicle — from  which  circumstance 
it  may  be  supposed  that  a  weak  legion  was  there  quartered. 

On  the  west  side  of  this  Great  Camp  is  a  smaller  one  of  an 
oblong  shape.  Its  size  is  1910  by  1340  feet,  and  it  would 
afford  accommodation  for  12,000  men.  To  the  antiquary  this 
one  is  very  interesting,  especially  in  tracing  the  itinera  of 
Agricola.  It  is  evidently  higher  in  position  than  the  other 
camps  ;  one-half  of  it  lies  within  the  other  camp,  which  is  ad- 
jacent to  it ;  and  the  fact  of  its  being  left  so  very  entire,  would 
perhaps  point  to  it  as  the  abode  of  the  third  part  of  the  Roman 
army  that  remained  with  their  leader,  whilst  the  others  were 
encamped  at  Strageath,  and  Dealgin  Ross,  on  the  plains  of 
Comrie  ;  for  the  entireness  of  the  camp  serves  to  prove  that  it 
was  the  last  occupied,  and  that  Agricola  left  it  in  great  haste 
with  his  third  division,  to  aid  the  ninth  legion,  who  were  then 
almost  subdued,  in  the  Camp  of  Dealgin  Ross.  The  camps  are 
now  enclosed  within  the  grounds  of  Ardoch  House,  and  carefully 
protected  from  further  dilapidation. 

5.  Leaving  the  camp,  and  having  gained  the  height  to  the 
north,  the  line  of  the  military  road  formed  by  General  Wade 
presents  itself,  and  runs  in  a  direct  line  over  the  Muir  of  Curry- 
over.  Shortly  afterwards  the  turnpike  diverges  to  the  right, 
and  on  the  summit  of  the  Muir  we  reach  the  policies  of  Orchil 
House — (Gillespie  Graham).  After  an  easy  descent  the  road  at 
Bishop  Bridge  crosses  the  river  Machany — a  fine  clearly-running 
stream,  and  noted  in  the  district  for  its  excellent  trout-fishing. 

Surmounting  another  height,  we  find  ourselves  at  the  poli- 


256  MDTHIL — MCNZIE.  SECT.  V. 

cies  of  Culdees  Castle — (Speir).  Here  the  extensive  plain, 
richly  wooded,  and  studded  with  noblemen's  and  gentlemen's 
seats — to  the  left  the  grounds  of  Drummond  Castle,  backed  by 
Turleum,  and  the  lofty  Ben  Voirlich — in  the  foreground  the 
village  of  Muthil,  imbedded  in  wood,  with  Crieff  beyond,  and 
the  heights  in  front  of  which  it  stands,  overtopped  by  the  Gram- 
pian range,  present  a  landscape  of  extreme  beauty,  variety,  and 
grandeur.  A  mile  further  to  the  northward  stands  the  thriv- 
ing village  of  Muthil,  with  its  population  of  1300  souls.  The 
Old  (formerly  Collegiate)  Church  is  now  roofless,  but  it  still 
raises  its  time-worn  tower  high  over  the  venerable  yews  which 
encircle  its  choir.  This  pile,  according  to  Spottiswood,  was 
built  four  centuries  ago  by  Bishop  Ochiltree.  The  tower  is  one 
of  those  usually  ascribed  to  the  artists  of  the  ninth  century.* 
The  parish  church,  standing  on  a  commanding  site,  is  a  fine 
specimen  of  the  Gothic  style.  It  was  finished  in  1828,  at  a  cost 
of  £6900,  and  is  conveniently  seated  for  1600  persons.  Passing 
through  Muthil  the  wayfarer  enters  the  magnificent  avenue — 
composed  of  stately  beeches,  chesnut,  and  lime-trees — which 
embower  the  road  to  Crieff  (three  miles)  ;  and  here  and  there 
the  eye  is  attracted  by  a  turret  or  a  jutty  of  Drummond  Castle 
half  hid  by  the  venerable  elms, — 


"Whose  boughs  are  mossed  with  age, 

And  high  tops  bald  with  dry  antiquity," 

which  contest  for  a  standing  place  in  the  clefts. 

TO    AMULREE    AND   ABEKFELDY. 

6.  Before  entering  on  the  route  to  Lochearnhead,  we  may 
shortly  notice  the  access  to  the  Highlands  by  Amulree.  On  the 
way  Monzie  (Campbell)  is  passed,  in  which  the  paintings  and 
armoury  are  worthy  of  observation,  while  the  grounds  are 
highly  picturesque.  They  contain  a  few  of  the  first  larches 
brought  to  this  country  by  the  Duke  of  Athole,  and,  like  those 
at  Dunkeld,  of  great  size — from  eighteen  to  twenty  feet  in  girth. 
After  passing  Gilmerton,  the  road  ascends  a  steep  acclivity, 
near  the  top  of  which  a  magnificent  view  westward,  towards 
Comrie,  is  displayed.  We  may  observe,  that  along  the  direct 
Perth  road  are  a  succession  of  fine  seats  and  other  objects  of 
note — as  Abercairney,  (Major  Moray  Stirling)  ;  the  ruins  of 

•  It  is  square,  and  about  70  feet  high,  like  that  at  Dunning,  near  Forteviot,  the 
Scoto-Pictish  capital.    The  Brechin  and  Abernethy  towers  are  narrow  and  round. 


ROUTE  II.  A.  TOMB  OF  OSSIAN.  257 

Inchaffray  Abbey ;  Gorthy,  (Mercer)  ;  Tippermalloch,  (Smy the)  ; 
Methven  Castle,  (Smythe),  near  which  Bruce  was  defeated, 
June  19,  1306,  by  Aymer  de  Valence,  Earl  of  Pembroke ;  and 
Ruthven  Castle — now  called  Huntingtower — the  scene  of  the 
Raid  of  Ruthven. 

7.  Proceeding  onwards  from  Monzie,  the  road  passes  for 
three  miles  along  a  bare  moor,  till  the  picturesque  grounds  of 
Logie  Almond  (Paton)  present  their  artificial  outlines,  in  the 
middle  of  wild  mountain  scenery.     The  road  to  Amulree  strikes 
to  the  left  up  the  small  glen.     Another  branch  leads  down  Glen 
Almond,  passing  Logie  Almond,  Gorthie,  (Mercer,)  and  soon 
reaches  the  inn  of  Cairnies,  where  good  accommodation  may 
be  had,  and  whence  the  imposing  buildings  of  Trinity  College 
may  be  conveniently  visited. 

The  pass  into  the  Highlands  possesses  several  rather  re- 
markably bold  and  rugged  features,  and  is  worthy  of  a  passing 
visit.  It  is  flanked  on  one  side  by  hollow  acclivities,  passing 
into  huge  impending  rocks,  and  on  the  other  by  lofty  cliffs 
quite  perpendicular — is  about  two  miles  in  length,  and  in  some 
places  so  narrow,  as  barely  to  afford  room  for  the  bed  of  the 
river.  In  the  bottom  of  the  pass,  towards  its  upper  end,  is  a 
large,  nearly  cubical,  stone,  which  tradition  says  formerly 
covered  the  tomb  of  Ossian,  and  which  was  displaced  in  1 746, 
during  the  formation  of  the  road,  when  a  small  chamber  was 
found  below  it,  containing  bones. 

" Ossian,  last  of  all  his  race, 

Lies  buried  in  this  lonely  place." 

The  highly-elevated  summit  of  the  opening  communicating 
between  Straths  Earn  and  Tay  (where  the  inn  of  Curriemuck- 
lach  and  the  public-houses,  with  the  church  and  manse  of 
Amulree — situated  on  the  Braan,  which  descends  to  Dunkeld — 
are  found)  is  a  dreary  waste,  encompassed  with  low  heathy  hills. 
The  distance  to  Dunkeld  is  ten ;  to  Tay-Bridge,  at  Aberfeldy. 
twelve  miles. 

TO    LOCHEARNHEAD. 

8.  Between  Crieff  and  Comrie   Strathearn  gradually  nar- 
rows, and  on  the  way  we  meet  many  country-seats.     The  lower 
part  of  the  valley  is  rich  in  corn-fields,  which  are  lined  off  and 

•  2 


258  COMRIE.  SECT.  V. 

intersected  by  fine  old  trees,  and  flanked  by  hanging  woods, 
while  the  northern  boundary  partakes  much  of  a  mountainous 
character.  Ochtertyre,  (Sir  W.  Keith  Murray,)  about  two 
miles  from  Crieff,  and  Lawers  House,  (Mrs.  Williamson,)  further 
on,  are  surrounded  by  noble  woods.  Between  them,  Strowan 
(Graham  Stirling)  and  Clathie  (Colquhoun).  Ochtertyre  has 
acquired  a  deserved  celebrity  for  the  romantic  beauty  of  its 
situation.  It  occupies  an  elevated  terrace  on  the  slope  of  a 
long  wooded  hill,  skirted  at  the  base  by  a  sheet  of  water  of 
considerable  extent,  variegated  with  wood-clad  islets.  The 
course  of  the  neighbouring  stream — the  Turret — exhibits  a 
variety  of  much-admired  scenery,  rendered  classical  by  the  pen 
of  Burns,  who  also,  while  at  Ochtertyre,  wrote  the  blythesome 
song  of  "  Blythe  blythe  and  merry  was  she,"  on  the  "  Flower 
of  Strathmore,"  Miss  Euphemia  Murray  of  Lintrose.  Loch 
Turret — a  fine  loch  about  seven  miles  distant  from  Crieff,  over- 
hung by  a  bold  crag,  and  embellished  by  a  castellated  lodge — 
lies  embosomed  among  the  hills  forming  the  frontier  range  of 
the  Grampians.  On  the  way,  the  tourist  should  visit  the  Falls 
of  the  Borvick,  and  those  of  the  Turret  in  returning.  The 
parks  of  Lawers  boast,  perhaps,  the  largest  pine  trees  to  be  seen 
in  any  part  of  Scotland. 

9.  Comrie  is  a  populous  village,  situated  on  the  north  bank 
of  the  Earn.  It  possesses  a  neat  church  and  spire.  Cotton - 
weaving  for  the  Glasgow  manufacturers  is  the  chief  occupation 
of  the  inhabitants.  Half  a  mile  south  of  the  village,  on  the 
level  plain  of  Dealginross,  are  the  remains  of  another  Roman 
camp,  calculated  to  have  been  of  a  size  sufficient  to  accommo- 
date 8000  foot  and  3000  horse.  It  is  by  commentators  supposed 
to  have  been  that  of  Agricola's  19th  legion,  who  were  surprised 
and  defeated  by  the  Caledonians,  under  Galgacus,  at  the  foot  of 
the  Grampians  ;  though  the  tide  of  victory  was  turned  by  the 
attack  on  the  Caledonians  in  the  rear,  by  the  forces  from  the 
camp  at  Ardoch,  already  described.  About  a  mile  and  a  half  be- 
hind the  village,  a  well-proportioned  monument,  about  seventy- 
two  feet  in  height,  has  been  erected  to  the  memory  of  the  late 
Lord  Melville,  overhanging  a  turbulent  little  stream  called  the 
"  Humble  Bumble."  Near  the  monument  is  the  "  Devil's 
Caldron,"  where  the  rivulet,  at  the  further  extremity  of  a  long, 
deep,  and  narrow  chasm,  is  precipitated  in  a  fall  of  some  height. 
As  it  escapes  from  its  confinement,  it  tumbles  over  a  second 


ROUTE  ii.  A.  ST.  FILLAN'S.  259 

lower  perpendicular  descent,  and  then,  rushing  down  in  a 
slanting  curve,  it  leaps  headlong  into  a  wide  deep  pool,  half 
over-arched  hy  two  moss-covered  rocks,  which,  falling  from 
above,  have  suddenly  stopped,  perching  themselves  on  the  very 
verge  of  the  gulf,  and  overhanging,  on  opposite  sides,  the 
darkened  water.  From  the  monument  the  view  is  extensive, 
varied,  and  interesting. 

The  neighbourhood  of  Comrie  is  remarkable  for  the  frequent 
occurrence  of  smart  shocks  of  earthquakes,  by  which  solid 
bodies  have  been  made  to  vibrate,  and  lighter  ones  overturned. 
The  most  severe  shock  which  has  occurred  in  the  memory  of 
the  oldest  inhabitants,  was  that  which  occurred  on  23d  October 
1839.  They  generally  happen  in  the  wane  of  the  moon,  and 
are  immediately  preceded  by  a  great  stillness  of  the  atmosphere.* 

10.  Between  the  village  of  Comrie  and  Loch  Earn  (five 
miles  and  a  half  distant),  we  pass  Aberuchil  Castle,  Dalchonzie, 
and  the  mansion  of  Dunira  (Sir  David  Dundas,  Bart.),  with  its 
picturesque  grounds  and  many  pleasure  walks.     A  little  way 
east  of  St.  Fillan's,  the  strath  becomes  for  a  short  space  very 
narrow,  and  the  mountains  seem  to  close  in  upon  the  traveller. 

The  pedestrian  or  horseman  ought  to  cross  to  the  south 
bank  of  the  river  at  the  Bridge  of  Ross,  for  a  couple  of  miles. 
He  will  thus  pass  close  to  Aberuchil  Castle  (Col.  Drummond), 
a  high  square  structure,  built  in  1602,  with  a  more  mo- 
dern addition.  It  has  witnessed  many  sanguinary  scenes 
between  the  Campbells  and  MacGregors.  Avenues  of  lime, 
horse-chesnut,  and  other  trees  of  great  growth,  adorn  the 
grounds.  Dalchonzie  is  a  name  given  to  a  sporting  retreat, 
consisting  of  a  row  of  neat  white-washed  houses  on  the  south 
bank  of  the  river.  Dunira  is  the  country  residence  to  which  the 
celebrated  Lord  Melville  retired  from  public  life.  It  is  a  large 
square  building,  standing  on  a  spacious  level  lawn  (north  side), 
encompassed  by  lofty  and  wooded  mountains.  In  the  house  is 
to  be  seen  a  curious  and  costly  jewel  casket  of  Hyder  Ali. 

11.  The  village  of  St.  Fillan's,  at  the  east  end  of  Loch  Earn, 
is  one  of  the  neatest  in  the  Highlands.     It  consists  of  about 
fifty  houses,  of  one  story  each,  but  almost  all  of  which  are  slated, 
and  extending  from  the  inn  at  the  end  of  the  lake,  partly  along 
the  river  and  partly  along  the  lake  side.     Most  of  the  houses 

*  Those  who  may  lie  desirous  of  making  themselves  acquainted  with  these  pheno- 
mena are  referred  to  the  Edinburgh  PhilosophicalJournal,  1841-42. 


260  LOCH    EARN.  SECT.  V. 

used  to  be  ornamented  in  front  with  ivy,  honeysuckle,  and 
other  creepers,  and  each  house  has  a  narrow  stripe  of  ground 
enclosed,  on  either  side  of  the  door,  decorated  with  laurel  and 
flowering  shrubs.  But  we  regret  to  find  that  the  inhabitants 
are  not  careful  to  retain  their  reputation  for  the  tidiness  and 
taste  which  used  to  distinguish  their  dwellings.  At  the  west 
end  there  are  some  very  neat  houses,  with  gardens  in  front.  St. 
Fillan,  who  had  been  prior  of  Pittenweem,  was  Robert  Bruce's 
favourite  saint.  One  of  his  arms  was  borne  in  a  shrine  by  the 
Abbot  of  Inchaffray,  at  the  battle  of  Bannockburn.  This  arm 
is  now  in  North  America,  in  the  possession  of  a  man  named 
Dewar.  His  well  here,  as  well  as  in  Strath  Fillan,  was,  in 
the  memory  of  the  present  generation,  deemed  efficacious  for 
the  cure  of  many  disorders. 

An  islet,  at  the  foot  of  Loch  Earn,  was  at  one  time  the  re- 
treat of  a  bandit  family  or  sept  of  the  name  of  Neish.  On  one 
occasion  they  ventured  to  plunder  some  of  the  clan  Mac  Nab, 
who  lived  at  the  west  end  of  Loch  Tay,  while  on  their  way  from 
a  foray  in  the  low  country.  The  chieftain  despatched  across 
the  hill  a  party  carrying  a  boat  with  them,  and  commanded  by 
his  son,  a  doughty  personage,  known  by  the  appellative  of 
smooth  John  Mac  Nab,  who  surprised  the  marauders  by  night, 
put  them  all  to  the  sword,  and  exterminated  almost  the  whole 
sept  of  the  Neishes,  and  carried  away  in  triumph  the  head  of  the 
old  father  of  the  caterans.  Hence  the  Mac  Nab's  motto, 
"  Dread  nought,"  with  their  crest,  a  man's  head,  are  said  to  have 
been  assumed  in  commemoration  of  this  event. 

12.  Loch  Earn  is  only  between  six  and  seven  miles  in  length. 
The  hills  on  the  north  are  pretty  lofty,  but  without  marked 
inclinations.  M'Culloch,  who  is  a  great  authority,  gives  Loch 
Earn  unqualified  praise.  He  regards  its  style  as  that  of  a  lake 
of  much  larger  dimensions  and  yet  complete  in  itself,  and  not 
to  be  regarded  as  a  reduced  copy.  It  has  not  impressed  us  so 
forcibly,  yet  there  is  considerable  truth  in  his  eulogium.  Good 
views  are  obtained  from  the  extremities.  As  on  Loch  Tay,  the 
northern  hills  are  of  more  decided  character  than  the  opposing 
ones. 

Should  the  traveller  incline  to  shape  his  route  eastward  by 
Loch  Earn  side,  the  southern  road  is  to  be  preferred,  as  it 
affords  a  fine  view  of  the  scenery  stretching  to  the  north. 
From  within  a  mile  and  a  half  of  Lochearnhead,  it  will  be  found 


ROUTE  II.  A.  FAIXS  OF  EDINAMPI.E.  261 

to  pass  through  continuous  woods  of  oak,  larch,  ash,  and  birch, 
with  oak  copse,  and  brushwood  beneath.  The  finest  landscapes 
occur  about  midway,  a  little  to  the  east  of  the  house  of  Ard- 

vorlich  ( Stewart),  where  trees  of  various  sizes  overhang  the 

water,  and  short  wood-fringed  promontories  projecting  into  the 
lake,  with  gracefully  sweeping  arms  of  little  semicircular  bays, 
bordered  with  trees,  afford  a  pleasing  foreground  and  a  sufficiency 
of  ornament,  while  of  the  water  and  opposite  hills  only  limited 
sections  are  necessarily  embraced  by  the  eye.  Ben  Voirlich  rears 
its  lofcy  head  behind  Ardvorlich  ;  and  the  still  celebrated  Deer 
Forest  of  Glenartney  spreads  around  its  eastern  base.*  Rather 
more  than  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  inn  of  Lochearnhead,  we 
come  to  the  Castle  and  Falls  of  Edinample.  The  former,  near 
the  loch  and  burn  side,  is  a  high  square  building,  with  a  round 
tower  bulging  out  from  each  of  two  opposite  corners.  It  belongs 
to  the  Earl  of  Breadalbane,  and  is  kept  in  a  habitable  state  of 

repair,  and  is  now  the  residence  of Campbell,  Esq.     The 

falls  are  immediately  below  the  road,  and  are  approached  on 
the  east  side  of  the  rivulet.  Pouring  over  a  broad  rugged  rock, 
in  two  perpendicular  streams,  on  each  side  of  a  narrow  inter- 
posing fragment,  the  waters  unite  about  midway,  and,  slanting 
forward,  complete  the  descent  by  a  second  vertical  leap  ;  the 
whole  height  apparently  being  about  sixty  feet.  On  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  pool,  below  the  fall,  the  bank  rises  in  abrupt 
rocks,  surmounted  by  a  wooded  slope,  from  the  edge  of  which  slen- 
der ash  trees  project.  The  other  bank  ascends  in  a  receding  tree- 
clad  acclivity.  Airy  birches  crown  the  high  broad  cliffs  above 
the  fall,  and  behind  them  are  seen  the  sombre  walls  of  an  old 
burial  vault.  Opposite  Ardvorlich,  on  the  north  side,  is  a  valu- 
able lime  quarry,  which  has  tended  greatly  to  the  agricultural 
improvement  of  the  district. 

13.  The  Loch  Tay  road  branches  off  from  the  main  one, 
between  Stirling  and  Fort- William,  at  a  point  about  six  miles 
distant  from  Lochearnhead,  and  rather  more  than  two  from  the 
village  of  Killin,  at  the  west  end  of  Loch  Tay.  This  lake  is 
fifteen  miles  in  length  by  one  of  general  breadth.  On  the  north 
side  it  is  encompassed  by  a  chain  of  bulky  mountains,  rising 
towards  the  west  and  centre,  into  bare  and  lofty,  but  gracefully 
outlined  heads,  of  which  Ben  Lawers,  the  most  elevated  of  the 

*  For  an  account  of  the  well-known  incident  founded  on  in  the  Legend  of  Mon- 
trose,  and  the  subject  of  Clan  Alpin's  vow— a  spirited  piece  of  poetry  bv  Alexander 
Boswell,  see  p.  87. 


262  KILLIN — FINLARIG  CASTLE.  SECT.  V. 

Perthshire  hills,  towers  pre-eminent.*  The  opposite  heights 
differ  in  outline,  being  of  a  soft  and  regular  form  ;  and  on  both 
sides  the  mountain  ranges  are  well  clothed  with  heath  and 
pasture,  but  little  broken  with  naked  rock.  At  the  head 
of  Loch  Tay,  two  glens,  Dochart  and  Lochy,  separated  by  a 
broad  range  of  hills,  unite.  From  the  termination  of  the  inter- 
vening barrier,  a  cultivated  plain,  about  a  mile  square,  extends 
to  the  extremity  of  the  lake.  The  line  of  hill  ground,  inter- 
mediate between  the  two  valleys,  descends  in  a  long  waving 
ridge,  whose  sides  are  clothed  more  than  half-way  down  with  a 
dense  larch  wood.  Between  the  hills  which  border  on  Loch 
Tay  to  the  south,  and  the  western  portion  of  the  lake,  a  lower 
tier  ascends  in  successive  eminences,  profusely  chequered  with 
oak,  birch,  pine,  larch,  and  beech.  Upon  the  north  the  plain 
is  immediately  succeeded  by  broken  ground,  wooded  as  the 
opposite  hills.  The  river  Lochy,  from  this  side,  sweeps  across 
the  level  at  the  foot  of  the  mid  range,  and  proceeds  to  join  the 
Dochart,  in  a  still,  all  but  motionless  stream. 

Killin,  the  burying  place  of  Fingal,  is  much  admired  for  its 
numerous  landscapes.  The  village,  a  long  line  of  stone  and 
lime  huts,  thatched  with  heath,  extends  in  opposite  directions 
on  both  banks  of  the  Dochart,  before  it  is  joined  by  the  Lochy. 
The  river  at  Killin  rushes  over  a  widened  and  shelving  channel, 
and  encircles  two  islands  immediately  above  one  another.  From 
the  upper  end  of  the  lower,  three  small  bridges  cross  the  stream. 
This  island  is  some  two  hundred  yards  long,  and  is  surrounded 
by  a  grove  of  tall  magnificent  pines,  from  six  to  eight  feet  thick  ; 
the  upper  islet  is  also  crowned  with  similar  pines.  These 
objects,  with  the  houses  and  mills  of  the  village,  afford  a  multi- 
plicity of  foregrounds  to  the  noble  views  of  the  huge  sides  and 
lofty  twin  summits  of  Ben  Lawers  and  the  contiguous  mountains, 
and,  looking  to  the  westward,  of  Ben  More's  sharper  peaks. 

14.  On  the  north  side  of  the  plain  above  alluded  to,  rather 
more  than  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  village,  stand  the  ruins 
of  Finlarig  Castle,  (an  ancient  seat  of  the  Breadalbane  family,) 
in  an  undulating  park,  surrounded  by  gigantic  sycamore  and 
other  trees  of  remarkable  growth.  The  castle,  a  narrow,  three- 
storeyed  building,  with  a  square  tower  at  one  corner,  is  entirely 
overgrown  or  faced  with  ivy ;  and  though  the  walls  have 

*  This  mountain  is  well  known  as  an  excellent  botanical  habitat.    Its  height  is 
4015  feet. 


ROUTE  II.  A.       FALLS  OF  THE  LOCHT.  263 

mainly  fallen,  and  the  building  be  small,  it  forms  a  picturesque 
ruin.  Immediately  adjoining  is  the  family  vault. 

On  the  occasion  of  a  marriage  festival  at  Finlarig,  in  years 
gone  by,  when  occupied  by  the  heir-apparent,  intelligence  was 
given  to  the  company,  which  comprised  the  principal  youth  of 
the  clan,  that  a  party  of  the  Macdonalds  of  Keppoch,  who  had 
just  passed  with  a  drove  of  lifted  cattle,  had  refused  to  pay  the 
accustomed  road  collop.  Flushed  with  revelry,  the  guests 
indignantly  sallied  out  and  attacked  the  Macdonalds  on  the 
adjoining  hill  of  Stronoclachan ;  but,  from  their  irregular 
impetuosity,  they  were  repulsed  with  loss.  Tidings  of  the 
affray  were  conveyed  to  Taymouth  ;  and,  a  reinforcement  arriv- 
ing, the  victors  were  overtaken  in  Glenorchy,  and  routed,  and 
their  leader  slain. 

Three  miles  from  the  inn,  on  the  Lochy,  are  a  series  of 
waterfalls,  well  worthy  of  a  visit.  Glen  Lochy  throughout  the 
space  below  them  is  a  wide  open  valley,  divided  into  large 
cultivated  fields  ;  fine  woods  of  oak,  birch,  larch,  and  beech 
extend  above,  and  some  large  plane  and  ash  trees  overhang  the 
road.  The  falls  are  six  in  number,  arranged  into  two  groups, 
separated  by  a  deep  clear  pool,  and  they  are  flanked  by  oak- 
surmounted  rocks.  They  vary  from  four  to  sixteen  feet  in 
height ;  and,  as  the  whole  are  seen  at  once,  form  a  very  pleas- 
ing series  of  cascades. 

15.  A  road  branches  off  on  either  side  of  Loch  Tay.  The 
southern  keeps  high  on  the  face  of  the  hills,  touching  the  edge 
of  the  water  but  twice,  till  within  a  mile  and  a  half  of  Ken- 
more  :  this  is  the  preferable  route,  on  account  of  the  superior 
characters  of  the  opposite  mountain  range,  and  the  occurrence 
near  Kenmore  of  the  falls  of  Acharn.  A  good  deal  of  cultiva- 
tion is  seen  on  either  side,  and  a  considerable  number  of  hamlets, 
particularly  on  the  north.  The  wood  is  chiefly  confined  to  the 
extremities  of  the  lake  but  its  obtuse  promontories  are  lined 
with  drooping  ash  trees.  In  the  rich  foliage  on  the  south, 
adjoining  Killin,  stands  embosomed  a  residence  in  which  the 
Marquis  of  Breadalbane  resided  when  Lord  Glenorchy.  The 
eastern  section  of  Loch  Tay  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Drum- 
mond  Hill  (distinct  and  separated  from  the  chain  of  Ben 
Lawers,  by  which  the  rest  of  that  side  is  bordered),  which 
reaches  for  three  miles  along  the  loch,  and  to  a  like  extent  down 
the  river  Tay ;  its  steep  southern  acclivity  clothed  through- 


264          FALLS  OF  ACHARN KENMORE.      SECT.  V. 

out  with  a  dense  magnificent  forest  of  pine,  larch,  and  hard 
wood. 

Two  miles  from  Kenmore,  on  the  south  side  of  Loch  Tay, 
are  the  Falls  of  Acharn,  half  a  mile  off  the  road.  The  path 
which  leads  to  them  strikes  off  on  the  west  side  of  a  small 
bridge,  where  there  is  a  mill  and  some  slated  houses,  and 
ascends  right  up  the  hill  face.  A  gate  on  the  bordering  dyke 
leads  to  the  edge  of  a  high  rock  ;  and  an  artificial  dark  passage 
conducts  into  a  neat  hermitage,  commanding  an  excellent  view 
of  the  fall.  The  burn,  precipitating  its  waters  over  the  side  of 
a  deep  and  wooded  dell,  first  performs  a  perpendicular  descent 
of  fully  fifty  feet,  separating  towards  the  bottom  into  two 
vertical  streams,  which  are  caught  by  a  small  basin  ;  whence 
the  water  escapes  by  successive  inclined  leaps,  the  whole  form- 
ing a  cascade  apparently  about  eighty  or  ninety  feet  high. 

16.  At  the  east  end  of  Loch  Tay  the  traveller  reaches  the 
village  of  Kenmore,  and  the  much-admired  environs  of  Tay- 
mouth  Castle.  The  valley  is  here  of  moderate  breadth.  As 
already  noticed,  the  eastern  portion  of  Loch  Tay,  and  the  river 
issuing  from  it  for  the  first  few  miles  of  its  course,  are  bounded 
on  the  north  side  by  a  long  wooded  eminence  called  Drummond 
Hill.  The  corresponding  hills  on  the  south  side,  for  the  first 
two  miles,  rise  in  a  moderate  acclivity,  richly  wooded  with  oak. 
birch,  and  larch.  Above  this  broad  belt  of  wood,  a  gentle 
arable  slope  supervenes,  rounding  off  at  top  in  a  prolonged, 
nearly  level,  summit,  partly  covered  with  larch  trees.  Further 
east,  the  continuation  of  this  the  southern  range  inclines  from 
the  wooded  bank  of  the  river,  in  a  lengthened  slope,  laid  out 
into  extensive  parks,  divided  by  straight  rows  and  belts  of  wood, 
and  the  surface  of  the  ground  above  is  chequered  over  with 
small  formal  clumps  of  larch.  The  river  issuing  from  the  north 
end  of  the  lake  keeps  the  same  side  of  the  valley  for  about  two 
miles  ;  when  it  makes  a  sudden  sweep  to  the  base  of  the 
opposite  hills.  The  space  thus  enclosed  for  two  miles  on  the 
south  side  of  the  river  is,  for  a  third  of  its  length,  that  next 
the  lake,  broken  into  gentle  undulations  ;  and  the  remaining 
portion  presents  a  triple  series  of  level  terraces,  gradually  lower- 
ing from  the  west.  On  the  most  easterly  terrace  stands  Tay- 
mouth  Castle,  the  seat  of  Lord  Breadalbane.  The  village  of 
Kenmore,  at  the  end  of  Loch  Tay,  consists  of  an  inn,  and  about 
a  score  of  small  houses  (a  few  of  them  bedecked  in  front  with 


ROUTE  II.  A.  TAYMOUTU    CASTLE.  265 

ivy,  honeysuckle,  virgin's  bower,  and  sweet-briar),  occupying  in 
a  wide  double  row  the  slope  of  a  small  peninsula,  formed 
between  the  river  and  a  creek,  or  prolongation  of  the  lake,  and 
surmounted  by  a  church,  with  a  neat,  square,  white-washed 
spire. 

At  a  distance  of  three  miles  from  the  lake,  the  Tay  is  joined 
by  the  river  Lyon,  which  has  its  source  in  the  district  of  Fort- 
ingal,  to  the  north  of  Drummond  Hill.  Its  mouth  forms  the 
limit  of  the  pleasure-grounds  of  Taymouth,  which  encompass  a 
circuit  of  thirteen  miles. 

Along  the  north  bank  of  the  Tay  there  extends  a  continuous 
row  of  stately  beech  trees,  two  miles  in  length,  over-shadowing 
a  terraced  walk  of  shaven  turf,  sixteen  yards  wide,  extending 
between  it  and  the  river.  For  a  mile  from  Kenmore,  on  the 
opposite  side,  a  corresponding  row  of  more  aged  beech,  screen 
with  their  umbrageous  foliage  a  similar  promenade.  Many 
fine  sycamores  occur  at  intervals  by  the  edge  of  the  water,  and 
behind  the  castle  the  winding  stream  is  skirted  by  an  avenue  of 
very  old  lime  trees ;  and  the  extremities  are  connected  by  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  same  in  a  straight  line,  the  whole  forming  a 
continued  Gothic  arch  for  the  space  of  a  mile.  These  magnifi- 
cent trees,  the  growth  of  centuries,  are  of  unusual  height ;  and 
their  lower  branches,  spreading  far  out,  form  sort  of  side-aisles 
to  the  fine  central  arched  way.  The  rest  of  the  lower  surface 
of  the  valley  is  sprinkled  with  aged  beech  trees,  one  of  which 
is  twenty-two  feet  in  circumference.  Taymouth  Castle  looks 
to  the  south ;  and  at  the  base  of  the  wooded  hills  in  front  are 
some  gigantic  and  picturesque  horse-chesnut  and  ash  trees,  as 
well  as  several  uncommonly  straight  and  beautiful  larches,  four- 
teen feet  in  girth,  and  a  hundred  and  thirty  feet  high.  A  great 
proportion  of  the  very  varied  trees  have  attained  large  dimen- 
sions. We  may  further  particularize  an  ash  behind  the  inn  at 
Kenmore — a  beech  at  the  saw-mill — and  a  lime  tree  nearly  in 
front  of  the  castle. 

This  castle  is  a  very  large  ashen- coloured  quadrangular  pile 
of  four  storeys,  with  round  corner-towers,  wings  two  storeys 
high  at  opposite  corners,  and  one  of  them  a  rather  incongruous 
remnant  of  the  old  castle,  and  terminating  in  an  airy  central 
pavilion,  150  feet  in  height.  A  light  stone  balcony  encircles 
the  lower  storey,  which  is  crenulated,  as  is  also  the  roof.  Some 
ancient  armour  from  the  time  of  Henry  II.  to  Cromwell's,  may  be 


266         LANDSCAPES  FROM  THE  GROUNDS.     SECT.  V. 

seen  in  the  entrance-hall,  and  the  coup  deceit  of  the  pavilioned 
staircase  is  striking.  Some  of  the  rooms,  as  the  baron's  hall, 
dining,  drawing,  and  Chinese  rooms,  are  worthy  of  notice,  and 
possess  several  valuable  specimens  by  the  old  masters  ;  and  on 
the  occasion  of  her  Majesty's  visit,  a  large  outlay  was  made  in 
the  way  of  permanent  decoration,  and  many  costly  articles  were 
added  to  the  furnishings. 

The  disposal  of  the  pleasure-grounds  about  Taymouth  Castle 
has  been  censured  as  much  too  formal  and  constrained  ;  and 
there  is  some  room  for  the  remark :  but  they  possess  great 
beauty,  and,  it  must  be  allowed,  no  small  degree  of  grandeur, 
especially  as  conjoined  with  the  bold  and  commanding  features 
of  the  adjoining  alpine  scenery.  The  view  from  the  vista-fort, 
in  the  face  of  the  hill,  directly  fronting  the  castle,  is  reckoned 
one  of  the  finest  in  Scotland.  In  the  centre  of  the  landscape  a 
portion  of  the  lake  widens  towards  the  spectator.  On  the  left, 
two  long  hill  slopes,  partly  wooded,  rise  from  the  water,  one 
above  another;  to  the  right,  Drurnmond  Hill  sends  down  its 
wooded  sides,  and  behind  it  rises  the  gigantic  bulk  of  Ben 
Lawers,  stretching  away,  in  a  prolonged  oblique  direction,  to 
the  remote  distance,  Ben  More  also  shooting  up  from  the  extre- 
mity of  the  range  his  conical  summit.  At  the  near  end  of  the 
lake  rise  the  houses  and  church  of  Kenmore,  embosomed  in 
trees  ;  and  to  the  north  of  them  a  handsome  bridge  of  seven 
arches  is  seen  spanning  the  Tay,  "  revolving  sweet  in  infant 
pride,"  and  beyond  it,  a  little  wooded  island,  in  which  Sybilla, 
queen  of  Alexander  I.  is  interred.  The  immediate  foreground 
is  filled  up  by  the  termination  of  the  tree-studded  park.  But  a 
view,  perhaps  better  adapted  for  the  pencil,  is  that  obtained 
from  Lady's  Mount,  the  first  rise  in  the  ground  near  Kenmore, 
where,  with  the  same  background,  the  near  objects  are  more 
distinct,  and  the  picture  less  complicated  and  extensive.  The 
scenery  is  distinguished  by  the  very  long  and  remarkably  gentle 
slopes  around  the  extremity  of  the  lake — the  rounded  shoulders 
and  elongated  outlines  of  the  hills — and  the  encircling  zone  of 
cultivated  ground,  variegated  with  trees. 

A  fanciful  dairy,  on  a  wooded  eminence  above  the  river,  mid- 
way between  the  castle  and  the  village,  is  not  unworthy  of  a, 
visit,  partly  on  account  of  the  commanding  view  it  affords  of 
the  park  and  lake — the  latter  presented  through  a  vista  of  foli- 
age ;  and  perhaps  preferable  to  either  of  those  already  indi- 


ROUTE  II.  A.      FORTINGAL  YEW  TREE.  267 

cated.  The  dairy  is  a  square  or  cross-shaped  structure  of  two 
storeys,  of  protruding  white  quartz  stones,  with  projecting  roofs 
of  slated  and  rustic  work,  and  encircled  by  rustic  pillars,  and  a 
verandah  covered  with  flowering  creepers,  and  a  parterre  of 
flowers — the  porticoed  entrance-floors  paved  with  marble,  and 
the  milk  rooms  and  lobby  flagged  with  a  fine  freestone  inlaid 
with  black  marble.  The  walls  of  this  ornamental  little  dairy 
are  faced  with  polished  yellow  Dutch  tiles,  and  the  milk  dishes 
are  of  brown  china. 

The  grounds  of  Taymouth  are  remarkable  for  the  number 
of  zoological  curiosities  congregated  within  their  ample  bounds 
— several  varieties  of  sheep,  all  our  native  deer,  and  specimens 
of  the  emu,  bison,  buffalo,  the  white  Caledonian  cattle,  and  the 
once  indigenous  splendid  capercailzie. 

The  brilliant  effect  may  readily  be  conceived  of  the  illumi- 
nation, when  her  Majesty  was  feted  here  in  a  style  of  splendour 
which  could  hardly  have  been  surpassed ;  the  whole  woodland 
one  blaze  of  variegated  light — the  wire  fence  of  the  deer  park 
festooned  into  a  girdle  of  fire — the  vista-fort  illuminated  by 
40,000  lamps — the  mountain  tops  kindled  up  into  so  many  lus- 
trous beacons,  and  a  magnificent  display  of  fireworks  adding 
gorgeous  coruscations  to  the  fairy  scene,  amidst  which  a  vast 
assemblage  wandered  about,  deeply  impressed  and  strangely  ex- 
cited by  the  unwonted  presence  of  royalty,  and  the  rare  demon- 
strations of  costly  hospitality  on  the  part  of  the  noble  host. 

Lord  Breadalbane's  estates  are  very  numerously  peopled  by 
small  tenants,  who  hold  their  possessions  at  will,  without  leases. 

17.  On  the  north  side  of  Drummond  Hill  lies  an  open  and 
partially-wooded  valley,  called  Fortingal,  extending  for  about 
seven  miles  from  Loch  Tay  side  to  Strath  Tay,  through  which 
the  river  Lyon  pursues  its  course  to  the  Tay.  This  river  flows 
into  Fortingal  from  Glen  Lyon,  on  the  north  side  of  Ben  Lawers, 
and  the  connected  hills  which  border  on  Loch  Tay.  About 
three  miles  from  the  lake,  and  six  from  Kenmore,  and  on  the 
north  side  of  the  river,  is  the  Kirkton  of  Fortingal — a  few  slated 
houses  and  thatched  huts  around  the  church.  The  churchyard 
is  remarkable  for  the  remains  of  an  enormous  yew-tree,  which 
furnished  many  a  goodly  bow  when  that  weapon  formed  a  part 
of  a  Scotsman's  armoury.  This  is  a  very  singular  tree  :  it  has 
been  calculated  by  eminent  physiologists  to  be  2500  years  old. 
About  a  century  ago,  the  trunk  was  single,  and  measured  fifty- 


2G8  «LEN  LYON.  SECT.  V. 

six  feet :  now  it  presents  the  appearance  of  two  stems,  about 
twelve  feet  high ;  of  these  the  largest,  which  is  quite  hollow, 
is  twenty  feet  in  girth.  Though  so  much  decayed  in  the  core, 
it  is  completely  sprouted  over  with  young  branches.  To  the 
west  of  the  Kirkton  the  Lyon  is  crossed  by  a  bridge  ;  at  Com- 
rie,  three  miles  in  the  opposite  direction,  a  boat  supplies  the 
place  of  another,  now  in  ruins.  It  may  be  almost  needless  to 
observe,  that  the  pedestrian  can  reach  Fortingal  by  crossing 
Drummond  Hill  immediately  above  Kemnore.  In  the  space 
between  Kirkton  and  the  boat  of  Comrie,  the  Lyon  presents 
some  fine  studies  of  river  scenery.  A  mile  below  the  Kirkton 
stands  the  house  of  Garth,  surrounded  by  fine  avenues  of  trees ; 
and  about  the  same  distance  onwards  the  road  crosses  the  Kelt- 
nie  burn,  a  little  beyond  which  is  the  inn  of  Cushiville.  The 
river  is  throughout  lined  with  spreading  oaks.  Comrie's  old 
castle,  consisting  of  the  shell  of  a  small  oblong  building,  of  three 
storeys,  with  a  square  addition  projecting  at  right  angles  at  one 
end,  next  appears,  surrounded  by  fine  sycamores.  The  Lyon 
forms  a  junction  with  the  Tay,  about  three  quarters  of  a  mile 
below  its  walls. 

18.  Glen  Lyon  is  connected  with  Fortingal  about  a  mile  above 
the  Kirkton,  by  the  pass  of  Chesthill,  which  is  well  worthy  of 
being  explored.  This  section,  which  is  much  inflected,  is  bor- 
dered on  the  south  by  hills  rising  in  green  steep  acclivities, 
with  rocky  spaces  interspersed.  The  opposing  mountains  are 
bold,  lofty,  and  lumpish,  and  swell  into  massive  rocky  and 
heathy  summits.  At  the  commencement  of  the  pass,  their 
bases  bulge  out,  forming  to  the  shelving  river  a  steep  bank 
covered  with  fine  beeches.  Towards  the  further  end  they  send 
down,  across  the  glen,  to  the  river  and  deep  indented  hollow  of 
the  opposite  range,  a  series  of  broad  rocky  hills  These  are 
covered  to  the  water's  edge  with  very  large  beech,  elm,  oak, 
ash,  spruce,  birch,  and  sycamore  trees.  Beyond  this  rich  space 
Glen  Lyon  stretches  away  for  a  distance  of  nearly  thirty-five 
miles  towards  Tyndrum.  It  is  a  remarkably  fine  pastoral  val- 
ley— very  narrow,  seldom  above  a  furlong  in  width,  and  at 
times  barely  admitting  the  passage  of  the  river  ;  and  it  is 
hemmed  in  by  hills  of  considerable  height,  much  furrowed  with 
water-courses,  forming,  in  rainy  weather,  so  many  continuous 
cataracts,  several  hundred  feet  in  height.  Meggerney  Castle 
was  built  in  L>70,  and  is  approached  through  an  avenue  of  a 


ROUTE  II.  A.       CLACH  CHONABHACHAN  269 

mile  long,  between  rows  of  magnificent  beeches  and  limes, 
winding  along  the  banks  of  the  river  Lyon,  and  screening  the 
castle  till  it  bursts  upon  the  sight  at  the  extreme  end  of  a  fine 
lawn.  "  Opposite  the  castle  is  an  island,  which,  when  seen 
from  the  east,  has  the  appearance  of  a  heart,  lines  of  tall 
beeches  fringing  it  on  either  side,  and  dipping  their  branches 
into  the  silent  stream  below.  Beyond  is  a  picturesque  wood  of 
weeping  birch,  beech,  elm,  and  lime  trees,  and  the  landscape 
formed  by  the  mellow  and  varied  tints  of  their  foliages  sur- 
passes the  most  finished  mosaic,  just  as  much  as  nature  usually 
transcends  art."  There  are  several  remains  of  circular  forts  of 
Fingalian  masonry  without  cement,  some  of  them  of  60  feet  in- 
side diameter,  and  the  walls  generally  eight  feet  thick,  though 
it  is  conjectured  that  they  had  not  probably  exceeded  twelve 
feet  in  height ;  but  they  seem  to  have  had  several  compart- 
ments, extending  into  the  inner  area.  A  little  below  one  of 
these  is  Clach  Chonabhachan,  in  the  braes  of  Glen  Lyon,  a  per- 
pendicular slab  four  feet  high,  with  a  rectangular  slab  project- 
ing from  within  twelve  inches  of  its  apex.  "  The  virtue  which 
this  stone  possessed  was  peculiar.  Married  ladies  in  an  '  in- 
teresting situation'  were  carried  to  it  by  their  husbands.  If 
their  fair  proportions  were  embraced  by  the  slab,  they  were  as- 
sured of  a  favourable  confinement ;  if  otherwise,  they  must  pre- 
pare for  a  fatal  one.  An  unfortunate  female  subjected  to  the 
test  proved  a  world  too  wide  for  the  shrunk  aperture,  and  her 
gudeman,  in  digging  away  the  earth  to  widen  the  trench,  de- 
stroyed the  virtue,  and  killed  his  wife."  At  the  west  end  of 
Fortingal,  and  to  the  north  of  the  river,  there  was  a  Roman 
camp,  of  which  the  Praetorium  is  still  entire.  Hard  by  is  a 
large  tumulus,  which  possibly  could  a  tale  unfold. 

19.  Near  the  inn  of  Cushiville  a  road  ascends  along  the  banks 
of  the  Keltnie  Burn,  crossing  the  hills  intermediate  between 
Straths  Tay  and  Tummel.  At  Tummel  Bridge,  nine  miles 
from  Cushiville,  the  road  is  continued  onwards  to  Dalnacar- 
doch  (ten  miles  distant),  where  it  joins  that  from  Perth  to  In- 
verness. In  journeying  northward  from  Cushiville  the  road 
ascends  along  the  edge  of  a  deep  and  wooded  dell,  bordered  by 
sloping  cultivated  ground,  for  about  two  miles,  and  crosses  the 
hill  to  Tummel  Bridge,  through  a  wide  elevated  pass  between 
heathy  hills.  About  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  low  fields,  the 
ruins  of  a  high  square  keep  called  Garth  Castle,  on  the  banks 


270  GARTH  CASTLE.  SECT.  V. 

of  the  Keltnie,  serve  as  a  good  foreground  to  a  variety  of  in- 
teresting landscapes.  It  stands  on  a  narrow,  rocky  promon- 
tory, between  two  rivulets,  which,  approaching  in  deep  per- 
pendicular channels,  at  nearly  right  angles  to  one  another, 
have  almost  met  at  the  narrowed  neck  of  this  promontory  ;  but 
the  upper  one,  deflecting  a  little  aside,  leaves  an  almost  inac- 
cessible projection  for  the  site  of  the  stronghold.  It  forms  a 
prominent  object  in  the  views  which  are  obtained,  either  look- 
ing up  the  confined  channel  of  the  burn,  or  from  the  rising 
ground  above,  whence  we  look  down  upon  a  long  shelving  val- 
ley, ascending  in  easy  irregular  slopes  from  the  deep  imbedded 
burn,  which  is  over-canopied  by  slanting  trees. 

At  the  top  of  the  ascent,  about  half-way  from  Cushiville  to 
Tummel-Bridge,  a  good  country-road  on  the  left  hand  conducts 
to  Kinloch  Rannoch,  thirteen  miles  distant  from  Cushiville. 
Leading  along  the  hill-face,  to  the  base  of  the  upper  acclivity 
of  Schehallion,  it  descends  into  Strath  Tummel,  about  three 
miles  to  the  east  of  Kinloch  Rannoch.  Loch  Rannoch  (eleven 
or  twelve  miles  long,  and  better  than  a  mile  of  average  breadth) 
is  a  straight  sheet  of  water,  bordered  on  the  north  by  long  low 
eminences  of  gentle  slope,  and  regular  unbroken  outline.  The 
hills  on  the  south  are  higher  and  steeper:  they  stand  apart 
from  one  another,  and  in  the  centre  are  removed  from  the 
water's  edge  ;  and  the  breadth  between  the  summits  on  the 
opposite  sides  of  the  loch  is  not  short  of  twenty  miles.  One 
continued  forest  of  natural  birch  and  fir,  called  "  the  Black 
Wood  of  Rannoch,"  mantles  the  south  side,  from  the  margin  of 
the  water  half-way  up  the  mountains,  and  a  tolerably  good 
road  encircles  the  lake.  The  waters  of  Loch  Rannoch  abound 
in  trout  of  a  very  unusual  size,  being  sometimes  caught  of 
thirty  pounds  weight.  From  the  head  of  Loch  Rannoch  Loch 
Erochd  stretches  for  sixteen  miles  towards  Dalwhinnie — a 
dreary  sheet  of  water,  about  a  mile  of  general  width.  The  vil- 
lage of  Kinloch  Rannoch,  at  the  east  end  of  the  loch,  consists 
of  half  a-dozen  huts,  and  an  inn  on  the  south  side ;  and  about 
a  score  more  huts  and  another  inn,  a  church  and  a  manse,  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  river  Tummel,  over  which  a  bridge  has 
been  thrown. 

For  three  miles  below  Kinloch  Rannoch,  the  surface  of  the 
valley  is  quite  flat,  and  upwards  of  a  mile  wide,  consisting  of  a 
mixture  of  meadow  and  cultivated  land.  The  advancing  side- 


ROUTE  II.  A.       STRATH -TUMMEL FALLS  OF  TUMMEL.        271 

ridges  of  Schehallion,  and  a  broad  terrace  or  eminence  on  the 
north,  then  fill  up  the  valley,  leaving,  for  about  two  miles,  room 
only  for  the  passage  of  the  river,  the  banks  of  which  are  wooded 
with  birch,  larch,  and  fir.  Mount  House  (Robertson  of  Struan, 
chief  of  the  Clan  Donachie)  occupies  the  upper  end  of  this  ob- 
structing terrace ;  and  above  it,  on  the  sides  of  the  strath,  are 
the  houses  of  Milltown,  (M'Donell) ;  Crossmount,  (Stuart) ; 
Dalchosnie,  (Macdonald) ;  and  Inverchallan,  (Stuart).  After- 
wards, the  glen  again  becomes  level,  and  continues  widening 
till  we  reach  Loch  Tummel,  ten  miles  distant  from  Loch  Ran- 
noch.  Tummel  Bridge  Inn,  a  comfortable  house,  where  the 
road  from  Crieff  to  Dalnacardoch  crosses,  is  seven  miles  from 
the  latter  lake.  Loch  Tummel  is  three  miles  long,  and  at  the 
west  end  about  two-thirds  of  a  mile  in  width,  contracting  to- 
wards the  opposite  extremity.  Several  obtuse  little  promon- 
tories, sweetly  fringed  with  ash,  project  into  the  water.  The 
hills  along  the  upper  portion  of  the  strath  are  of  gentle  inclin- 
ation and  moderate  height ;  those  on  the  north  preserve  nearly 
an  unbroken  level  outline.  The  southerly  ones  exhibit  low  de- 
tached summits,  but  rising  from  a  common  continuous  chain. 
In  the  slight  depressions  of  the  hill-face,  a  good  deal  of  land 
has  been  brought  into  cultivation,  and  the  greater  part  of  the 
north  side  of  Loch  Tummel  is  arable.  Birch  is  scattered  here 
and  there,  but  heath  and  grey  stones  occupy  by  far  the  largest 
portion  of  the  ground.  As  it  approaches  Loch  Tummel,  the 
tortuous  river  is  skirted  with  ash  trees.  Near  its  mouth  the 
house  of  Fosse  (Stuart)  stands  on  the  south  side  of  the  valley. 
The  space  of  four  miles  from  Loch  Tummel  to  the  Garry  is  a 
very  deep,  confined  pass,  while  the  north  side  ascends  very 
steeply  from  the  water,  and  to  an  imposing  height,  swelling  out 
above  into  a  continued  succession  of  rounded  cliffs,  with  inter- 
mediate receding  acclivities,  the  whole  clothed  with  birch,  but 
mingled  with  some  fir  and  larch  trees.  The  opposite  side  is  of 
much  the  same,  though  less-strongly  marked  characters.  On 
the  face  of  the  north  side  stands  the  house  of  Bonskeid,  (Stuart). 
A  few  hundred  yards  from  where  it  joins  the  Garry,  the  river 
Tummel  forms  a  small  water-fall  deserving  of  a  passing  visit. 
It  is  divided  into  two  streams  by  a  small  rock,  on  each  side  of 
which  it  pours  for  a  few  feet  perpendicularly.  Rushing  furi- 
ously forward,  they  reunite,  and,  in  contracted  volume,  dash 
obliquely  over  the  remaining  descent,  the  whole  height  not 


272  CASTLE  MENZIES — FALLS  OF  MONESS.  SECT.  V. 

exceeding  twenty  feet.  At  the  east  end  of  Loch  Tummel,  the 
pedestrian  should  cross  to  the  south  side  of  the  pass,  by  which 
means  the  scenery  will  be  viewed  to  rather  more  advantage 
than  from  the  other  side,  and  he  can  afterwards  be  ferried  over  to 
the  Dunkeld  and  Blair  road  at  Portnacraig,  opposite  Pitlochry, 
three  miles  below  the  fall,  or  two  miles  farther  down  the  river, 
at  Moulinearn.  The  North  Road  crosses  the  Garry,  at  the 
bridge  of  Garry,  near  the  lower  end  of  the  Pass  of  Killiecrankie. 

20.  Returning  now  to  the  Tay.     Below  the  junction  of  the 
Tay  and  Lyon  the  valley  of  Tay  becomes  of  considerable  width, 
being  at  Aberfeldy  (six  miles  from  Kenmore,  and  eight  from 
Kirkton  of  Fortingal)  about  a  mile  and  a  half  broad.     It  winds 
in  long  gentle  sweeps,  and  is  for  several  miles  quite  flat  and 
cultivated.     Between  five  and  six  miles  from  Kenmore,  on  the 
north  side,  stands  Castle  Menzies,  the  seat  of  Sir  Robert  Menzies, 
at  the  foot  of  a  lofty  range  of  rocky  hills,  rising  in  successive 
tiers  of  perpendicular  precipices,  having  noble  oak  and  beech 
trees  rooted  in  their  ledges,  and  the  less  abrupt  acclivities 
covered  over  with  hard  wood.     The  castle  was  erected  in  the 
sixteenth  century.     Like  many  buildings  of  that  age,  it  pre- 
sents a  high  roof,  small  windows  and  turrets,  and  consists  of  an 
oblong  building,  to  the  two  opposite  corners  of  which  is  added 
a  tall  square  wing,  at  right  angles,  one  advancing  in  front,  the 
other  retiring  backwards.     It  is  surrounded  by  a  park,  filled 
with  aged  trees,  rivalling  in  dimensions  those  of  Taymouth. 
At  the  end  of  the  park  is  the  respectable  inn  of  Weem. 

Opposite  Aberfeldy  the  river  is  crossed  by  one  of  General 
Wade's  bridges.  A  tapering  obelisk  over  each  corner  of  the 
central  arch,  about  twelve  feet  above  the  high  solid  parapet, 
produces  a  singular  but  picturesque  effect. 

21.  Aberfeldy  is  a  village  of  considerable  size,  chiefly  of 
one  long  street,  with  another  leading  off  about  the  centre,  and 
a  small  square  at  their  junction ;  the  houses  of  one  and  two 
storeys,  and  slated,  but  cold  and  comfortless  looking,  from  the 
small  and  unlintelled  windows ;  but  the  stream  which  passes 
through  it  exhibits  the  most  beautiful   series  of  waterfalls, 
perhaps,  in  Scotland.      The  lowest  of  the  falls  of  Moness  is 
a  mile  from  the  village ;  the  upper — for  there  are  three — half 
a  mile  beyond  it.     The  dell  in  which  these  falls  occur  is  ap- 
parently from  200  to  300  feet  deep,  and  exceedingly  confined, 
so  much  so  that  the  trees,  with  which  it  is  filled,  in  some  places 


ROUTE  II.  A.  FALLS  OF  MONESS.  273 

almost  meet  from  the  opposite  sides.  The  wood  forms  a  perfect 
thicket,  and  the  walk  is  completely  shaded  from  the  sun.  The 
lowest  falls  consist  chiefly  of  a  series  of  cascades,  formed  by  a 
small  tributary  rivulet  pouring  down  the  east  side  of  the  dell, 
and  seemingly  altogether  about  eighty  feet  of  perpendicular 
height.  These  join  the  main  burn  at  the  base  of  a  little  fall, 
which  forms  a  conspicuous  object  in  the  sweet  view  obtained 
from  the  channel  of  the  stream.  From  the  end  of  a  clear  pool, 
where  the  motion  of  the  water  is  indicated  only  by  the  bells  of 
foam  gliding  slowly  down,  the  spectator  sees,  at  the  further 
extremity  of  a  low  narrow  chasm  of  black  moistened  rock,  the 
small  waterfall,  at  such  a  distance  that  its  noise  reaches  the 
ear  in  a  soft  lulling  murmur.  On  either  hand  rise  high  sloping 
banks,  adorned  with  trees.  A  sweep  of  one  side  of  the  dell 
terminates  the  opening  with  a  steep  face  of  wood.  From  the 
edge  of  the  fall  shoots  up  a  long  slender  spruce,  succeeded  by 
straight  elms,  and  leafy  beech  trees.  Young  drooping  ash 
trees,  from  the  opposite  bank,  dip  their  tapering  branches  in 
the  pool ;  each  little  protruding  rock  is  covered  with  moss,  and 
curtained  with  pendent  ferns.  Through  the  trees  the  other 
streamlet  is  beheld  descending  in  sidelong  haste. 

Let  the  visitor,  however,  hasten  on  to  the  next  series,  for 
they  demand  particular  examination.  They  consist  of  a  suc- 
cession of  falls,  comprising  a  perpendicular  height  of  not  less 
than  a  hundred  feet,  and  occupying  in  length  a  space  of  con- 
siderably more  than  the  like  number  of  yards.  A  prolonged 
sheet  of  descending  water,  alternately  perpendicular  and  slant- 
ing, is  before  us.  From  the  edge  of  this  lengthened  cataract 
rise  abrupt  rocky  acclivities,  covered  with  moss  and  ferns, 
whence  shoot  up  tall  slender  ash  and  elms.  These  partially 
veil  two  lichen-clad  mural  cliffs,  converging  towards  the  upper- 
most of  these  falls,  above  which  they  rear  two  high  vertical 
lines ;  on  the  top  of  these  cliffs  nod  serried  groves  of  pine  and 
larch,  while  a  row  of  airy  birches  wave  on  the  slanting  summit 
of  the  bank  which  closes  in  the  rocky  gap.  The  last  and 
highest  cascade  is  a  perpendicular  fall  of  about  fifty  feet,  but 
possessing  no  peculiar  interest.  Here  a  rustic  bridge  conducts 
across  the  dell,  and  affords  the  traveller  the  opportunity  of 
varying  his  route  back  to  the  inn. 

22.  From  Aberfeldy  the  Tay  maintains  an  easterly  course 
for  nine  or  ten  miles,  till  it  is  joined  at  Logierait  by  the  river 
Tummel.  The  hills  bordering  this  portion  of  Strath  Tay 


274  GRANDTULLT  CASTLE.  SECT.  V. 

diminish  to  a  comparatively  low  size.  Irregular  terraces 
occupy  the  bottom  of  the  central  portion  of  this  section  of  the 
valley,  which  above  and  below  this  space  is  level  and  open. 
The  hill  sides  rise  in  undulating  slopes,  all  more  or  less  culti- 
vated, and  frequently  wooded  to  the  top,  especially  on  the  north 
side,  on  which  also  a  succession  of  substantial-looking  resi- 
dences present  themselves,  as  Blackhill,  Daltulich,  Cloichfollich, 
Pittencree,  and  Bolechine,  the  seats  of  families  chiefly  of  the 
name  of  Stewart.  Three  miles  below  Aberfeldy,  Grandtully 
Castle  (Sir  William  D.  Stewart  of  Murthly),  stands  by  the  road- 
side surrounded  by  rows  of  stately  elms.  It  is  an  old  structure, 
but  kept  in  a  habitable  condition.  From  each  of  two  conti- 
guous sides  of  a  large  oblong  building  a  tall  square  narrow 
addition  projects  at  right  angles.  An  extinguisher  turret  sur- 
mounts the  two  free  corners  of  the  main  building,  and  a  sort 
of  round  tower  or  section  of  one,  containing  the  staircase, 
bulges  out  behind,  and  projecting. high  above  the  castle,  ter- 
minates in  a  pointed  roof.  One  of  the  square  wings  is  com- 
pletely encompassed  with  ivy,  and  the  whole  of  almost  uniform 
outline.  The  great  novelist  states,  that  this  building  bears  a 
close  resemblance  to  the  house  of  Tully  Veolan,  the  picturesque 
abode  of  the  old  Baron  of  Bradwardine.  Four  miles  from 
Grandtully  is  the  inn  of  Skitewn,  or  Grandtully  Arms ;  and 
half  a  mile  on,  the  small  inn  of  Balnaguard. 

About  eight  miles  above  Dunkeld,  at  Logierait,  the  Tay  is 
joined  by  and  bends  to  the  southerly  course  of  the  Garry  and 
Tummel,  and  the  conjoined  stream  may  be  crossed  by  a  good 
chain-boat.  A  wide  cultivated  flat  occupies,  to  within  three 
miles  of  Dunkeld,  the  bottom  of  the  valley,  through  which  flow 
the  combined  waters  of  the  Tay  and  Tummel.  It  is  skirted  by 
a  terrace,  on  which  various  hard  wood  trees  and  oak  coppices 
abound ;  while  continuous  and  very  extensive  masses  of  larch 
stretch  along  the  summits  of  the  hills  above,  and  below  them 
cultivated  fields  slope  gently  down.  Six  and  a  half  miles  from 
Dunkeld  we  pass  Kinnaird  House  (Duke  of  Athole's),  and  a 
mile  and  a  half  beyond  Dalguise  ( Stewart). 

Above  Dunkeld,  Craigiebarns,  a  massive  rocky  mountain 
advancing  from  the  hills  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  valley, 
almost  blocks  it  up.  This,  with  the  opposite  hill,  Craigie- 
venean,  are  clothed  with  a  dense  pine  forest,  through  which 
occasional  glimpses  exhibit  large  masses  of  abrupt  rock.  Be- 
tween them  lie  the  rich  woods  which  form  the  pride  of  Dunkeld. 


ROUTE  II.  B.  GLEN    TILT. 


ROUTE  SECOND.—  BRANCH  B. 

FROM    BLAIR    ATHOLE    TO    GRANTOWN    IN    STRATHSPEY,    BT    GLEN 
TILT    AND    THE    CASTLETOWN    OF    BRAEMAR. 

Glen  Tilt  ;  Deer  Forest,  1.—  Pass  between  the  Tilt  and  the  Dee,  2.—  Strath  Dee  ;  Linn 
of  Dee  ;  Mar  Lodge  ;  Falls  of  Corrienuilzie  and  Quoich  ;  Loch  Avan  and  Sources 
of  the  Dee,  footnote,  3.  —  Castletown  of  Braemar,  4.  —  The  Earls  of  Mar  ;  Farquhar- 
sons  ;  The  Children  of  the  Trough,  5.  —  Braemar  Castle  ;  View  from  Invercauld 
Bridge,  6.  —  Forest  Scenery  ;  the  Garrawault,  7.  —  Balmoral;  Abergeldie;  Ballater; 
Strath  Dee  to  Aberdeen,  footnote,  8.  —  Glencairn;  Strath  Don;  Corgarff  Castle,  9.  — 
Tomantoul  ;  Glen  Avon,  10. 

Miles. 

Blair  Athole  to  Braemar  .......................................  26 

Rienloan  ............................................................  13 

Corgarff  ............................................................       8£ 

Tomantoul  .........................................................       9 

Grantown    ..................  ,  ....................................  14 


Braemar  to  Ballater  ..............................  14 

Kincardine  O'Neil  ................................  16 

Banchory  Ternan  .................................  8 

Drum  Inn    ..........................................  8 

Aberdeen  .............................................  10 

56 

THE  route  here  to  be  described,  though  anciently  a  common 
one  between  the  opposite  districts  of  Athole,  Dee,  and  Bade- 
noch,  is  now  almost  inaccessible,  at  least  for  the  first  day's 
journey,  save  to  the  pedestrian. 

1.  His  course  to  the  Dee  and  the  Braes  of  Mar  lies  through 
Glen  Tilt,  as  to  which  see  page  233.  The  water  of  Tilt  joins 
the  Garry  from  the  eastward,  and  issues  from  a  deep  confined 
glen  which  cuts  through  the  mountains,  where,  at  Athole 
House,  they  bend  to  the  south  and  west.  For  a  couple  of 
miles  above  Athole  House,  and  the  inns  of  Blair  and  Bridge  of 
Tilt,  high  and  steep  banks  rise  from  the  water's  edge  ;  and 
their  sides  and  tops  are  covered  with  wood.  Above  this,  a 
narrow  stripe  of  flat  ground  occupies  the  bottom  of  the  glen 
for  seven  or  eight  miles  :  the  wood  soon  disappears,  and  the 
hills  rise  in  steep  acclivities,  covered  only  with  herbage  and 
heath.  They  are  unbroken,  save  where  an  occasional  ravine 


27G  DEER   FOREST.  SECT.  V. 

« 

sends  down  a  tributary  streamlet,  and  of  almost  uniform  height, 
from  500  to  600  feet,  except  where  Ben-y-Gloe  on  the  south 
raises  his  more  aspiring  form. 

The  glen  is  nearly  strait,  and  the  inclination  remarkably 
gentle.  Two  small  hunting  lodges  of  the  Duke  of  Athole  are 
passed,  the  one  four,  the  other  seven,  miles  from  Blair ;  there 
is  a  good  road  as  far  as  the  second  lodge ;  beyond  it,  a  mere 
footpath  conducts  along  the  north  side  of  the  water. 

As  already  observed,  the  right  of  way  to  Braemar  is  the 
subject  of  a  depending  process  before  the  Supreme  Court,  the 
Duke  of  Athole  obstructing  the  passage  hitherto  enjoyed  by 
the  public. 

Glen  Tilt,  as  these  lodges  indicate,  is  a  great  sporting 
rendezvous,  and  for  the  stalking  of  red  deer,  of  which  his  Grace 
of  Athole  boasts,  perhaps,  the  most  extensive  and  best-stocked 
forest  in  the  country.  No  less  than  a  hundred  thousand  acres 
of  the  surrounding  ground  are  appropriated  for  the  use  of  these 
animals ;  and  it  is  seldom  the  wayfarer  wends  his  way  through 
this  sequestered  valley  without  discerning  several  of  them ;  and 
they  are  most  frequently  to  be  seen  leisurely  and  majestically 
pacing  along  the  edge  of  the  impending  cliffs. 

In  following  the  sport,  parties  are  stationed  at  different 
parts  of  the  glen,  who  command  excellent  opportunities  of  try- 
ing their  skill  in  the  use  of  the  rifle,  as  the  deer,  driven  by 
dogs,  sweep  rapidly  past ;  the  narrowness  and  steepness  of  the 
glen  generally  ensuring  their  being  within  range. 

Four  miles  above  the  second  lodge,  the  rivulet  of  Loghaine 
enters  Glen  Tilt  from  a  glen  on  the  right. 

2.  Keeping  onwards  along  the  north  side  of  the  main  stream 
of  the  Tilt,  a  mile  beyond  its  junction  by  the  Loghaine,  the 
traveller  comes  to  the  Tarff  Water,  which  issuing  from  a  con- 
fined defile  on  the  left,  is  precipitated  over  two  falls,  the  lowest 
about  ten,  the  upper  about  twenty-five  feet  in  height.  Cross- 
ing the  Tarff,  the  path  continues  along  the  now  much  dimin- 
ished stream,  for  the  former  supplies  the  main  body  of  the  Tilt 
Water,  and  the  glen  is  soon  found  to  split  into  two  narrow 
ascending  gullies.  A  track  will  be  seen  ascending  the  southerly 
one.  This  leads  to  Faillaird,  another  hunting  lodge  of  the 
Duke  of  Athole's.  The  pathway  to  the  Castletown  of  Braemar 
continues  along  the  north  side  of  the  other,  leading  along  the 
face  of  a  steep  acclivity.  Less  than  two  additional  miles  brings 


ROUTE  II.  B.  STRATHDEE LOCH  AVON.  277 

us  to  the  top  of  the  pass,  where  we  find  an  open  hollow  in  the 
hills,  with  a  flat  mossy  bottom,  whence  another  burn  descends 
towards  the  Dee  in  a  direction  directly  contrary  to  that  of  the 
Tilt.  After  a  run  of  two  or  three  miles,  it  falls  into  the  Dee  at 
the  bend  of  the  river,  nine  miles  above  the  Castletown.  A  foot- 
path will  be  found  on  the  south  side  of  the  hollow  and  burn, 
and  of  the  Dee,  to  the  Linn  of  Dee,  six  miles  above  the  Castle- 
town,  whence  a  good  road  leads  along  the  south  side  of  the 
river.  If  mounted,  the  traveller  should  keep  the  opposite  side 
of  the  burn  ;  he  will  thus  fall  in  with  a  cart  road,  and,  fording 
the  Dee,  will  have  the  benefit  of  a  good  road  for  three  miles 
before  coming  to  the  Linn,  where  he  will  recross  by  a  bridge. 
It  may  be  mentioned,  that,  after  leaving  the  Duke's  lodge,  a 
sheiling  or  shepherd's  hut,  will  be  met  in  Glen  Tilt,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Loghaine ;  another,  upon  the  south  side  of  the 
burn,  falling  into  the  Dee,  rather  more  than  a  mile  from  that 
river,  and  a  farm-house  on  the  north  side,  farther  down  the 
burn.* 

3.  Strathdee,  when  first  met  with,  has  a  pretty  wide  cen- 
tral space.  Below  the  Linn  of  Dee  it  increases  to  rather  more 
than  half  a  mile  in  breadth.  This  is  meadow-land,  with  a  few 
arable  patches ;  and  in  the  portion  between  the  linn  and  the 
Castletown  large  quantities  of  birch  are  spread  over  this  cen- 
tral flat.  The  hills  are  of  moderate  height,  and  of  rounded  or 
flattened  outline. 

The  great  pine  forest  of  the  Dee  has  been  cleared  off  above 

*  To  the  north,  between  Strath  Dee  and  Strath  Spey,  are  closely  grouped  several 
of  the  loftiest  mountains  in  Britain :  Ben  Mac  Dhui,  Braeriach,  Cairntoul,  Cairngorm, 
Ben-na-main,  Ben  A'an,  and  others — ranging  from  4000  to  4390  feet ;  and  thus,  in 
one  instance,  overtopping  Ben  Nevis'  proud  summit.  In  their  recesses,  the  perfec- 
tion of  secluded  alpine  scenery  is,  as  we  have  said,  to  he  met  with ;  but  the  wayfarer 
must  needs  proceed  to  the  Castletown,  to  refresh  Ids  weary  limbs,  ere  presuming  to 
explore  these  remote  solitudes ;  for  they  afford  work  enough  for  an  entire  day's  toil- 
some walking.  The  hollows  between  the  mountain  masses  are  flanked  by  stupendous 
precipices,  down  which  sheeted  cataracts  find  their  headlong  way ;  but  the  opening 
glens  possess  much  of  sweet  pastoral  verdant  beauty,  chequered  with  the  hoar  fea- 
tures of  aged  and  weather-beaten  pines.  Loch  A'an  "or  Avon,  and  the  sources  of  the 
Dee,  each  may  form  a  day's  excursion.  The  best  approach  to  the  former,  is  along  the 
course  of  Water  of  Lui,  which  joins  the  Dee  a  little  below  the  Linn  of  Dee.  When 
the  water,  at  about  four  miles  from  the  Linn,  forks  into  two,  the  right  branch  through 
Glen  Dearg  is  followed,  and  the  corry  at  its  extremity  which  forms  the  water  shear, 
must  be  surmounted  when  the  precipitous  channel  of  the  Alt-dhu-lochan,  and  a  de- 
viation to  the  left,  conduct,  at  a  distance  of  about  twenty  miles  from  Castletown,  to 
the  waters  of  the  lake,  which  is  about  two  miles  in  length,  encircled  by  the  topmost 
precipices  of  Ben  Mac  Dhui,  Cairngorm,  and  Ben-na-main.  The  Dee  lias  its  rise  on 
the  west  side  of  Ben  Mac  Dhui,  between  it  and  Braeriach.  But  we  reserve  our  de- 
scription of  the  upper  portion  of  the  strath,  and  its  very  peculiar  scenery,  to  the  next 
branch  of  this  route,  in  which  the  passes  through  the  Grampians  are  treated  of. 


278  LINN    OF    DEE MAR    LODGE.  SECT.  V. 

the  linn.  It  thence,  though  only  an  imperfect  semblance  of  its 
former  self,  clothes  the  sides  of  the  northern  hills  for  five  miles 
down  the  river,  and  stretching  up  Glen  Lui,  and  Glen  Quoich  ; 
and  is  succeeded  by  the  forest  of  Balloch  Bowie.  The  trees  are 
still  generally  large  and  stately,  but  the  greater  part  of  them 
are  considered  young  and  dwarfish  in  comparison  with  some  of 
the  veteran  stems  in  the  forest,  which  frequently  measure  thir- 
teen and  fourteen  feet  in  girth  six  feet  from  the  ground,  and 
about  sixty  feet  in  height.  The  axe  has  long  been  busily  at 
work ;  but  we  trust  a  respectable  remnant  will  yet  be  preserved 
of  this  fine  forest.  There  are  still  many  magnificent  specimens 
extant  in  Strathdee  and  the  small  adjoining  glens.  The  wood 
on  the  hills  on  the  south  side  of  the  valley,  in  this  section,  is 
nearly  all  birch. 

The  Linn  of  Dee  is  a  spot  about  six  miles  above  the  Castle- 
town,  where  the  river  has  cut  a  long  narrow  passage,  between 
thirty  and  forty  feet  deep,  through  opposing  rocks,  and  forms 
four  small  falls,  the  central  ones  about  ten  and  twelve  feet,  the 
others  not  above  half  that  height.  Below  the  falls,  the  water 
has  scooped  out  a  series  of  basins,  where  it  sleeps,  deep,  dark, 
and,  to  appearance,  motionless.  When  the  water  is  low,  some 
of  the  connecting  channels  are  not  above  a  yard  wide ;  but  it  is 
subject  to  floods,  which  sometimes  fill  the  chasm  to  the  brim, 
and  then  the  fury  of  the  pent  up  torrent  is  tremendous,  and  at 
all  times  the  painfully  labouring  progress  of  the  river,  which  is 
here  of  considerable  volume,  is  a  remarkable  spectacle.  The  dan- 
gerous and  foolhardy  feat  of  leaping  across  the  linn  has  been 
frequently  performed,  and  even  from  one  of  the  banks,  which 
is  lower  than  the  opposite.  The  chance  of  any  living  thing 
emerging,  save  in  death,  from  the  grim  viewless  chambers,  where 
the  dark  waters  are  being  impeded  and  churned,  is  obviously 
small  indeed.  Lord  Byron,  when  a  boy,  made  a  narrow  escape 
of  being  subjected  to  this  ordeal,  having  tripped  in  the  heather 
above,  and  been  rescued  only  when  all  but  over  the  ledge.  There 
is  a  road  on  both  sides,  that  on  the  north  generally  preferred. 

Two  miles  below  the  linn,  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  and 
in  the  bottom  of  the  valley,  is  seen  Mar  Lodge,  a  commodious 
hunting-seat  of  the  Earl  of  Fife's,  the  long  low  wings  of  which 
give  it  a  length  of  front  which  makes  it  a  very  conspicuous  ob- 
ject. It  is  rented,  with  the  adjoining  deer  forests,  by  the  Duke 
of  Leeds.  The  strath  is  here  straight  for  several  miles,  and  pre- 


ROUTE  II.  B.         CASTLETOWN  OF  BRAEMAR.  279 

sents  a  peculiar  appearance  in  its  hanging  pine  forest  on  one 
side,  and  birch  woods  on  the  other,  and  in  the  wide  level  space 
between.  Two  fine  waterfalls  occur  on  the  hills  bounding  the 
strath,  Corriemulzie  on  the  south,  and  the  Linn  of  Quoich  on 
the  north.  The  former  is  seen  as  a  long  white  and  steep  line 
on  the  face  of  the  hill,  about  four  miles  from  the  Castletown, 
bordered  by  an  emerald  herbage,  and  half-hid  by  the  foliage  of 
the  birch.  Corriemulzie  Cottage  is  a  pretty  sporting  villa,  oc- 
cupied during  the  season  by  General  Duff  and  his  family.  The 
Quoich,  two  miles  below  Mar  Lodge,  is  a  more  turbulent  stream, 
tumbling  d*own  a  succession  of  rocky  ledges,  and  exhibiting  in 
its  course  various  circular  perforations  which  it  has  achieved  in 
its  schistose  bed. 

The  distance  from  Blair  Athole  to  Castletown  of  Braemar 
may  be  reckoned  twenty-six  miles,  requiring  (from  the  nature 
of  the  ground)  eleven  hours'  moderate  walking. 

4.  Castletown  of  Braemar  consists  of  a  group  of  neat  cot- 
tages and  slated  houses,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Cluny,  a  moun- 
tain stream,  which  is  here  crossed  by  the  military  road  about 
half  a  mile  from  the  junction  of  the  streamlet  with  the  Dee, 
and  a  collection  of  scattered  huts  upon  the  opposite  or  west  side, 
which  was  at  one  time  a  great  gathering-place  for  deer  hunts. 
On  either  side  there  is  a  good  inn.    There  are  no  less  than  three 
places  of  worship  here,  and  the  houses  of  the  village  are  neat 
and  respectable ;  and  of  the  cottages  generally  on  Deeside,  it 
may  be  remarked,  that  they  are  distinguished  by  their  snugness, 
and  the  tidy  little  plots  of  garden  ground,  and  frequent  garni- 
ture of  roses,  honeysuckle,  and  other  ornamental  creepers.     On 
the  east  bank  of  the  Cluny,  the  site  is  shewn  of  a  castle  which 
Malcolm  Ceanmore  is  said  to  have  had  here,  and  Braemar  was 
a  favourite  resort  of  many  subsequent  monarchs. 

5.  This  great  but  secluded  district  was  for  centuries  under 
the  sway  of  the  powerful  Erskines,  Earls  of  Mar,  who  forfeited 
their  lands  by  the  prominent  part  which  John,  the  thirty-ninth 
Earl,  took  in  the  rebellion  of  1715.     It  was  an  Earl  of  Mar  who 
headed  the  forces  who,  in  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
successfully  encountered  Donald  of  the  Isles  in  the  very  bloody 
battle  of  Harlaw,  on  Don  side.     Another  old  name  in  Strath- 
dee  is  that  of  Farquharson,  still  a  numerous  clan  there. 

One  of  the  most  revolting  incidents  in  clan  history  is  con- 
nected with  the  Farquharsons,  and  so  late  as  the  reign  of  James 


280  BRAEMAR  CASTLE.  SECT.  V. 

VI.  Farquharson  of  Inverey  having  slain  a  Gordon — Baron  of 
Brackley — the  Marquis  of  Huntly  and  the  Laird  of  Grant,  a 
kinsman  also  of  the  deceased,  concocted  a  joint  invasion  of  the 
country  of  the  Farquharsons,  the  forces  of  the  one  advancing 
up,  while  those  of  the  other  descended  Strathdee.  A  terrible 
massacre  of  the  Farquharsons  ensued.  About  a  couple  of  hun- 
dred of  orphaned  children  were  carried  off  by  Huntly.  Some 
time  thereafter  the  Laird  of  Grant,  being  dining  with  the  Mar- 
quis, was  brought  by  him  to  a  balcony  which  overlooked  the 
kitchen  court.  The  offals  of  the  servants'  dinner  were  thrown 
into  a  large  trough,  and  on  a  signal,  a  hatch,  as  of  a"kennel,  was 
raised,  and  a  troop  of  half  famished  little  ones,  with  yells  and 
screams,  rushed  forward,  and  ravenously  devoured  the  accus- 
tomed meal,  snarlingly  contesting  the  morsels  like  so  many  hun- 
gry curs.  The  Laird  of  Grant  was  excessively  shocked  by  the 
spectacle,  but  prudently  suppressing  his  feelings,  he,  on  learning 
that  these  were  the  unfortunates  whom  his  own  sword  had  aided 
to  reduce  to  such  degradation,  contrived,  on  the  ground  that  he 
ought  to  bear  a  share  of  the  expense  of  their  maintenance,  to 
have  them  removed  to  Strathspey,  where  he  had  them  distri- 
buted among  his  clan,  and  brought  up  in  a  creditable  manner. 
Their  descendants  were,  however,  long  distinguished  as  "  the 
children  of  the  trough." 

6.  The  Castle  of  Braemar  stands  at  the  point  of  the  eastern 
side  of  the  glen  through  which  the  Cluny  flows,  on  a  slight  ele- 
vation in  the  plain.  It  is  a  tall  structure  of  four  storeys  and 
attics,  and  of  the  shape  of  two  buildings  united  at  right  angles, 
with  a  turnpike  staircase  in  the  interior  angle.  It  is  surround- 
ed, at  a  distance  of  fifteen  feet,  by  a  wall,  forming  a  square, 
with  an  angle  protruding  from  the  centre  of  each  side.  A  party 
of  military  are  stationed  here  to  aid  in  the  suppression  of 
smuggling.  In  a  field  below  the  castle  the  Earl  of  Mar  raised 
the  standard  for  James  VIII.  in  1715.  The  road,  passing 
under  the  over-hanging  cliffs  of  Craig  Clunie,  crosses  the  Dee 
three  miles  below  the  Castletown,  and  the  north  road  leaves 
Strathdee  six  miles  farther  down.  The  view  from  the  bridge 
of  Invercauld,  both  up  and  down  the  river,  is  peculiarly  im- 
posing. Forests  of  fir  clothe  both  sides  and  the  circling  ter- 
minal boundaries  of  this  section  of  the  valley,  and  with  the  fir, 
birch  is  mingled  in  large  quantities,  both  in  distinct  masses  and 
more  intimate  union.  This  latter  tree  also  again  disposes  itself 


ROUTE  II.  B.          THE  GARRAWAULT — BALMORAL.  281 

amidst  the  corn  fields  and  pasture  in  the  centre  of  the  valley. 
Above  the  woods  which  occupy  the  gentle  slopes  of  the  spacious 
hollows  at  either  extremity,  and  the  heathy  acclivities  which 
succeed  them,  rise,  in  frowning  majesty,  amphitheatres  of  bare 
and  lofty  alps,  among  which,  to  the  east,  are  the  cold  blue  tops 
of  Lochnagar.  A  mile  below  the  castle,  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  river,  is  the  house  of  Mr.  Farquharson  of  Invercauld. 

7.  The  great  pine  forest  stretches  for  several  miles  down  the 
river  from  the  bridge,  but  more  especially  on  the  south  side, 
and  the  Dee  retains  its  supremacy  over  the  Don,  at  least  in  the 
articles  of  "  fish  and  tree."     On  the  north  there  is  a  consider- 
able population,  and  a  stripe  of  arable  land,  which  occasionally 
rises  well  up  the  hill  face.     The  strath  now  presents  a  series 
of  open  basins  of  varying  dimensions,  at  times  of  considerable 
expanse,  and  connected  by  narrow  gorges.     The  northern  is  the 
principal  road,  but  the  forest  road,  on  the  south  side,  is  the  more 
interesting  as  far  as  Ballater.     The  continuous  pine  woods  are 
somewhat  monotonous,  but  there  is  an  impressive  solemnity 
about  them,  and  it  is  relieved  by  the  intermixture  of  birch 
about  the  river's  course.     About  a  couple  of  miles  below  the 
bridge  on  the  south  side,  the  Garrawault  exhibits  another  of 
those  impetuous  streams,  broken  into  frequent  falls  and  catar- 
acts, which  are  so  characteristic  of  the  district.     A  rustic  bridge 
and  hermitage,  to  which  there  is  access  by  a  steep  road,  have 
been  constructed  at  the  principal  fall — a  long  shelving  de- 
scent of  foaming  water.     Altogether  the  burn  course  has  a  pe- 
culiar wild  beauty,  and  a  charm  of  its  own,  in  the  middle  of 
the  sequestered  forest.     The  forest  on  the  south  side  is  first 
broken  by  the   cultivated   ground   about   the   Gelder   water. 
Nearly  opposite  is  the  small  village  of  Monaltrie,  not  far  from 
which,  between  the  road  and  the  river,  is  the  "  Cairn-a-quheen," 
the  gathering  place  of  the  Farquharsons. 

8.  Before  quitting  Strathdee  we  must  glance  at  her  Majesty's 
Highland  residence,  and  its  vicinity.     Balmoral,  a  name  now 
familiar  to  the  whole  world,  stands  on  the  haugh  ground  on 
the  south  bank  of  the  Dee,  in  a  bend  of  the  river,  about  a  mile 
and  a  half  from  the  point  where  the  north  road  leaves  the 
Strath  for  Strathdon.     The  castle,  which  faces  the  south,  is  an 
irregular  pile,  constructed  at  different  periods.    It  is  overlooked 
at  present  by  the  road,  but  young  trees  and  shrubberies  are 
springing  up,  and  the  gardens  and  pleasure-grounds  around  it 


282  BIRKS  OF  ABERGELDY.  SECT.  V. 

are  laid  out  with  considerable  taste.  Cairn  Gowan,  a  wooded 
hill,  rises  immediately  in  front.  A  remarkably  striking  moun- 
tain panorama  is  commanded  from  the  grounds,  comprising 
several  of  the  loftiest  mountain  summits.  About  a  mile  below 
the  castle  there  is  a  slight  chain  bridge,  which  conducts  to  the 
parish  church  of  Crathie,  where  the  Royal  Family  join  the  rustic 
audience  in  worship  without  the  slightest  ostentation,  and 
without  constraint  on  the  part  of  their  fellow-worshippers. 
The  birchen  birks  of  Abergeldy  succeed  down  the  river,  and  a 
beautiful  walk,  and  a  favourite  one  of  her  Majesty's,  leads 
through  them  on  the  south  side  to  Abergeldy,  where  there  is 
an  extensive  reach  of  level  ground  laid  out  in  fine  farms,  and 
ornamented  by  the  policies  and  magnificent  birch  woods  of 
Abergeldy  Castle — an  imposing  building,  also  on  the  south 
bank  of  the  river.  Considerable  tracts  of  arable  land  stretch 
up  along  the  course  of  the  Geldy — another  stream  which  helps 
to  drain  Lochnagar.  From  Abergeldy  the  road  on  the  south 
crosses  Craignaban,  the  pine  woods  continuing  densely  to 
clothe  the  hill  sides.  Another  wide  stretch  of  valley  succeeds. 
Craig  Youzie,  an  extensive  fir-clad  elevation,  is  crossed  by  the 
road,  and  the  Dee  at  its  base  receives  the  waters  of  the  Gairn 
from  the  north,  and  then  plunges  through  a  magnificent  pass 
between  Craig  Youzie  and  the  steep  acclivities  of  Craigendar- 
roch,  covered  over  with  birch  and  pine.  We  now  reach  Glen- 
muick,  which  brings  down  another  considerable  tributary  ;  and 
crossing  the  Dee  by  a  wooden  bridge,  we  arrive  at  the  consi- 
derable village  of  Ballater,  fourteen  miles  from  Castletown — a 
sweet  spot,  ensconced  at  the  base  of  the  high  rocky  frontlet  of 
Craigendarro^h.  It  is  surrounded  by  numerous  cheerful  cot- 
tages, and  is  a  favourite  place  of  resort  for  the  Aberdonians, 
for  the  benefits,  in  addition  to  the  attractions  of  the  scenery,  of 
the  celebrated  Pananich  Wells,  two  miles  to  the  eastward.  A 
coach  runs  between  Ballater  and  Aberdeen.* 

*  The  remainder  of  the  course  of  tie  Dee  to  Aberdeen  (42  miles)  presents  much 
pleasing  scenery,  and  many  objects  of  interest,  which,  however,  we  can  barely  enume- 
rate, viz. — Within  a  forenoon's  excursion  of  Ballater,  Lochnagar,  3800  feet  above  the 
sea,  known  wherever  the  muse  of  Byron  has  cast  its  spell ;  the  farm  house  of  Balla- 
trich,  where  he  some  time  lived ;  the  burn  of  the  \  at ;  ruins  of  Dee  Castle,  and 
Charleston  of  Abovne,  with  its  suspension  bridge ;  Aboyne  Castle,  an  irregular  struc- 
ture, the  seat  of  the  Marquis  of  Huntly ;  the  village  of  Kincardine  O'NeS,  noted  for 
its  Mod  inn ;  in  its  vicinity,  to  the  north,  Lumphanan,  the  place  of  Macbeth's  deatli ; 
the  brig  of  Potareh,  where  the  channel  of  the  Dee  is  much  contracted,  and  where  an 
old  road  crosses  leading  to  Caini-o-mount  and  Brechin ;  Inchmarlo  House  (Davidson) ; 
the  castellated  mansion  of  Blackball  (Campbell) ;  some  miles  to  the  north  the  battle- 


ROUTE  H.  B.         RIENLOAN CORGARFF  CASTLE.  283 

9.  Ascending  the  side  of  Strath  Dee,  the  north  road  crosses 
a  broad  bleak  hill,  and  descends  into  Glengairn,  which  is  a  nar- 
row stripe  of  arable  and  meadow  ground,  bordered  by  chains  of 
heathy  hills.     At  the  bottom  of  the  glen,  we  reach  the  first 
stage,  Rienloan,  thirteen  miles  from  Castletown.     Hence  the 
road  reascends,  and  six  miles  and  a-half  more,  over  barren  hills, 
brings  the  traveller  to  the  Don,  along  which  we  ascend  for  two 
miles  to  Corgarff.     From  about  half-way  between  this  latter 
place  and  Rienloan,  the  Grantown  or  north  road  becomes,  for  a 
space  of  eighteen  or  twenty  miles,  almost  impassable  for  car- 
riages.    The  river  Don,  where  crossed  by  this  line  of  road,  is  a 
small  burn  bordered  by  a  narrow  stripe  of  meadow  and  arable 
ground,  and  winding  among  sloping  heath-clad  hills. 

On  the  face  of  the  south  side  of  the  strath  stands  Corgarff 
Castle,  a  small  oblong  building  of  four  storeys,  with  a  wing  at 
each  end,  and  encircled  by  a  wall  similar  to  that  round  Braemar 
Castle.  A  small  party  of  military  is  also  stationed  here.  A 
more  bleak  and  dreary  place  of  banishment,  we  believe,  is  hardly 
to  be  met  with  in  the  Highlands.  Opposite  the  castle,  and  beside 
a  neat  shooting-box,  there  is  a  tolerable  thatched  public-house. 

10.  Leaving  Corgarff,  the  road  for  the  first  five  miles  ascends 
one  heathy  ravine,  and  then  descends  another,  lined  with  snow- 
posts,  when  it  reaches  a  small  burn  called  the  Conglass,  upon 
the  banks  of  which  mines  of  manganese  and  iron  are  workpA 
Following  the  course  of  the  burn  for  four  miles,  we  reach  Tom- 
antoul,  a  small  village,  built  on  a  spot  of  tabular  ground  over- 
looking the  Avon.     It  consists  of  about  100  houses  of,  with 
three  or  four  exceptions,  one  storey,  partly  slated,  partly  thatched 
with  heather.     They  are  arranged  in  a  straight  street,  with  a 
square  in  the  centre,  the  common  arrangement  of  villages  in 
the   surrounding  districts.     A  government   church  and   neat 
humble  manse,  with  a  handsome  Roman  Catholic  chapel,  and 

field  of  Corrichie,  fought  under  the  eye  of  Queen  Mary;  the  pleasing  village  of  B<u:- 
chory  Ternan,  with  its  numerous  villas ;  Tilliwhill  Castle ;  the  curious-shaped  hill  of 
Clochnaben;  Cratlies  Castle  (Sir  Robert  Burnett),  a  fine  old  Flemish-looking  building ; 
Park  House  ;  the  Kirk  and  House  of  Durris ;  the  Castle  of  Drum,  with  its  massive  old 
tower ;  some  miles  to  the  north  the  curious  fortified  remains,  called  the  Balmekyne 
of  Echt,  a  series  of  gigantic  concentric  walls  encircling  the  summit  of  a  steep  conical 
hill;  the  Roman  camp  of  Norman  dykes,  Kingcaussie,  and  Culter  Houses;  the 
churches  of  Mary  Culter  and  Peter  Culter  fronting  each  other ;  the  Roman  Catholic- 
College  of  Blairs ;  the  church  and  village  of  Banchory  Devenick,  and  the  series  of 
suburban  villas  which  herald  the  approach  to  the  good  city  of  Aberdeen.  For  a  very 
detailed  account  of  the  Dee  above  Ballater,  we  would  refer  the  reader  to  a  most  in- 
teresting series  of  articles  by  a  practised  hand  in  Tait's  Magazine  for  November  and 
December  1848,  and  January  1849. 


284  GLEN-AVON — THE  GRAMPIANS.  SECT.  V. 

respectable  court-house,  adorn  the  place.  Glen  Avon  is  here 
a  narrow  winding  glen,  flanked  by  steep  banks,  partially  covered 
with  oak  coppice,  above  which  the  undulating  slopes  exhibit  at 
intervals  cultivated  spaces  of  considerable  size.  Crossing  the 
glen,  the  road  reascends,  and  then,  descending  into  a  small  con- 
tiguous glen,  proceeds  up  along  the  side  of  it,  the  view  pre- 
senting, as  it  does  from  all  the  elevations  after  quitting  Dee 
side,  an  expanse  of  heath-covered  hills  of  easy  inclination  and 
smooth  regular  surface.  Presently  a  long  reach  of  Strathspey 
opens  sidewise  to  the  view  at  some  distance,  with  its  pine-filled 
flats  and  cultivated  slopes.  Turning,  as  we  advance  to  the 
right,  another  section  of  it  is  presented,  where  the  white  houses 
of  Grantown,  and  the  high  walls  of  Castle  Grant,  rise  amid  long 
tracts  of  ascending  pine  forest,  birch  woods,  and  corn  fields. 

It  has  long  been  in  contemplation  to  put  this  road,  from 
Braemar  to  Grantown,  into  a  complete  state  of  repair,  and  to 
extend  it  to  Dunkeld,  on  one  hand,  and  Elgin,  on  the  other, 
(there  being  already  a  good  road  from  Grantown  to  Forres,)  so 
as  to  form  a  shorter  communication  between  Morayshire  and 
the  south  country  than  at  present  exists. 


BOUTE  SECOND.— BRANCH  C. 

ROUTES  ACROSS  THE  GRAMPIANS  TO  BRAEMAR  AND  ATHOLE,  WITH 
LOCH-AN-EILAN,  CAIRNGORM,  ETC. 

Grandeur  of  the  Grampian  Mountains,  1. — Various  Passes,  2.— Glenmore,  3. — Botany; 
Rock  Crystals,  4. — Geological  Features ;  Loch  Avon,  5. — Loch-an-Eilan,  6. — Grand 
Assemblage  of  Mountains  and  Cataracts  around  the  sources  of  the  Dee,  7. — The 
Springs  or  Wells  of  Dee ;  the  Garachary,  8. — Ben  Mac  Dhni,  9. — The  Chest  of 
Dee,  10. — Pass  of  Minikaig ;  Pass  of  Gaick ;  Catastrophe  in  1799 ;  Geology  of  the 
Grampians,  11.— Rare  Plants,  12. — Cairngorm  Stones,  13. 

1.  THAT  portion  of  the  great  range  of  the  Grampian  mountains 
which  lies  intermediate  between  the  confines  of  Strathspey  and 
Badenoch,  on  the  one  hand,  and  Strath  Dee  and  Glen  Tilt,  on 
the  other — occupying  a  width  of  about  twenty-five  miles — 
comprehends  at  once  the  highest  altitudes  and  the  greatest  mass 
of  highly-elevated  mountain-land,  and  the  most  numerous  and 
closely-congregated  groups  of  lofty  mountain-summits  in  the 
British  dominions,  approached  only,  perhaps,  by  the  great 


ROUTE  II.  C.  THE  GRAMPIANS.  285 

chains  which  overhang  Loch  Affrick  and  Loch  Beneveian,  Loch 
Lungard  and  Loch  Monar — the  sources  of  the  Beauly — where, 
however,  they  are  not  so  densely  compacted  together.  Though 
exhibiting  the  greatest  amount,  in  any  given  compass,  of  the 
more  sublime  features  of  alpine  scenery,  yet  this  district  is 
little  known,  except  from  the  report,  and  that  only  of  late  years, 
of  a  comparatively  small  number  of  adventurous  tourists.  The 
reason  is,  that  these  fastnesses  cannot  be  explored,  except  by 
dint  of  a  complete  fagging  day  of  resolute  walking,  there  being 
no  intermediate  stage  whatever  between  Aviemore  and  Castleto wn 
of  Braemar,  or  between  the  former  or  Kingussie  and  Blair 
Athole. 

2.  There  are  four  passes  across  this  section  of  the  Grampians, 
besides  those  through  which  the  public  roads  proceed,  which 
require  some  notice.  The  first  is  from  Aviemore,  by  Glenmore, 
across  the  eastern  shoulders  of  the  Cairngorms,  and  by  the 
south  end  of  Glen  Avon  to  Braemar ;  secondly,  by  a  more  west- 
erly course  through  the  skirts  of  the  Rothiemurchus  forest, 
and  on  the  west  side  of  Cairngorm  to  the  sources  of  the  Dee, 
between  that  mountain  and  Braeriach,  and  thence  along  the 
west  side  of  Ben  Mac  Dhui,  and  the  course  of  the  Dee ;  the 
third  from  Loch  Inch,  or  Inverishie,  by  Minikaig,  into  Glen 
Tilt  and  Athole ;  and  the  fourth  proceeds  from  Glen  Tromie, 
by  the  forest  of  Gaick,  into  Bruar  and  Athole. 

None  of  these  routes  should  be  attempt^  V  <^«  pedestrian 
without  a  guide ;  and  each  of  them  will  require,  in  the  passage, 
the  greater  part  of  a  long  summer's  day.  The  first  two  can 
only  be  undertaken,  either  from  Castletown  in  Braemar  or  from 
Aviemore  in  Strathspey,  at  both  of  which  places  guides  may 
be  hired  ;  and  the  two  last  routes,  in  like  manner,  must  be 
begun  either  from  Blair  Athole,  terminating  the  same  day  at 
Kingussie  in  Badenoch ;  or  this  order  may  be  reversed.  But 
it  should  be  distinctly  borne  in  mind,  that,  when  once  the  low 
valleys  at  either  end  of  these  journeys  are  passed,  not  a  single 
hut  or  place  of  shelter  is  to  be  found  in  the  hills,  and  that  none 
but  persons  in  robust  health,  and  accustomed  to  walking,  should 
try  these  excursions.  In  tempestuous  weather  they  should  on 
no  account  be  attempted  by  any  one.  The  length  of  each  ex- 
ceeds thirty  miles  of  hill  and  dale,*  which  is  fully  as  toilsome 
as  one-half  additional  distance  on  a  made  road ;  and  as  the 
*  Minikaig  and  Gaick  are  not  so  long,  but  sufficiently  trying. 


286  GLENMORE.  SECT.  V. 

visitor  must  start  from  one  end,  and  sleep  next  night  at  the 
other,  without  the  possibility  of  finding  any  place  of  refresh- 
ment, we  would  advise  his  carrying  provisions  with  him,  and 
loitering  as  shortly  as  possible  by  the  way. 

3.  Pursuing  the  first  route,  we  cross  the  Spey  at  Inverdruie, 
near  Aviemore,  and  proceed  eastward,  through  Glenmore,  which, 
as  Dr.  Macculloch  remarks,  "  without  being  picturesque,  is  a 
magnificent  scene,  from  its  open  basin-like  form,  rising  at  once 
up  the  high  and  unbroken  mountains  which  surround  it,  from 
its  wide  extent,  and  from  its  simple  grandeur  of  character. 
Everywhere  is  seen  rising  young  woods  of  various  ages,  promis- 
ing, when  centuries  shall  have  passed  away,  to  restore  to  the 
valley  its  former  honours.     But  it  is  the  wreck  of  the  ancient 
forest  which  arrests  all  the  attention,  and  which  renders  Glen- 
more  a  melancholy — more  than  a  melancholy — a  terrific  spec- 
tacle.    Trees  of  enormous  height,  which  have  escaped  alike  the 
axe  and  the  tempest,  are  still  standing,  stripped  by  the  winds 
even  of  their  bark,  and,  like  gigantic  skeletons,  throwing  far  and 
wide  their  white  and  bleached  bones  to  the  storms  and  rains  of 
heaven ;  while  others,  broken  by  the  violence  of  the  gales,  lift 
their  split  and  fractured  trunks  in  a  thousand  shapes  of  resis- 
tance and  of  destruction,  or  still  display  some  knotted  and  tor- 
tuous branches,  stretched  out  in  sturdy  and  fantastic  forms  of 
defiance  to  the  whirlwind  and  the  winter.     It  is  the  naked  ske- 
leton tiic«~i»;»>s  in  the  winds,  the  gigantic  bones  of  the  forest 
still  erect,  the  speaking  records  of  foimer  life,  and  of  strength 
still  unsubdued,  vigorous  even  in  death,  which  renders  Glen- 
more  one  enormous  charnel-house."     The  wood  in  this  valley 
was  sold  to  the  York  Buildings  Company  for  £10,000 ;  and  it 
is  said  their  profits  exceeded  £70,000. 

4.  Passing  the  region  of  the  forests,  the  stranger  finds  him- 
self about  a  third  of  the  way  up  the  Grampian  slopes,  which 
are  thence  only  sparingly  covered  with  heather,  and  whortle, 
and  cranberries ;  and  as  he  approaches  the  summit,  even  these 
disappear,  and  the  naked  undecomposed  granite  presents  itself, 
the  crevices  of  which  are  but  occasionally  tinged  with  the  varied 
colours  of  small  alpine  lichens  and  mosses,  more  prevalent  than 
which,  however,  the  botanist  will  descry  the  little  phacnogamous 
beauties  of  Statice  Armeria  and  Silene  acaulis. 

The  ascent  from  the  west  end  of  Glenmore  to  the  top  of 
Cairngorm  is  easy,  with  little  variety  from  protruding  rocks,  or 


ROUTE  II.  C.  CAIRNGORM.  287 

watercourses.  "  One  smooth  and  undulating  surface  of  granite 
mountain,  without  the  variety  of  bold  precipice  or  deep  ravine, 
follows  another,  so  far  and  so  wide,  that,  when  other  objects 
appear,  they  are  beyond  the  reach  and  powers  of  the  eye,  and 
produce  no  effect." 

To  the  botanist  this  mountain  is  almost  a  blank,  as  regards 
phaenogamous  plants ;  and,  indeed,  the  productions  on  it  and 
the  neighbouring  chain  of  mountains  present  a  greater  resem- 
blance to  the  Flora  of  the  Lapland  Alps,  than  those  of  any  other 
elevations  in  Britain.  Lichen  nivalis  is,  doubtless,  the  most 
striking  plant  on  Cairngorm,  but  it  has  not  been  met  with  in 
fructification ;  while  some  other  species  of  the  same  genus  (Ce- 
traria),  found  nowhere  else  in  fruit,  often  present  themselves 
here  in  that  state.  Lycopodium  annotinum  and  Azalea  pro- 
cumJ>ens  are  exceedingly  abundant,  and  Luzula  armata,  asso- 
ciated with  L.  spicata,  are  almost  the  only  phgenogamous  plants 
to  be  met  with  on  the  bare  summit.* 

5.  The  central  nucleus  of  these  mountains,  as  is  well  known, 
is  composed  of  granite,  intermixed  with  and  resting  on  which 
are  a  series  of  slaty  and  stratified  rocks  (abounding  with  beds 
of  primitive  limestone),  the  junctions  and  relations  of  which, 
however,  are  not  so  well  known  or  so  extensively  displayed  in 
the  sections  on  the  north  side  of  the  Grampians  as  in  the  oppo- 
site quarter  of  the  country. 

From  the  top  or  shoulder  of  Cairngorm  the  descent  is 
easy  to  Loch  Avon,  or  A'an,  a  scene  almost  unrivalled  even  in 
Switzerland,  yet  one  which  nature  seems  nearly  to  have  buried 
beyond  human  resort ;  as,  though  accessible  also  from  Braemar, 
the  distance  from  any  habitation  is  on  that  side  likewise  so 
great,  that  it  is  only  possible  to  visit  it  and  return  within  the 
compass  of  a  long  summer  day,  and  at  the  expense  of  a  good 
deal  of  fatigue.  In  Braemar  a  mountain  exists  which  is  called 
the  Eastern  or  Lesser  Cairngorm ;  and  the  tourist  will  have  to 
take  care  that  he  be  not  conducted  to  it,  instead  of  to  the  true 
and  higher  mountain,  which  is  situated  in  Inverness-shire. 

Having  conducted  the  traveller  as  far  as  Loch  Avon,  we 
refer  him  to  a  brief  description  of  the  route  between  it  and 
Braemar  in  the  preceding  branch,  merely  noticing  that  it  lies 

*  Aralns  petrtea  is  also  met  with  on  tliis  mountain,  and  at  its  base  is  exceedingly 
luxuriant,  having,  no  doubt,  been  transported  thither  by  the  agency  of  water.  The 
very  rare  plant,  Polytrichum  Septentrionale,  is  likewise  found  here. 


288  LOCH-AN-EILAN.  SECT.  V. 

up  Glen-dhu-lochan,  on  the  east  side  of  Ben-na-main,  and 
across  into  Glen  Dearg,  and  the  continuation  of  it,  Glen  Lui, 
to  the  Linn  of  Dee. 

6.  Proceeding  now  from  the  ferry  at  Rothiemurchus,  through 
the  Rothiemurchus  woods   in   a   south-easterly  direction,  we 
ascend  towards  Ben  Mac  Dhui  and  the  Dee ;  but  on  the  way, 
or  rather  on  some  different  day,  for  time  is  precious  en  route 
for  Braemar,  we  must  not  omit  to  visit  Loch-an-Eilan. 

Loch-an-Eilan  is  only  about  two  miles  distant  from  the 
Spey  ;  and  the  road  to  it  winds  round  the  beautiful  birch-clad 
hill,  the  Ord  Bain,  which  rises  from  its  western  shore  ;  but  the 
lake,  its  castle,  and  its  woods,  recal  to  the  imagination  rather 
the  things  we  read  of  in  the  novels  of  the  Otranto  school  than 
a  scene  of  real  life.  "  In  some  parts  of  it,  the  rocky  precipices 
rise  immediately  from  the  deep  water,  crowned  with  the  dark 
woods  that  fling  a  profound  shadow  over  it ;  in  others,  the  solid 
masses  of  the  trees  advance  to  its  edge  ;  while  elsewhere  open 
green  shores,  or  low  rocky  points,  or  gravelly  beaches,  are  seen : 
the  scattered  groups  or  single  trees,  which,  springing  from 
some  bank,  wash  their  roots  in  the  waves  that  curl  against 
them,  adding  to  the  general  variety  of  this  wild  and  singular 
scene. 

"  This  lake  is  much  embellished  by  an  ancient  castle  stand- 
ing on  an  island  within  it,  and  even  yet  entire,  though  roofless. 
As  a  Highland  castle,  it  is  of  considerable  dimensions ;  and,  the 
island  being  scarcely  larger  than  its  foundations,  it  appears,  in 
some  places,  to  rise  immediately  out  of  the  water.  Its  ancient 
celebrity  is  considerable,  since  it  was  one  of  the  strongholds  of 
the  Cumings,  the  particular  individual  whose  name  is  attached 
to  it  being  the  ferocious  personage  known  by  the  name  of  the 
Wolf  of  Badenoch.  It  has  passed  now  to  a  tenant  not  more 
ferocious,  who  is  a  fit  emblem  and  representative  of  the  red- 
handed  Highland  chief:  the  eagle  has  built  his  eyrie  on  the 
walls." — (Dr.  Macculloch.) 

7.  After  traversing  for  about  ten  miles  along  the  course  of 
the  Alt  Dhui,  the  shelving  slopes  on  the  north  and  west  of 
Cairngorm,  of  the  vast  base  on  which  rest  the  ample  superin- 
cumbent masses  of  Cairngorm,  Ben  Mac  Dhui,  and  Braeriach ; 
and  the  adjoining  Grampian  mountains,  the  summit  is  attained 
of  a  highly  elevated  pass,  where  the  water  shears  in  the  oppo- 
site direction  from  that  up  which  we  have  been  toiling.     Here 


ROUTE  II.  C.  SOURCES  OF  THE  DEE.  289 

we  may  define  the  relative  position  of  the  more  distinctive 
mountain  masses.  We  are  now  at  the  north-west  of  Ben  Mac 
Dhui,  to  the  north-east  of  which  lies  Cairngorm,  and  south 
from  it  Ben-na-Main  and  the  lesser  Cairngorm — these  towering 
Alps  encircling  the  secluded  waters  of  Loch  Aven.  A  great 
defile  runs  along  the  western  side  of  Ben  Mac  Dhui,  through 
which  the  infant  waters  of  the  Dee  make  their  way.  On  the 
west  side  stretches  Braeriach,  Cairntoul,  and  Ben-na-Vrochan. 
All  these  mountains  range  about  4000,  several  to  nearly  4300 
feet,  while  Ben  Mac  Dhui  is  computed  to  rise  as  high  as  4390 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea  ;  and,  if  so,  of  the  precision  of 
which  measurement,  the  only,  if  any  room  for  doubt,  may  rest 
in  its  inland  position — exceeding  by  20  feet  the  height  of  Ben 
Nevis.  All  the  eastern  and  north-eastern  faces  of  these,  as  of 
most  of  our  mountains,  are  precipitous,  while  the  western  sides 
present  accessible  slopes.  The  wall,  as  it  is  called,  of  the 
Braeriach,  flanking  the  summit  level  of  Glendee,  is  a  stupendous 
lengthened  range  of  precipice,  computed  to  be  about  2000  feet 
of  perpendicular  height.  This  gigantic  cliff  forms  a  very 
arresting  feature  of  the  scenery.  Cairntoul  projects  its  huge 
bare  mass  in  front  of  the  ridge  of  the  Braeriach,  intercepting 
the  sunbeams  from  the  wild  ravine  or  corry  which  descends 
from  this  vast  barrier.  The  granite  mountains  around  are  re- 
markable for  the  teeming  springs  of  water  which  gush  up  near 
the  very  summits  of  the  mountains.  These  discharge  number- 
less torrents  down  the  mountain  sides,  and  line  the  upper 
reaches  of  Glendee  with  a  series  of  cataracts,  nowhere  in  this 
country  matched  in  number  and  altitude.  And  the  impending 
crags  and  expanded  acclivities  which  stretch  around,  surpass 
in  extent  and  continuity  most  other  scenes  of  the  kind. 

8.  It  is  matter  of  dispute  whether  one  of  the  streams 
pouring  down  the  flank  of  Ben  Mac  Dhui,  or  another  called 
the  Garachary,  which  comes  foaming  down  the  corry  between 
the  Braeriach  and  Cairntoul,  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  true 
parent  Dee.  The  first  buries  itself,  in  its  descent,  amid  granitic 
masses  which  strew  the  hill  side — to  reappear  in  a  series  of 
reservoirs  of  the  most  remarkable  character,  called  the  "  Springs 
or  Wells  of  the  Dee,"  embedded  in  structures  of  nature's  work- 
manship— exhibiting  a  strange  degree  of  regularity.  Near  the 
top  of  the  pass,  the  bottom  of  the  ravine  is  occupied  by  a  suc- 
cession of  terraces  of  broken  fragments  of  stone,  presenting,  in 


290  WELLS  OP  THE  DEE — CATARACTS.  SECT.  V. 

their  downward  fronts,  so  many  ledges  of  masonry  one  above 
the  other.  On  each  terrace — five  in  number — there  is  a  deep 
well  of  the  most  limpid  water,  of  varying  capacity  ;  the  lowest 
of  very  considerable  dimensions.  At  the  bottom  of  all,  issues 
a  stream  of  no  mean  volume,  even  thus  early.  The  vegetation 
around  is  stunted  and  scanty,  and  the  rock-work  of  the  wells  is 
almost  destitute  of  soil.  For  about  twelve  miles  from  this 
point,  to  near  about  where  it  deflects  to  the  east,  the  Dee 
hurries  its  waters  over  a  broken  rocky  bed,  in  rapids  and 
cascades,  and  quieter  intervals,  and  formidable-looking  linns — 
receiving  constant  accessories  from  the  adjoining  hills.  The 
first  main  tributary  is  the  Garachary,  which  joins  it  from  the 
west,  about  three  miles  below  the  springs.  It  issues  from  a 
well  near  the  topmost  summit  of  Braeriach,  and  has  some 
length  of  course  at  this  high  elevation  before  it  precipitates 
itself  down  along  the  edge  of  the  stupendous  wall — its  progress 
marked  by  a  permanent  seam  of  snow-white  purity.  It  joins 
the  Dee  at  the  foot  of  Cairntoul.  Expanded,  upreared  screens 
of  naked  rock  of  the  most  imposing  altitude  are  drawn  around. 
And  this  scene  of  desolation  is  made  doubly  impressive  by 
the  reflection  how  utterly  secluded  it  is — there  being  no 
dwelling  of  any  kind,  however  mean,  for  many  miles  in  all 
directions. 

Next  to  the  Garachary,  the  Dee  is  enlarged  in  volume  by 
the  Geusachan,  which,  on  the  further  side  of  Cairntoul,  descends 
from  Ben-na-Vrochan  and  an  adjoining  mountain,  accomplishing 
near  its  origin  one  sheer  slide  of  1000  feet. 

9.  Ben  Mac  Dhui  is  easy  of  ascent  from  the  upper  part  of 
Glen  Dee,  and  the  scene  from  the  summit  probably  surpasses 
that  from  any  other  of  our  celebrated  mountains.  The  sea  can 
l>e  descried  on  three  sides.  To  the  south  and  west  the  expanse 
of  mountain  heaps  is  prodigious — its  great  extent  indicated  by 
such  remote  points  as  Ben  Lawers,  Ben  Lomond,  Ben  Cruachan, 
and  Ben  Nevis.  Looking  north,  the  Moray,  Nairn,  and  Banff- 
shire  hills,  with  those  of  the  contiguous  section  of  Inverness- 
shire,  subside  into  very  moderate  proportions,  while  interme- 
diate lies  the  smiling  valley  of  the  Spey  ;  and  beyond,  the  blue 
waters  of  the  Moray  Firth,  girdled  by  the  distant  hills  of  Ross 
and  Sutherlandshires.  While  on  the  east,  prone  at  our  feet,  lie 
the  headlong  and  stupendous  precipices  which  encompass  Loch 
Aven. 


ROUTE  II.  C.  CHEST   OP   THE    DEE.  291 

The  direct  descent  to  Loch  Aven  from  Ben  Mac  Dhui  is  al- 
most impracticable,  and  besides  the  loss  of  time  and  over-exer- 
tion would  render  it  impossible  to  reach  any  better  resting- 
place  than  the  shelter-stone,  a  large  fragment  of  rock  on  its 
banks,  under  which  a  night  bivouac  has  occasionally  been 
made.  Should  the  tourist  incline,  however,  to  vary  his  route, 
he  may  descend  into  Glen-Lui-beg  and  Glen  Lui,  and  reach 
Strath  Dee,  below  the  Linn  of  Dee,  instead  of  regaining  Glen 
Dee,  and  following  the  course  of  the  river. 

10.  As  the  Dee  descends,  the  mountains  diminish,  and  the 
glen  widens  out.     Near  the  bend  of  the  river  the  Geldie  joins 
it  also  from  the  west,  about  nine  miles  from  Castletown  of  Brae- 
mar.     Some  distance  above  the  junction,  the  waters  of  the  Dee 
encounter  a  large  rock,   in  which  they  have  excavated  two 
chambers — the  lower  considerably  the  largest,  and  the  water- 
way in  both  at  a  considerable  depth.     Into  the  first,  the  access 
is  by  a  very  confined  passage,  and  from  either  chamber  the 
contents,  contracting  overflow — from  the  lowest  in  a  fall  of  some 
height.     These  excavations  are  called  "  The  Chest  of  the  Dee." 
The  "  Linn  of  Dee,"  where  its  waters  are  pent  up  in  an  ex- 
tremely narrow  duct  of  some  length,  occurs  half  a  dozen  miles 
above  the  Castletown,  and  will,  with  this  section  of  Strathdee,  be 
found  described  in  the  preceding  branch. 

11.  Of  the  other  two  sequestered  routes  above  mentioned, 
the  first  commences  from  the  Ferry  of  Insh  (five  miles  west 
from  Aviemore),  and  proceeds  through  Glen  Feshie  and  Mini- 
kaig,  and  through  Glen  Tilt  to  Athole.     It  is  shorter  than  the 
public  road  by  at  least  twenty  miles,  and  its  elevation  is  not  so 
great  as  might  be  expected. 

On  the  third  route  the  traveller  should  start  from  Kingussie 
early  in  the  morning.  Its  course  lies  through  the  Forest  of 
Gaick,  and  by  the  Water  of  Bruar,  and  it  ascends  to  a  greater 
elevation,  and  is  more  dangerous,  than  the  one  just  alluded  to. 
To  the  pedestrian  it  does  not  shorten  the  road  from  Aviemore 
to  Perth  or  Dunkeld  so  considerably  as  Minikaig  ;  and  it  is  ex- 
ceedingly unsafe  in  stormy  weather,  from  the  drifting  of  the 
snow,  which  not  only  obscures  the  path,  but  fills  up  the  passes 
and  openings  through  which  he  has  to  proceed.  Some  years 
ago,  a  party  of  soldiers  were  nearly  lost  on  this  route  ;  and 
some  of  them  are  said  never  to  have  recovered  the  cold  and 
fatigue  they  endured.  The  hardy  inhabitants  of  the  country 


292  GEOLOGY  AND  BOTANY          SECT.  V. 

often  attempt  to  cross  the  mountains  in  this  direction,  and  not 
unfrequently  perish  on  the  way.  The  most  awful  occurrence, 
however,  known  to  have  taken  place  in  the  Forest  of  Gaick 
happened  on  New  Year's  Day  1799.  A  party  of  huntsmen, 
headed  by  a  gentleman  of  the  name  of  Macpherson,  proceeded 
the  previous  night  to  a  hut  or  bothie  in  the  hill,  that  they 
might  be  out  early  in  the  morning  in  quest  of  the  deer.  A 
tremendous  thunder-storm,  accompanied  with  wind  and  snow, 
came  on,  and  by  the  morning  the  hut  was  destroyed,  the  stones 
scattered  about,  and  every  inmate  of  it  perished  ;  not  one  hav- 
ing survived  to  explain  the  catastrophe.  Some  have  imagined 
that  the  accident  was  occasioned  by  an  avalanche  of  snow  from 
the  adjoining  height  ;  others,  that  electricity  was  the  cause  ; 
and,  of  course,  the  country  people  have  their  tales  and  surmises 
of  a  blacker  and  more  fearful  character.  The  guns  of  the  party 
were  found  twisted,  most  probably  from  the  effects  of  light- 
ning ;  but  the  men  themselves  seem  to  have  been  suffocated  in 
bed,  for  only  one  of  the  bodies  was  found  a  little  way  beyond 
the  spot  on  which  the  hut  stood. 

12.  Before  closing  this  notice  of  the  Grampian  mountains, 
it  seems  proper  that  we  describe  a  little  more  particularly  their 
structure.  They  are  in  general  remarkable  for  their  extreme 
sterility  and  the  desolate  aspect  which  they  present.  The  sum- 
mits are  rounded,  sometimes  nearly  flat,  to  a  great  extent,  and 
entirely  covered  by  disintegrating  blocks  of  stone,  together 
with  grit  and  sand,  except  in  a  few  places,  where  the  granite 
rocks  present  the  singular  appearance  of  large  tabular  protrud- 
ing pinnacles,  having  their  blocks  seemingly  arranged  in  regular 
strata.  Most  of  the  mountains  exhibit  perpendicular  precipices 
near  the  summit,  which  generally  assume  a  semicircular  form, 
constituting  the  hollows  called  carries,  and  having  a  lake  at 
their  base.  In  decomposing,  the  granite  assumes  either  a  red 
or  whitish  colour,  from  the  character  of  its  constituent  felspar ; 
while  on  the  large  scale  it  splits  into  masses  of  a  tabular  form, 
the  concentric  or  globular  arrangement  being  rare.  Except 
near  the  base  of  the  precipices,  it  is  difficult  to  determine  whe- 
ther the  blocks  and  stones  which  cover  these  mountains  are  par- 
tially disintegrated  and  decomposed  fragments  of  the  constituent 
masses,  or  of  diluvial  or  other  origin.  On  the  summits  there 
are  extensive  tracts  of  grit  and  sand,  among  which  fragments 
occur  but  sparingly.  In  other  places  the  fragments  are  inter- 


ROUTE  n.  c.  OF  THE  GRAMPIANS.  293 

mixed  with  grit  and  sand ;  and  in  others  huge  piles  of  broken 
tabular  masses  appear,  with  very  little  grit  or  sand  in  their  in- 
tervals. In  the  open  glens  there  are  immense  deposits  of  dilu- 
vium or  alluvium ;  hillocks  of  from  ten  to  sixty  or  eighty  feet 
occur  abundantly,  which  are  generally  of  an  oblong  form,  but 
rarely  present  any  appearance  from  which  the  direction  of  the 
currents  that  had  formed  them  can  be  decidedly  inferred,  though 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  their  constituent  particles  were  de- 
rived from  the  adjoining  mountains, 

13.  We  subjoin,  in  the  note  below,  the  names  of  some  of  the 
rarer  and  more  characteristic  plants  of  this  mountain  district ;  * 
and  we  have  only  to  add,  that  it  has  also  long  been  distinguished 
for  its  beautiful  rock  crystals  (of  a  dark  and  of  a  light  brown 
or  yellow  colour),  called  Cairngorm  stones,  which  are  now  more 
carefully  sought  for  in  the  debris  than  formerly,  and  which  of 
late  have  been  discovered  in  fine  six-sided  prisms,  terminated 
by  six-sided  pyramids,  extending  from  one  inch  to  six  or  eight 
inches  in  length,  and  of  which  specimens  have  lately  been  found 
weighing  ten  pounds  of  solid  crystal.  Topaz,  beryl,  amethyst, 
and  garnet,  also  occur  in  these  mountains. 

*  Aira  alpina.  Aira  vivipara.  Alopecurus  alpinus.  Apargia  Taraxaci.  Arabis 
hispida.  Arabis  petwea.  Azalea  procumbens.  ISetula  nana.  Cetraria  islandica. 
Cetraria  nivalis.  Hieracium  alpinuni  Halleri.  Goodyera  repcns.  Juncus  castaneus. 
Linnaea  borealis.  Luzula  arcuata.  Luzula  spicata  et  trifida.  Lycopodium  annoti- 
uuiu.  Polytrichum  hercynicum.  Polytrichum  septentrionale.  Sahx  herbacea.  Saxi- 
iraga  csespitosa.  Saxifraga  oppositifolia.  Sibbaldia  procumbens.  Silene  acaiilis  fior. 
alb.  Thalictrum  alpinum.  Yacciniuni  uliginosum.  Veronica  alpina.  Veronica  saxatilis. 


ROUTE  SECOND.— BRANCH  D. 
STRATHSPEY  AXD  LOCHINDORBU. 

Church  of  Duthill ;  Tower  of  Muckeraeh,  1.— Castle  of  Lochindorbh,  2.— Its  Siege,  3. 
—Grantown ;  Orphan  Asylum,  4.— Castle  Grant ;  View  from  the  Tower,  5. — Battle 
of  the  Haughs  of  Cromdale,  6. — Castle  Boy ;  Tullochgorum ;  The  Grampians  ; 
Glenmore  Forest,  7. — Strathspey  below  Grantown ;  Ballindalloch  House,  8. — Aber- 
lour ;  Craigelachie  Bridge,  9. 

Miles. 

Bridge  of  Carr  to  Grantown  10 

Inveravon 13 

Aberlour    7J 

Rothes   4 

Fochabers 10 


294  TOWER  OF  MUCKERACH.  SECT.  V. 

HAVING  already  described  one  side,  at  least,  of  that  portion  of 
Strathspey,  through  which  the  road  from  Inverness  to  Perth 
passes,  the  present  branch  will  refer  chiefly  to  the  district  be- 
low the  Bridge  of  Carr. 

1.  The  banks  of  the  Dulnain  improve  in  appearance  after 
passing  Carr  Bridge ;  and  he  who  would  form  his  notions  of 
Strathspey  from  the  character  of  the  country  he  has  passed 
over  in  approaching  it  from  the  north,  will  find  himself  agree- 
ably mistaken.  The  first  glimpse  of  the  manse  of  Duthill,  from 
the  bank  of  Dalrachney,  close  by  the  inn,  opens  at  the  same 
time  to  our  view  a  broad  valley,  beautifully  varied  with  culti- 
vated fields  and  smooth  meadows,  and  bordered  with  gently 
sloping  hills,  which  conduct  the  eye  far  into  the  bosom  of  Strath- 
spey. The  church  of  Duthill  is  rather  an  interesting  building, 
as  it  is  one  of  the  few  old  Popish  chapels  which  survived  the 
Reformation.  The  tomb  of  the  family  of  Grant  of  Grant  re- 
poses against  its  northern  wall.  One  part  of  the  enclosure  is 
reserved  for  the  chief  and  his  offspring,  while  the  outer  part 
belongs  to  collateral  branches,  as  the  families  of  Kinchurdy, 
Tullochgriban,  and  Balladirin.  Three  miles  to  the  east  of 
Duthil  Manse,  the  road  passes  close  to  the  old  tower  of  Mucke- 
rach,  the  high  walls  of  which  are  visible  at  a  great  distance. 
It  stands  on  the  brink  of  a  little  dell,  on  the  brow  of  a  hill, 
which  commands  an  outlook  to  the  west  as  far  as  Craigelachie 
and  Aviemore,  and  eastward  a  great  way  over  the  valley  of  the 
Spey.  It  was  the  primeval  seat  of  the  family  of  Rothiemur- 
chus,  and  was  erected  in  1598  by  Patrick,  second  son  of  John, 
laird  of  Grant,  and  Margaret  Stewart,  daughter  of  the  Earl  of 
Athole,  who  was  his  first  spouse.  The  founder's  father  was 
called  John  Baold,.£Ae  Simple,  and  was  the  son  of  Shemis-nan- 
Creach,  the  Ravager,  who  died  in  1550.  The  lintel  stone  over 
the  doorway  has  been  carried  off,  but  still  exists  in  one  of  the 
farm-houses  at  Rothiemurchus.  It  contains  the  year  1598,  in 
which  the  castle  was  finished,  with  the  owner's  arms  (three  an- 
tique crowns  and  three  wolves'  heads),  and  on  the  scroll,  "  In 
God  is  al  my  Trest."  The  building  forms  a  most  picturesque 
ruin,  and  is  beautifully  situated  ;  but  it  is  a  mere  shell,  its  roof 
and  all  the  interior  partitions  having  fallen  away.  It  was  only 
a  castellated  mansion,  and  hence  had  not  the  solidity  or  thick- 
ness of  wall  sufficient  to  keep  it  as  entire  as  many  structures 
more  ancient  than  itself. 


ROUTE  II.  D.  SIEGE  OF  LOCHINDORBH  295 

2.  Far  different  in  structure  and  in  story  from  the  tower  now 
described,  is  the  Castle  of  Lochindorbh,  situated  in  an  island  in 
the  lake  of  that  name,  at  the  base  of  the  knock  of  Brae-Moray, 
about  eight  miles  over  the  hills  to  the  northward.     This  was 
the  greatest  stronghold  of  the  Cumings,  and  rivalled  in  extent, 
and  the  number  of  its  defences,  the  fortresses  of  royalty     Loch- 
indorbh lies  at  no  great  distance  from  the  old  military  road 
which  crosses  the  country  between  Strathspey  and  Fort-George, 
by  Dulsie  Bridge  and  Cawdor,  and  it  can  be  approached  also  by 
a  new  road  from  Grantown,  by  Farness  to  Cawdor,  Nairn,  and 
Forres.    Nothing  can  be  conceived  more  bleak  and  desolate  than 
the  moorish  country  in  which  the  lake  lies,  nor  more  uninter- 
esting and  dull  than  this  sheet  of  water.    The  lichen-clad  walls 
of  the  castle,  and  the  flocks  of  sea-fowl  skimming  about  it,  and 
which  nestle  within  its  deserted  chambers,  add  an  indescribable 
character  of  loneliness  to  the  otherwise  gloomy  features  of  the 
scene.     Every  part  of  the  island  (which  is  about  an  acre  in  ex- 
tent) is  occupied  by  the  high  castellated  wall,  so  that  no  land- 
ing could  be  effected  on  it  save  at  the  appointed  haven.     The 
building  is  quadrangular,  with  round  towers  at  the  corners,  and 
on  the  side  nearest  the  land  the  high  connecting  screens  are 
double. 

From  "  Douglas's  Peerage,"  and  the  public  printed  records, 
we  learn  that  the  Black  John  Cumyn  of  Badenoch  died  about 
the  year  1300,  at  his  castle  of  Lochindorbh ;  and  that,  as  his 
grandson  (of  the  same  name)  died  soon  after,  without  issue,  the 
direct  male  line  of  the  family  became  extinct. 

3.  David  II.  bestowed  on  his  constable  of  Edinburgh  Castle, 
Symon  Reed,  the  forest  of  Lochindorbh,  the  acknowledgment 
of  service  to  be  three  arrows  deliverable  at  Inverness ;  and 
Robert  II.,  in  the  first  year  of  his  reign,  gave  to  his  son,  Alex- 
ander Seneschal,  and  the  heirs  of  his  body,  whom  failing,  to 
David,  Earl  of  Strathearn,  and  to  the  heirs  of  his  body,  certain 
parts  of  Badenoch,  with  the  castle,  forest,  and  lands  of  Lochin- 
dorbh, in  the  same  manner  as  the  deceased  John  Cumyn  and 
his  predecessors  held  the  same.     In  the  year  1335,  when  the 
Earl  of  March  defeated  and  killed  David  de  Strathbogie,  Earl 
of  Athole,  at  Kilblain,  and  raised  the  siege  of  Kildrummy  Castle, 
the  Earl  of  Athole's  lady  fled  to  Lochindorbh.     Sir  Alexander 
Gordon  laid  siege  to  it ;  but  next  year,  King  Edward  of  Eng- 
land obliged  him  to  retire ;  and  traditions  still  exist,  though 


296  GRANTOVVN — ORPHAN  ASTLUM.  SECT.  V. 

not  very  correct,  regarding  the  blockade  it  had  previously  with- 
stood. The  spot  where  the  besieging  army  lay  is  on  the  south- 
ern shore  of  the  loch,  and  can  still  be  distinguished  by  the 
smoothness  of  its  surface,  and  the  double  ditches  which  sur- 
round it.  The  catapultae,  and  other  warlike  engines  used  for 
throwing  large  stones,  seem  to  have  had  considerable  effect  from 
this  position,  as  the  shattered  state  of  the  corner  wall  of  the 
castle  immediately  opposite  still  testifies. 

In  the  year  1606,  James,  Earl  of  Moray,  disponed  a  consi- 
derable part  of  his  lands  near  Inverness,  together  with  this  lake, 
the  buildings  within  the  same,  and  the  adjoining  shielings,  to 
Sir  John  Campbell  of  Calder ;  and  that  family  seem  to  have 
contributed  considerably  to  the  demolition  of  the  castle ;  for, 
among  other  things,  the  great  iron  gate  at  the  door  of  entrance 
was  carried  away,  and  may  now  be  seen  in  the  peel  of  Cawdor. 
By  an  excambion,  or  exchange  of  land,  it  has,  with  all  the  ad- 
joining grounds,  fallen  into  the  possessions  of  the  family  of 
Grant  of  Grant. 

4.  To  return  now  to  the  road  to  Grantown.  At  the  Bridge 
of  Curr,  below  Muckerach,  the  road  from  Aviemore  through  the 
centre  of  Strathspey,  unites  with  that  which  we  are  now  follow- 
ing. Thence  to  Grantown  (six  miles  and  a  half)  we  enjoy  a 
most  extensive  view  of  the  broad  and  rich  valley  of  the  Spey, 
which  is  varied  with  cultivated  fields,  large  pastures,  and  occa- 
sional rocky  and  wooded  knolls,  and  backed  in  the  distance  by 
the  Grampians.  The  chain  of  these  mountains  here  visible, 
stretching  from  the  Cairngorms  in  the  west  to  Bel-rinnis  in 
Banffshire  on  the  east,  is  grand  and  interesting.  In  the  centre 
of  it,  the  mountains  of  Abernethy,  over  which  rises  Boinag,  the 
highest  in  the  whole  range,  form  a  most  imposing  group :  the 
softer  mountains  of  Cromdale  are  not  so  picturesque ;  but  Bel- 
rinnis,  beyond  them,  closes  in  the  view,  with  a  sharp  spiry  peak 
of  the  most  delicate  tone  of  blue. 

No  village  in  the  north  of  Scotland  can  compare  with  Gran- 
town in  neatness  and  regularity,  and  in  beauty  of  situation. 
The  houses  are  of  a  small  size,  just  suited  to  the  condition  of 
the  inhabitants :  they  are  about  150  in  number,  of  pretty  uni- 
form dimensions,  and  are  all  built  of  fine-grained  whitish  gra- 
nite. Grantown  possesses  a  branch  bank  and  good  inn,  and  a 
neat  orphan  asylum.  The  village  was  founded,  about  eighty 
years  ago,  by  the  late  Sir  James  Grant  of  Grant,  a  great  bene- 


ROUTE  II.  D.  CASTLE  GEANT.  297 

factor  of  his  clan  and  country ;  and  it  now  contains  about  700 
inhabitants,  who  are  chiefly  artisans  and  shopkeepers. 

5.  CastleJarant  lies  about  a  mile  and  a  half  to  the  east  of 
Grantown,  in  the  front  of  a  high  terraced  bank,  and  is  so  con- 
cealed ainid  deep  forests  of  pine,  larch,  oak,  elm,  and  chesnut, 
that  the  visitor  is  almost  at  the  gate  before  he  is  aware  of  being 
in  its  vicinity.     The  ancient  residence  of  the  chief  of  the  clan 
Grant  is,  in  fact,  buried  amid  trees  of  noble  growth,  the  smaller 
groups  of  which  would,  on  other  estates,  be  deemed  woods  of 
respectable  extent.     The  walks  and  glades  are  numerous  and 
intricate,  but  no  one  can  form  an  idea  of  the  extent  of  ground 
occupied  by  the  trees,  unless  he  examine  it  from  the  top  of  the 
battlements.      The  view  from  thence  is  magnificent,  ranging 
over  extensive  forests  of  pine,  variegated  with  corn  land,  inter- 
sected by  the  Spey,  and  bounded  by  lofty  mountain  chains. 
Part  of  Castle  Grant  is  said  to  have  existed  during  the  times  of 
the  Cumings,  but  successive  additions  have  formed  it  now  into 
a  high  quadrangular  pile  of  many  storeys,  projecting  backwards 
at  each  end,  and  pierced  with  windows  of  all  shapes  and  sizes, 
the  more  modern  portions  not  being  the  most  elegant.     The 
south  side  is  in  the  proper  style  of  the  chateaus  of  Charles  I. 
and  II. 's  time,  with  a  large  base  court,  along  which  are  ar- 
ranged two  formal  rows  of  servants'  apartments  in  continuation 
of  the  projections  of  the  main  building,  and  from  which  a  flight 
of  steps  conducts  to  the  lawn,  and  on  the  north-east  side  some 
additions  have  recently  been  made.     The  ancient  hall  makes  a 
handsome,  though  rather  gloomy,  dining-room.     All  the  apart- 
ments and  lobbies  are  hung  round  with  valuable  paintings, 
among  which  is  an  interesting  series  of  old  Highland  portraits. 
The  Death  of  Patroclus,  by  Hamilton,  is  considered  the  best  in 
the  collection,  though  there  are  many  others  highly  prized. 
The  armoury,  and  the  collection  of  old  writs  and  charters,  in 
this  mansion,  are  also  good. 

6.  Though   the  neighbourhood   of  Castle  Grant  was  the 
scene  of  many  sanguinary  feudal   conflicts,   the  engagement 
which  took  place  on  "  the  Haughs  of  Cromdale,"  on  the  1st  of 
May  1690,  was  the  most  important  in  the  annals  of  the  parish. 
The  cause  of  James  II.  having  become  desperate  by  the  death 
of  Viscount  Dundee,  at   Killiecrankie,  in   July  1689,  all  his 
adherents  were  scattered  or  capitulated,  except  a  few  men 
headed  by  Sir  Ewen  Cameron  of  Lochiel,  who  trusted  to  the 


298  BATTLE  OF  CROMDALE.  SECT.  V. 

approach  of  winter,  and  the  inaccessible  nature  of  the  mountains 
on  the  west  coast,  to  which  they  retired.  When  the  spring  of 
1690  began  to  open  up,  they  sent  round  their  emissaries  for 
recruits  ;  and  until  the  seed-time  should  be  over,  before  which 
no  body  of  Highlanders  could  be  induced  to  leave  their  homes, 
Colonel  Buchan  was  dispatched  with  a  band  of  the  Macleans, 
Macdonalds,  Macphersons,  Camerons,  and  Grants  of  Glen 
Moriston,  to  lay  waste  the  low  country,  and  harass  and  divert 
King  William's  troops.  On  their  march  they  plundered  the 
inhabitants  of  Strathspey,  and  in  Strathbogie  they  burnt  the 
house  of  Edinglassie.  Sir  Thomas  Livingston,  who  had  been 
stationed  at  Inverness  with  a  considerable  force  of  cavalry  and 
infantry,  resolved  to  intercept  them  before  they  regained  the 
interior  of  the  country  ;  and  the  Highlanders,  hearing  of  his 
approach,  at  once  betook  themselves  to  the  hills.  They 
encamped  one  evening,  however,  on  the  south  side  of  the  low 
valley  of  the  Spey,  near  the  old  kirk  of  Cromdale,  about  three 
miles  to  the  east  of  the  position  where  Grantown  now  stands. 
By  the  dawn  of  day,  the  enemy's  dragoons,  led  by  a  part  of  the 
clan  Grant,  descried  them  from  the  top  of  the  hill  above  the 
castle,  and,  afraid  of  being  seen  as  the  light  increased,  they 
plunged  into  the  woods  and  came  down  the  valley  of  Achin- 
arrow  ;  whence  Sir  Thomas  Livingston  proceeded  direct  to  the 
river  Spey,  and  forded  it  below  Dellachaple.  The  outposts  of 
the  rebels  now  gave  the  alarm,  but  the  dragoons  were  on  them 
before  those  in  the  camp  were  able  to  form  into  order,  or  even 
dress  themselves.  They  hastened  in  the  utmost  confusion  to 
the  hill  of  Cromdale,  pursued  by  the  "  red  coats  :"  many  of 
them  were  totally  naked,  and  were  easily  cut  down.  At  the 
base  of  the  hill  they  made  a  momentary  stand,  but  their  ranks 
were  broken  through  ;  and  nothing  but  the  steepness  and 
ruggedness  of  the  ground  above,  and  their  customary  swiftness 
of  foot,  saved  those  who  fled  from  the  sabre.  A  small  party 
who  kept  together  crossed  the  river  next  day,  but  were  followed 
and  were  cut  down  almost  to  a  man  on  the  moor  of  Grenish, 
near  Aviemore ;  while  some,  headed  by  Macdonald  of  Keppoch. 
who  attempted  to  entrench  themselves  in  the  Castle  of  Loch-an- 
Eilan,  in  Rothiemurchus,  were  beaten  off  by  the  laird  and  his 
tenants. 

Thus  perished  for  a  season  the  hopes  of  the  adherents  of  the 
house  of  Stuart. 


ROUTE  II.  D.          CASTLE  ROY THE  GRAMPIANS.  299 

7.  We  have  now  passed  through  parts  of  the  parishes  of 
Duthil,  Inverallon,  and  Cromdale.  To  the  eastward  of  Gran- 
town  we  enter  on  the  shire  of  Moray  ;  but  before  resuming  the 
description  of  the  strath  downwards  to  the  sea,  we  add  a  few 
observations  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Spey  up  to  Rothiemurchus. 
At  the  bridge  above  Grantown  three  roads  diverge :  one  pro- 
ceeding eastward  to  the  town  of  Keith,  which  is  about  thirty- 
six,  and  to  Fochabers  about  thirty-two  miles  distant ;  a  second 
running  straight  up  into  the  mountains  in  a  direction  nearly 
south,  and  which  is  the  old  military  road  by  Tomintoul  and 
Braemar  to  the  low  country  ;  the  third  is  the  Parliamentary 
Commissioners'  road,  which  runs  along  the  bank  of  the  Spey  to 
the  ferry-house  of  Inverdruie,  near  Rothiemurchus  (about 
eighteen  miles  distant),  where  it  crosses  the  river  and  joins  the 
main  road  to  Perth.  This  is  the  route  we  are  now  to  follow. 

Passing  several  farm-houses,  about  four  miles  beyond  Gran- 
town,  we  come  to  the  ruins  of  Castle  Roy,  another  quadrangular 
fortress  of  the  Cumings,  provided  with  two  square  projecting 
towers,  with  a  noble  and  high  Norman  arched  gateway.  The 
ruin  stands  on  a  little  knoll,  which  commands  a  most  extensive 
view — a  requisite  of  every  residence  in  the  days  of  yore  ;  but 
in  itself  it  is  a  mere  shell,  and  the  only  interesting  relic  within 
its  high  screens  is  a  curious  vault  or  crypt  near  the  western 
corner.  The  history  of  this  castle  is  entirely  lost. 

One  other  mile  leads  the  traveller  to  the  Bridge  of  Nethy, 
where  there  is  a  small  public-house  ;  and  passing  which  we 
cross  the  river  that  gives  name  to  the  parish,  and  along  which 
we  behold  the  relics  of  a  great  pine  forest  stretching  away  to 
the  base  of  the  Grampians.  Thence  to  the  confines  of  Glenmore, 
and  the  borders  of  Kincardine,  we  pass  over  a  sandy  plain, 
interspersed  with  deep  peat  mosses,  which  exhibit  the  fallen 
stems  and  roots  of  large  oaks  and  pine  trees.  On  the  opposite 
side  of  the  Spey  are  the  parks  and  farm-house  of  Tullochgorum, 
the  native  seat  of  the  clan  Phatrick,  and  at  the  mention  of 
which  every  Highland  heart  will  beat  which  is  attached  to  the 
poetry  and  ancient  music  of  Strathspey.  We  now  approach 
near  the  Grampians,  and  each  step  as  we  advance,  unfolds  more 
distinctly  to  our  view  the  details  of  their  wild  rocks,  huge  pre- 
cipices, tremendous  chasms  glistening  with  the  light  of  their 
hardened  beds  of  snow,  or  streaked  with  alpine  torrents  ;  and 
their  tortuous  valleys,  which  deceive  the  eye  and  puzzle  the 


300  GLENMOUE — BALLINDALLOCH.  SECT.  V. 

imagination  to  trace  out  their  windings.  Passing  the  kirk  of 
Kincardine,  the  road  to  Glenmore  displays  itself,  stealing  and 
twisting  along  a  mountain  precipice  ;  and  then  traversing  some 
beautiful  plains  of  natural  meadow  grass,  we  enter  for  a  short 
way  the  outskirts  of  the  birch  woods — the  lower  fringes  of  the 
forest — and,  emerging  thence,  Craigelachie,  the  Ord  Bain  of 
Rothiemurchus,  and  each  flinty  dome  and  forehead  of  the 
Cairngorms,  suddenly  burst  on  our  view.  For  a  few  hundred 
yards  the  road  glides  along  the  margin  of  the  Loch  of  Pitoulish, 
a  beautiful  foreground  to  the  alpine  landscape  ;  and  then,  pro- 
ceeding through  the  larch  plantations  of  Rothiemurchus,  cross- 
ing several  impetuous  streams,  on  which  are  saw-mills  and  log- 
houses,  presenting  pictures  on  a  small  scale  of  the  great  forest 
scenes  of  America,  it  leads  us  to  the  ferry-house  of  Inverdruie, 
where  we  cross  the  Spey  and  repose  ourselves  at  the  inn  of 
Aviemore ;  but  Loch-an-Eilan  and  its  castle  ought  to  be  pre- 
viously visited  (see  p.  288) ;  or  if  we  wish  we  can  proceed  along 
the  south  bank  of  the  Spey  by  a  new  district  road  to  Ruthven 
and  Kingussie,  distant  about  twelve  miles. 

8.  Returning  now  to  Grantown,  and  pursuing  the  course  of 
the  Spey  eastward,  beyond  the  long  section  of  the  valley  in 
which  the  village,  and  Castle  Grant  are  situated,  we  find 
lumpish  hills  which  bound  the  strath  for  about  fourteen  miles 
below,  keeping  far  asunder  from  each  other  ;  but  a  great  allu- 
vial deposit  on  the  south  side  of  the  valley,  of  varying  surface 
and  inclination,  fills  up  the  greater  part  of  it,  and  confines  the 
flat  ground  which  skirts  the  river  to  very  narrow  bounds.  The 
Spey  takes  occasionally  a  few  bold  and  sudden  sweeps,  but  in 
general  it  bends  gradually  from  side  to  side.  The  wide  alluvial 
deposit  just  alluded  to  is  covered  with  heathy  pasture,  a  little 
chequered  with  cultivated  ground.  The  stripe  of  land  along 
the  river  is  cultivated  ;  but,  as  the  road  is  for  the  most  part  at 
some  distance  from  the  water,  the  ride  as  far  as  Aberlour  is  by 
no  means  interesting.  At  Inveravon,  between  the  steep  banks 
and  in  the  narrow  space  by  the  side  of  the  river  Avon,  we  pass 
Ballindalloch,  the  massive-looking  mansion  of  Sir  John  Mac- 
pherson  Grant,  Bart.  Like  many  of  the  residences  of  our  High- 
land gentry,  it  comprises,  amid  commodious  modern  buildings, 
an  imposing  old  square  tower,  giving  a  bluff  smack  of  the  olden 
time  to  the  edifice.  Fine  old  avenues  conduct  through  the  park 
towards  the  junction  of  the  Avon  with  the  Spey. 


ROUTE  II.  E.       ABERLOUR CRAIGELACHIE  BRIDGE.  301 

9.  Close  by  Ballindalloch  is  the  little  inn  of  Dalnashaugh, 
thirteen  miles  from  Grantown.  At  Aberlour,  (seven  miles  and 
a  half  farther  on,)  a  village,  consisting  of  a  street  and  small 
square  of  substantially  built  low  houses,  we  regain  the  bank  of 
the  river,  which  the  road  crosses  about  a  mile  below  at  Craig- 
elachie  Bridge.  It  consists  of  a  very  handsome  iron  arch,  with 
a  round  embattled  tower  at  each  corner  ;  and  the  reach  for 
four  miles  below  is  eminently  beautiful.  Three  miles  below  the 
bridge  we  pass  the  village  of  Rothes,  which  is  composed  of  from 
200  to  300  small  straw-thatched  cottages,  arranged  in  four 
streets,  diverging  at  unequal  angles  from  a  common  centre.  On 
the  opposite  bank  of  the  river  the  house  of  Arndilly  lies  em- 
bosomed amid  fine  woods.  After  taking  one  or  two  bold  sweeps 
or  curves  below  Rothes,  the  strath  is  prolonged,  in  a  continued 
straight  line,  to  its  termination  at  Speymouth,  fourteen  miles 
from  Rothes,  four  miles  beyond  Fochabers,  where  the  hills  and 
terraces,  to  which  they  give  place,  gradually  subside  into  a 
smooth  plain  bordering  on  the  sea. — (For  a  description  of  Elgin 
and  Fochabers,  see  Route  in.) 


ROUTE  SECOND.— BRANCH  E. 
STRATHDEARN  AND  THE  RIVER  FINDHORN. 

Monaliagh  Mountains ;  Sources  of  the  Findhorn ;  Clach  Sgoilte,  1. — Tipper  Part  of 
Strathdearn,  2. — Interesting  Walking  Excursion,  3. — Dell  of  Dalmigavie ;  Rapi- 
dity of  the  Findhorn;  Cullachy,  4. — The  Streens,  5. — A  Cattle-lifting  Incident,  6. 
— Dulsie;  Dunearn,  7.— Farness;  The  Divie,  8. — Dunphail,  9.— Relugas,  10. — 
Brig  of  Rannoch,  11.— The  Esses,  12.— Heronry,  13.— The  Mead  of  St.  John; 
Altyre ;  Family  Records,  14.— Findhorn  Floods ;  The  Great  Flood  of  1829  ;  its 
height,  15. 

Miles. 

Fall  of  Foyers  to  WMtebridge  (see  Route  i.)   4 

Killin,  South  End 8 

Coignafearn 14 

Freeburn 10 

Dulsie  Bridge 16 

Forres  18 

Findhom 5 

75 

1.  THE  central  districts  of  the  southern  division  of  Inverness- 
shire  are  distinguished  by  a  group  of  lofty  and  rugged  moun- 
tains, known  under  the  general  name  of  the  Monaliagh  Moun- 


302  MONALIAGH   MOUNTAINS.  SECT.  V. 

tains  (the  grey,  misty  mountains),  which  are  composed  chiefly 
of  granite  and  quartz  rock,  and  contain  ^within  their  arms  the 
sources  of  the  rivers  Spey,  Dulnain,  Findhorn,  and  Nairn,  and 
of  various  streams  which  discharge  their  waters  on  the  south 
side  of  Loch  Ness. 

These  mountains  rise  in  long  ridges  from  an  elevated  base 
of  dark  heathy  moor,  and  they  possess  but  little  of  the  abrupt 
serrated  aspect  of  the  west-coast  hills  ;  their  outlines  being  less 
decided,  and  their  acclivities  less  broken.  Extensive  straths, 
or  pastoral  valleys,  abounding  in  streams  and  herbage,  lie  em- 
bosomed among  them,  and  support  great  herds  of  black  cattle, 
for  which  the  district  has  long  been  famed  ;  while  the  adjoin- 
ing solitudes,  which  are  wide,  and  rarely  visited  by  the  foot  of 
man,  continue  still  to  be  the  retreats  of  great  numbers  of  roe 
and  red  deer,  and  of  grouse  and  ptarmigan.  A  scattered,  but 
hardy,  and  very  ancient  Celtic  race  people  the  straths  of  this 
district,  whose  almost  exclusive  occupation  is  that  of  shepherds 
or  drovers.  The  valleys  of  Killin  (described  in  Route  i.  page  153) 
and  of  Strathdearn,  are  among  the  most  interesting  of  these 
straths  ;  and,  as  the  tourist  can  very  pleasantly  spend  a  few 
days  in  exploring  them,  we  shall  in  this  place  give  an  account 
of  the  latter,  and  conduct  him  along  the  whole  of  the  river 
Findhorn,  which,  for  variety  and  beauty  of  scenery,  is  unequalled 
in  Scotland.  It  will  be  seen  from  the  map  that  its  course,  on 
the  whole,  is  remarkably  straight,  bearing  nearly  from  S.  W.  to 
N.  E.,  and  parallel,  to  a  considerable  extent,  with  the  strath  and 
river  Nairn.  Its  sources  lie  many  miles  to  the  westward  of 
Freeburn  (on  the  great  Highland  road),  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  which  stage  the  road  crosses  its  stream  ;  but,  like  mightier 
rivers,  its  true  source  is  a  subject  of  dispute  :  some  maintaining 
that  the  parent  rill  comes  from  the  mountains  of  Laggan,  and 
not  far  from  the  head  of  the  Spey  ;  while  others  regard  the 
mossy  springs  that  gush  from  a  mountain  nearer  Stratherrick, 
or  even  the  drops  that  ooze  from  a  particular  cloven  rock,  hence 
called  "  Clach  Sgoilte,"  in  the  elevated  opening,  to  be  immedi- 
ately alluded  to,  as  the  true  sources  of  the  Findhorn. 

2.  The  tourist  may  enter  Strathdearn,  as  the  upper  part  of 
the  valley  is  called,  (the  ancient  name  of  the  river  being  the 
"  Earn,")  from  the  western  district  of  Stratherrick.  Starting 
from  the  small  inn  at  Whitebridge,  on  the  Foyers  river,  and 
four  miles  above  the  falls,  by  a  hill-path  which  leads  along  the 


ROUTE  II.  E.      INTERESTING  WALKING  EXCURSION.  303 

Loch  of  Killin,  and  from  the  south  end  of  the  vale  of  that  name, 
up  a  strait  shelving  strath  running  eastward,  about  twelve 
miles  from  Whitebridge,  he  reaches  the  summit  of  an  elevated 
opening  in  the  hills.  Soon  after,  he  approaches  the  isolated 
Clach  Sgoilte,  whence  the  infant  streamlet  of  the  Findhorn 
flows  slowly  for  about  a  mile,  and  then  descends  for  two  miles 
and  a  half  with  considerable  rapidity,  when  it  is  joined  by  the 
other  more  southerly  branch  of  the  river.  The  course  of  these 
united  streams  lies,  for  seven  miles,  to  the  shooting  lodge  of 
Coignafearn  (belonging  to  Mackintosh  of  Mackintosh),  through 
a  strath  appearing  generally  about  200  yards  wide  ;  the  bottom, 
at  times,  level  and  smooth,  at  others  more  or  less  broken,  co- 
vered with  grass  and  heath,  and  a  considerable  quantity  of 
juniper  bushes.  The  hills  rise  in  steep  acclivities,  and  increase 
in  height  in  the  progress  eastwards,  being  destitute  of  trees, 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  scattered  birches,  and  they  are 
rather  of  a  verdant  than  heathy  character.  The  valley  winds 
a  little  so  as  to  present  itself  in  successive  sections  With  the 
exception  of  two  or  three  bothies,  occupied  by  shepherds  during 
the  summer,  and  a  more  substantial  cottage  about  a  mile  below 
the  junction  of  the  river  (an  accessory  to  the  shooting-lodge  of 
Coignafearn),  no  habitation  is  to  be  seen  between  Lord  Lovat's 
shooting-lodge,  at  the  end  of  Loch  Killin,  and  that  of  Coigna- 
fearn, a  distance  of  seventeen  miles. 

3.  We  have  been  thus  particular  as  to  this  little  frequented 
route,  as,  from  the  descriptions  of  the  remainder  of  the  course 
of  the  Findhorn,  and  those  of  the  Vale  of  Killin,  pedestrians 
may  be  induced  to  explore  the  scenery  of  both,  after  that  of 
the  Falls  of  Foyers  and  Loch  Ness,  and  to  undertake  an  excur- 
sion of  three  or  four  days  betwixt  Inverness  and  Forres,  by  the 
valley  of  the  Findhorn.  A  road  has  been  formed,  from  the 
Highland  road,  as  far  as  Coignafearn,  which  is  ten  or  eleven 
miles  west  from  Freeburn.  From  Coignafearn,  to  the  north 
end  of  Killin,  a  distance  of  perhaps  twenty  miles,  the  foot  track 
is  rough,  and  not  such  as  to  be  readily  followed  by  a  stranger, 
which,  of  course,  is  immaterial,  except  as  it  impedes  his  pro- 
gress ;  on  which  account,  as  well  as  to  avoid  all  risk  from  mist,  it 
may  be  prudent  for  him  to  take  a  guide  across  the  pass.  The 
distance  from  Whitebridge  to  Freeburn  will  require  fully  twelve 
hours'  walking.  From  the  General's  Hut,  at  Foyers,  where  the 
accommodation  is  better,  the  distance  is  five  miles  more. 


304  DELL    OF    DALMIGAVIE.  SECT.  V. 

4.  At  Coignafearn,  the  strath  twists  so  that  the  succeeding 
compartment  is  screened  from  observation  till  entered  upon. 
It  continues,  for  about  three  miles  a  third  of  a  mile  in  width, 
and  seems  as  if  blocked  up  at  the  lower  end  by  an  eminence 
clothed  with  a  fir  plantation  :  steep  and  lofty  hills  rise  on  all 
hands,  so  that  this  scene  possesses  a  character  of  most  perfect  se- 
clusion. It  is  called  the  Dell  of  Dalmigavie.  The  mountains 
are  grand  and  imposing,  from  their  massive  bulk  ;  yet  sweet 
and  pleasing,  from  their  simple  configuration,  regular  surface, 
and  smiling  livery  of  purple  and  green.  On  the  north  side, 
the  acclivities  assume  the  most  brilliant  emerald  tint.  The 
Findhorn,  in  this  and  the  upper  part  of  its  course,  runs  over  a 
stony  channel,  only  a  few  feet  depressed  beneath  the  surface  of 
the  adjacent  ground,  which  is  here  quite  level,  and  the  stream 
is  uniformly  rapid.  It  is  liable  to  sudden  speats  or  inunda- 
tions, rising  at  times  so  as  to  present  a  frightful  front,  several 
feet  high,  to  the  descending  torrent,  and  sweeping  along  with 
such  impetuosity  as  to  endanger  the  lives  of  any  persons  who 
may  then  happen  to  be  crossing  the  usual  fords.  The  corn-fields 
and  meadow-grass  on  the  low  grounds  are  also  precariously  si- 
tuated ;  and  the  proprietors  have  been  obliged,  at  considerable 
expense,  to  line  the  sinuosities  of  the  river  in  many  places  with 
bulwarks  of  stone  and  turf.  Below  the  central  eminence  above 
alluded  to,  the  valley,  for  nearly  two  miles,  contracts  to  the 
width  of  the  sixth  of  a  mile.  The  upper  portions  of  the  hills  are 
here,  for  the  most  part,  inaccessible  ;  and  they  are  intersected 
by  deep  and  steep  ravines.  On  an  elevated  recess,  on  the  north 
side,  stands  the  farm-house  of  Daltomich  ;  and,  further  on, 
Glen  Mazeran  joins  the  valley  on  the  same  side.  Below  this, 
is  seen  the  house  of  Dalmigavie  (Mackintosh),  five  to  six  miles 
from  Coignafearn,  on  an  elevated  terraced  spot  on  the  opposite 
side,  graced  with  dwarf  birch  trees.  Opposite  to  Dalmigavie, 
a  road  strikes  across  the  hill  to  Fair  in  Strathnairn,  whence  it 
1 .-,  continued  straight  across  the  intermediate  range  to  Inverness. 
The  length  of  this  road  is  about  sixteen  miles.  Below  Dalmi- 
gavie, the  valley  of  the  Findhorn,  for  six  miles,  to  the  Bridge 
above  Corrybrough,  (where  the  Highland  road  crosses,)  is  no- 
wise interesting.  The  hills  slope  gently  from  the  stream,  and 
are  covered  with  heather  and  grass ;  but  the  estate  of  Cullachy, 
immediately  adjoining  that  of  Dalmigavie  to  the  east,  and  front- 
ing it,  lays  claim  to  be  ranked  as  classic  ground,  from  having 


ROUTE  II.  D.  THE    STREENS.  305 

been  the  patrimony  and  early  residence  of  the  distinguished 
statesman  and  orator,  Sir  James  Mackintosh.  It  is  now  under- 
going great  improvement  from  the  small  farmers  using  exten- 
sively the  primitive  limestone  which  abounds  in  the  hills. 

5.  Below  the  Bridge  of  Corrybrough  the  strath  widens  to  a 
circumference  of  six  or  eight  miles,  presenting  the  aspect  of 
having  been  once  the  bed  of  a  great  lake,  which  found  two  out- 
lets, one  by  the  lower  basin  of  Loch  Moy,  and  thence  to  the 
river  Nairn,  and  the  other  through  the  mountains  to  the  north- 
east of  Freeburn,  by  the  gorge  called  the  Streens.     Indeed,  the 
present  channel  of  the  river  is  only  about  eighteen  feet  above 
the  surface  of  Loch  Moy  ;  and  the  parallel  terrace  banks  encir- 
cling the  valley  on  all  hands,  point  out  the  height  at  which  the 
waters  anciently  stood. 

The  distance  from  Freeburn  to  Dulsie  is  about  sixteen  miles, 
and  is  passable  only  on  foot.  The  scene,  however,  is  worthy  of 
the  exertion  required  to  explore  it.  Continuous  chains  of  hills 
rise  suddenly  on  either  side  of  a  winding  stripe  of  level  ground, 
and  at  times  precipitous  rocky  mountains  of  blood-red  granite 
jutting  up  in  lofty  cliffs,  rise  from  the  water' s-edge,  and  con- 
fine, and  so  completely  overshadow  the  river's  course,  that  some 
of  the  hamlets  on  its  banks  are  said  to  be  scarcely  ever  visited 
by  the  sun's  rays.  There  is  not  much  wood ;  but  the  bottom 
of  the  valley  is  pleasingly  chequered  with  cultivated  and  mea- 
dow land,  so  that  the  sense  of  seclusion  and  repose  and  the  oc- 
casional stern  character  of  the  Streens  is  relieved  by  the  traces 
of  unpretending  industry.* 

6.  But  it  is  impossible  to  describe  this  scene  in  language 
more  graphic  than  that  used  by  the  late  Sir  Thomas  Dick  Lau- 
der,  who  may  well  be  accounted  the  historian  of  Morayshire, 
and  especially  of  the  Findhorn. 

"  It  was  about  this  period,  and  (though  it  may  surprise 
many)  it  was  not  much  more  than  fifty  years  ago  (prior  to 

1817),  that  Mr.  R 1,  a  gentleman  of  the  low  country  of 

Moray,  was  awakened  early  in  a  morning  by  the  unpleasant  in- 
telligence of  the  Highlanders  having  carried  off  the  whole  of 
his  cattle  from  a  distant  hill  grazing  in  Brae  Moray,  a  few  miles 
above  the  junction  of  the  rapid  rivers  Findhorn  and  Divie,  and 

*  The  Streens  have  recently  been  made  accessible  to  carriages  by  a  road  formed 
by  Lord  Cawdor,  the  proprietor,  for  the  use  of  his  tenants,  and  which,  proceeding 
from  the  village  of  Cawdor,  is  about  nine  miles  long. 

o2 


306  A  CATTLE -LIFTING  INCIDENT.  SECT.  V. 

between  both.  He  was  an  active  man  ;  so  that,  after  a  few 
questions  put  to  the  breathless  messenger,  he  lost  not  a  moment 
in  summoning  and  arming  several  servants :  and,  instead  of  tak- 
ing the  way  to  his  farm,  he  struck  at  once  across  the  country, 
in  order  to  get,  as  speedily  as  possible,  to  a  point  where  the 
rocks  and  woods,  hanging  over  the  deep  bed  of  the  Findhorn, 
first  begin  to  be  crowned  by  steep  and  lofty  mountains,  reced- 
ing in  long  and  misty  perspective.  This  was  the  grand  pass 
into  the  boundless  wastes  frequented  by  the  robbers ;  and  here 

Mr.  R 1  forded  the  river  to  its  southern  bank,  and  took  his 

stand  with  his  little  party,  well  aware  that,  if  he  could  not  in- 
tercept his  cattle  here,  he  might  abandon  all  further  search  after 
them. 

"  The  spot  chosen  for  the  ambuscade  was  a  beautiful  range 
of  scenery  known  by  the  name  of  the  Streens.  So  deep  is  the 
hollow  in  many  places,  that  some  of  the  little  cottages,  with 
which  its  bottom  is  here  and  there  sprinkled,  have  Gaelic  ap- 
pellations, implying  that  they  never  see  the  sun.  There  were 
then  no  houses  near  them ;  but  the  party  lay  concealed  among 
some  huge  fragments  of  rock,  shivered,  by  the  wedging  ice  of 
the  previous  winter,  from  the  summit  of  a  lofty  crag,  that  hung 
half  across  the  narrow  holm  where  they  stood.  A  little  way 
farther  down  the  river,  the  passage  was  contracted  to  a  rude  and 
scrambling  footpath,  and  behind  them  the  glen  was  equally  con- 
fined. Both  extremities  of  the  small  amphitheatre  were  shaded 
by  almost  impenetrable  thickets  of  birch,  hazel,  alder,  and  holly, 
whilst  a  few  wild  pines  found  a  scanty  subsistence  for  their 
roots  in  midway  air,  on  the  face  of  the  crags,  and  were  twisted 
and  wreathed,  for  lack  of  nourishment,  into  a  thousand  fantas- 
tic and  picturesque  forms.  The  serene  sun  of  a  beautiful  sum- 
mer's day  was  declining,  and  half  the  narrow  haugh  was  in 
broad  and  deep  shadow,  beautifully  contrasted  by  the  brilliant 
golden  light  that  fell  on  the  wooded  bank  on  the  other  side  of 
the  river. 

"  Such  was  the  scene  where  Mr.  R 1  posted  his  party  ; 

and  they  had  not  waited  long,  listening  in  the  silence  of  the 
evening,  when  they  heard  the  distant  lowing  of  the  cattle,  and 
the  wild  shouts  of  the  reivers,  re-echoed  as  they  approached  by 
the  surrounding  rocks.  The  sounds  came  nearer  and  nearer, 
and,  at  last,  the  crashing  of  the  boughs  announced  the  appear- 
ance of  the  more  advanced  part  of  the  drove ;  and  the  animals 


ROUTE  II.  E.        A  CATTLE-LIFTING  INCIDENT.  307 

began  to  issue  slowly  from  amongst  the  tangled  wood,  or  to  rush 
violently  forth,  as  the  blows  or  shouts  of  their  drivers  were  more 
or  less  impetuous.  As  they  came  out,  they  collected  themselves 
into  a  group,  and  stood  bellowing,  as  if  unwilling  to  proceed 
farther.  In  rear  of  the  last  of  the  herd,  Mr.  R 1  saw  burst- 
ing singly  from  different  parts  of  the  brake,  a  party  of  fourteen 
Highlanders,  all  in  the  full  costume  of  the  mountains,  and  armed 
with  dirk,  pistols,  and  claymore ;  and  two  or  three  of  them  car- 
rying antique  fowling-pieces.  Mr.  R 1's  party  consisted  of 

not  more  than  ten  or  eleven ;  but,  telling  them  to  be  firm,  he 
drew  them  forth  from  their  ambuscade,  and  ranged  them  on  the 
green  turf.  With  some  exclamations  of  surprise,  the  robbers, 
at  the  shrill  whistle  of  their  leader,  rushed  forwards,  and  ranged 

themselves  in  front  of  their  spoil.     Mr.  R 1  and  his  party 

stood  their  ground  with  determination,  whilst  the  robbers  ap- 
peared to  hold  a  council  of  war.  At  last  their  chief,  a  little 
athletic  man,  with  long  red  hair  curling  over  his  shoulders,  and 
with  a  pale  and  thin  but  acute  visage,  advanced  a  little  way 

before  the  rest.     '  Mr.  R 1,'  said  he,  in  a  loud  voice,  and 

speaking  good  English,  though  in  a  Highland  accent,  '  are  you 
for  peace  or  war  ?  if  for  war,  look  to  yourself ;  if  for  peace  and 
treaty,  order  your  men  to  stand  fast,  and  advance  to  meet  me.' 

'  I  will  treat,'  replied  Mr.  R 1 :  '  but  can  I  trust  to  your 

keeping  faith  ? '  '  Trust  to  the  honour  of  a  gentleman ! '  re- 
joined the  other,  with  an  imperious  air.  The  respective  parties 
were  ordered  to  stand  their  ground ;  and  the  two  leaders  ad- 
vanced about  seventy  or  eighty  paces  each  towards  the  middle 
of  the  space,  with  their  loaded  guns  cocked  and  presented  at 
each  other.  A  certain  sum  was  demanded  for  the  restitution 
of  the  cattle ;  Mr.  R 1  had  not  so  much  about  him,  but  of- 
fered to  give  what  money  he  had  in  his  pocket,  being  a  few 
pounds  short  of  what  the  robber  had  asked.  The  bargain  was 
concluded,  the  money  paid,  the  guns  uncocked  and  shouldered, 
and  the  two  parties  advanced  to  meet  each  other  in  perfect  har- 
mony. '  And  now,  Mr.  R 1,'  said  the  leader  of  the  band, 

'  you  must  look  at  your  beasts  to  see  that  none  of  them  be 
awanting.'  Mr.  R— — 1  did  so.  '  They  are  all  here,'  said  he. 
'  but  one  small  dun  quey.'  '  Make  yourself  easy  about  her,' 
replied  the  leader :  '  she  shall  be  in  your  pasture  before  daylight 
to-morrow  morning.'  The  treaty  being  thus  concluded,  the 
robbers  proceeded  up  the  glen,  and  were  soon  hid  beneath  its 


308  DULSIE.  SECT.  V. 

thick  foliage ;  whilst  Mr.  R 1's  people  took  charge  of  the 

cattle,  and  began  to  drive  them  homeward.  The  reiver  was  as 
good  as  his  word.  Next  morning  the  dun  quey  was  seen  graz- 
ing with  the  herd.  Nobody  knew  how  she  came  there  ;  but  her 
jaded  and  draggled  appearance  bespoke  the  length  and  the  na- 
ture of  the  night  journey  she  had  performed." 

7.  At  Dulsie,  the  old  military  road  proceeding  from  Fort- 
George  through  Strathspey  and  Braemar  crosses  the  Findhorn 
by  a  romantic  bridge.  The  scenery  here  is  of  the  wildest  and 
most  picturesque  character,  softened,  however,  by  the  graceful 
foliage  of  birch  woods  which  environ  the  river's  bank. 

Dulsie  Bridge  is  about  two  miles  distant  from  the  small  inn 
of  Farness,  at  the  junction  of  the  parliamentary  roads  leading 
from  Nairn  and  Forres  to  Strathspey.  This  inn  is,  by  the  lat- 
ter road,  sixteen  miles  distant  from  Forres.  The  tourist,  how- 
ever, should  deviate  from  the  beaten  path,  and  keep  as  close  as 
he  can  to  the  southern  bank  of  the  river,  which,  though  long 
and  winding,  is  replete  with  scenes  alternating  in  the  abruptest 
manner  with  features  of  terrific  grandeur,  and  softest  sylvan 
beauty.  The  whole  country  for  several  miles  eastward  is  com- 
posed of  a  highly  crystalline  porphyritic  granite,  displaying,  in 
some  instances,  faces  of  a  hard  columnar  rock,  which  confine  the 
waters  of  the  Findhorn  to  a  deep,  narrow,  and  irregular  chan- 
nel ;  and  in  other  places  giving  rise  (from  a  tendency  in  their 
masses  to  exfoliate  and  decompose)  to  open  holms  and  smooth 
grassy  banks.  All  the  varieties  of  hardwood,  characteristic  of 
the  course  of  Scottish  rivers,  are  seen  in  rich  profusion  on  both 
sides  of  the  stream ;  while  the  adjoining  hills,  especially  on  the 
north  side  of  the  river,  also  exhibit  a  few  scattered  remnants  of 
the  ancient  pine  forests,  which  formerly  covered  the  country. 
Towards  the  east,  the  eye  is  attracted  by  the  bright  light  green 
masses  of  the  oak  and  birchen  copses  of  Tarnaway  and  Relu- 
gas,  which  form  the  outer  fringes  of  the  more  sombre  pine 
woods. 

About  a  mile  below  Dulsie,  a  beautiful  sequestered  holm, 
adjoining  the  house  and  policies  of  Farness  (Dougal),  greets  the 
traveller,  encircled  with  terraced  banks  and  birchen  bowers ; 
and  in  the  centre  of  it  rises  a  small  cairn,  with  an  ancient  sculp- 
tured tablet,  about  eight  feet  high,  and  half  as  broad,  standing 
at  one  end  of  it,  and  having  a  rude  cross,  and  many  Runic  knots 
still  discernible  on  its  surface.  Tradition  calls  it  the  stone  of 


ROUTE  II.  E.  FARNESS.  309 

memorial  of  a  Celtic  princess,  who  perished  in  the  adjoining 
river  while  attempting  to  ford  it  on  horseback  with  her  lover,  a 
Dane.  More  likely  it  was  the  cross  of  an  early  Christian  her- 
mit. 

8.  Immediately  behind  this  spot,  the  high  promontory  of 
Farness  rises  nearly  200  feet  above  the  river,  the  direct  course 
of  which  it  has  shifted,  and  confined  to  a  deep  winding  chasm 
of  at  least  three  miles'  circuit.     A  pathway  cut  in  the  face  of 
the  rock  conducts  the  visitor  through  this  extraordinary  open- 
ing, down  which  the  river  plunges  in  almost  one  continued 
cataract ;  its  craggy  sides  being  set  off,  and  divided  into  many 
magnificent  studies  for  the  pencil,  by  clumps  of  native  pine  and 
oak  trees,  which  stretch  along  the  summit  and  crevices  of  the 
rocks.     On  emerging  from  the  chasm  at  the  lower  end,  we  hail 
with  fresh  delight  the  more  open  reaches  of  the  river,  spread 
out  before  the  eye  for  several  miles,  adorned  with  sunny  banks 
and  waving  woods,  and  displaying  also  an  uncommonly  beauti- 
ful   succession  of  alluvial   terraces,   corresponding   with   one 
another  on  the  opposite  sides  of  the  river,  and  which  rise  suc- 
cessively above  one  another,  until  they  seem  to  meet  in  the 
fiat-topped  Dunmore  of  Dulsie.      Proceeding  downwards,  the 
traveller  passes  the  church  and  manse  of  Ardclach ;  and  below 
these,  the  granite  bridge  of  Farness ;  and  five  miles  farther 
down,  the  bridge  of  Daltulich,  where  we  again  meet  another 
branch  of  the  Nairn  road.     About  a  mile  below  this  bridge  it 
is  joined,  on  the  south,  by  its  tributary,  the  Divie,  which  is  the 
conduit  of  the  Dorback,  flowing  out  of  Lochindorbh,  and  of  the 
numerous  streams  that  fall  from  Brae  Moray  and  the  adjoining 
heights. 

9.  The  scenery  along  the  Divie,  for  a  stretch  of  six  or  seven 
miles,  from  the  spot  where  it  leaps  into  its  glen,  in  a  wild 
waterfall,  to  its  junction  with  the  Findhom,  is  exquisitely 
beautiful.     The  estate  of  Dunphail,  belonging  to  Mr.  Gumming 
Bruce,  M.P.,  stretches  nearly  to  its  upper  extremity ;  and  below 
the  junction  of  the  Dorback,  on  a  beautiful  terraced  holm,  sur- 
rounded by  an  ampitheatre  of  wooded  banks,  intersected  by 
extensive  pleasure  walks,  and  graced  by  fine  old  trees,  the  pro- 
prietor has  erected  his  splendid  mansion  in  the  Venetian  style. 
The  ruins  of  the  old  castle,  shooting  up  from  a  wood-embowered 
elevation  in  the  grounds,  form  a  peculiar  feature  of  this  charm- 
ing spot. 


310  DUKPHAIL.  SECT.  T. 

10.  Below  the  pleasure-grounds  of  Dunphail,  the  glen  nar- 
rows, and  the  river  Divie  again,  plunging  into  a  wild  rocky 
channel,  with  a  rapid  inclination  towards  the  Findhorn,  sweeps 
along  the  property  of  Relugas,  another  holding  of  an  ancient 
branch  of  the  Cumings,  lately  purchased  by  Mr.  MacKillican. 
All  that  art,  guided  by  good  taste,  could  accomplish  in  embel- 
lishing and  exposing  to  view  the  natural  beauties  of  this  estate, 
has  been  done  for  it.      The  old  mansion-house,  also,  which 
stands  on  an  eminence,  a  little  way  from  the  Findhorn,  has 
been  greatly  enlarged,  and  finished  off  after  the  Italian  fashion  ; 
and  behind  it  is  a  steep  conical  hill,  called  the  Dun  of  Relugas, 
on  the  summit  of  which  are  the  remains  of  a  vitrified  fort, 
communicating  with  similar  signal-stations  on  both  the  adjoin- 
ing valleys. 

11.  Returning  to  the  course  of  the  Findhora,  we  observe, 
just  before  its  junction  with  the  Divie,  that  it  falls  into  a  nar- 
row strait  among  the  rocks  by  a  running  cataract,  over  which 
the  Earls  of  Moray  were  wont,  till  recent  times,  to  keep  up  a 
rustic  wooden  bridge  for  the  use  of  the  district.     From  Ran- 
dolph, the  great  head  of  their  house,  who  himself  used  to  pass 
here  with  a  large  troop  of  horsemen  when  on  his  way  to  and 
from  his  castle  of  Tarnaway,  the  spot  is  still  called  the  "  Brig 
of  Rannoch,"  and  is  connected  with  several  memorable  transac- 
tions.    It  was,  in  particular,  above  this  strait  that  the  desperate 
skirmish  of  "  The  Lost  Standard"  was  fought  between  Ran- 
dolph and  the  Cumings,  about  the  year  1340. 

12.  The  river  now  plunges  into  a  rocky  channel,  which  is 
surmounted  by  brushwood,  and  fir  and  birch  clad  slopes,  and 
skirted  by  large  trunks  of  old  oak  and  pine  trees  ;  and  behind 
the  house  of  Logie  (Gumming),  a  winding  pathway  conducts 
the  stranger,  beneath  which  he  sees  the  river  toiling  among  hard 
rocks  of  grey  gneiss,  traversed  by  many  curiously  twisted  veins 
of  a  flesh-coloured  granite,  till  at  last  (two  miles  on)  he  finds 
himself  suddenly  emerge  from  these  rough  and  irregular  primi- 
tive masses,  and  encompassed  with  scenery  spread  out  before 
him  in  gently  undulating  ridges,  and  adorned  with  thick  masses 
of  coppice  wood,  fir,  and  birch  ;  and  through  which  the  Find- 
horn,  taking  several  long  and  magnificent  sweeps,  called  the 
Esses,  glides  on,  a  broad  and  stately  stream.     It  is  here,  then, 
that  we  quit  the  true  alpine  district,  and  enter  on  the  soft  sand- 


ROUTE  II.  E.  THE  ESSES — HERONRY.  311 

stone  plains  of  Moray,  the  forest  and  castle  of  Tarnaway,  the 
seat  of  the  Earl  of  Moray,  appearing  on  the  northern  bank.* 

13.  Proceeding  downwards  along  the  stream,  we  soon  reach  the 
splendid  drives  of  Altyre  (Sir  W.  Gordon  Gumming),  which  have 
been  formed  at  great  expense,  but  completely  unfold  to  our  view 
every  favourable  point  commanding  the  adjoining  unrivalled  scen- 
ery.  The  river,  broad  and  deep,  rolls  beneath  high  banks,  the  soft 
floetz  rocks  of  which  it  has  cut  into  shelving  cliffs,  their  summits 
and  edges  being  crowned  with  large  sized  trees.    Beyond,  the  low 
grounds  of  Moray,  enriched  by  the  copious  waters  of  the  Findhorn, 
extend  in  long  perspective  towards  the  sea,  which  is  in  turn 
bounded  by  the  beautiful  outlines  of  the  Sutherland  and  Caith- 
ness mountains.     On  the  left  a  row  of  very  old  trees  overhang- 
ing the  water,  and  skirting  the  edge  of  a  small  meadow  of  a  pe- 
culiarly lonely  and  sequestered  character,  have,  from  time  im- 
memorial, furnished  a  retreat  to  a  great  number  of  herons,  who 
have  literally  encased  the  branches  with  their  enormous  nests. 
These  stately  birds,  which,  when  absent  from  their  nests,  are 
always  either  hovering  above  the  river's  course,  or  patiently 
sitting  on  its  brink  watching  their  fishy  prey,  add  an  inde- 
scribable grace  to  the  scene ;  while  the  wooded  cliff's,  opposite 
their  resting-trees,    afford  ample    opportunity  to  the  passing 
traveller  of  leisurely  studying  their  interesting  and  amusing 
habits. 

14.  A  little  way  below  the  heronry  the  cliff  scenery  ceases  ; 
and  a  high  gravel  bank,  receding  from  the  river's  side  towards 
the  east,  but  again  approaching  it  about  half-a-mile  off,  gives 
room  to  a  beautiful  semicircular  space,  called  the  Mead  of  St. 
John,  from  a  small  religious  house  which  anciently  stood  on  it. 
Through  this  fairy  green,  the  Altyre  pleasure-walks  have  been 
continued  ;  and  they  are  here  further  adorned  with  broad  shrub- 
beries, and  shaded  by  large  wide-spreading  oaks.     Several  roads 
diverge  from  this  neighbourhood,  leading  through  the  adjoining 
woods  to  the  mansion-house  of  Altyre,  which  lies  about  a  mile 
and  a-half  to  the  eastward,  embosomed  amid  "  tall  ancestral 
trees."     The  house  and  offices  have  all  been  fitted  up  in  the 
very  picturesque  and  pleasing  style  of  modern  Italian  architec- 
ture ;  and  the  grounds  and  gardens  (which  have  been  laid  out 
with  the  greatest  taste)  vie  with  the  richest  examples  of  park 

*  Tarnaway  is  remarkable  for  its  fine  old  hall,  roofed  with  black  oak,  and  capable 
of  containing  1000  men  under  arms. — (See  Route  iii.) 


312        SUSPENSION-BRIDGE — FINDHORN  FLOODS.        SECT.  V. 

scenery  in  this  country.  Sir  William  Cumming's  domains  are 
still,  indeed,  in  every  way  befitting  the  dignity  of  the  ancient 
Earls  of  Badenoch,  whom  he  represents,  though  unaccompanied 
by  the  great  extent  of  territory  over  which  they  ruled  with  un- 
restricted sway.  The  records  of  his  family  have  been  preserved 
with  much  care  and  regularity ;  and  some  of  their  charters,  and 
extracts  of  the  Baron  Court-books  of  Altyre,  which  have  been 
published,  contain  many  interesting  and  curious  traits  of  ancient 
manners. 

Immediately  below  Cothall,  where  a  high  limestone  rock 
closes  in  the  Mead  of  St.  John,  the  river  Findhorn  entirely  quits 
its  rocky  channel,  and  flows  on  to  the  sea,  through  alluvial  banks 
of  gravel,  sand,  and  clay,  among  which  it  frequently  shifts  its 
course,  and  injures  the  adjoining  cultivated  lands.  Within  a 
short  distance  from  Forres,  it  is  crossed  on  the  line  of  the  main 
post-road  betwixt  Aberdeen  and  Inverness  by  a  very  handsome 
and  massive  suspension-bridge,  and  two  miles  beyond  it  empties 
itself  into  a  wide  embouchure,  or  bay,  from  which  its  waters  are 
again  ushered  through  a  narrow  passage  into  the  open  sea  at 
the  port  of  Findhorn. — (See  Route  in.  for  a  description  of  Forres 
and  its  neighbourhood.) 

15.  In  order  to  complete  the  sketch  of  the  Findhorn's  course, 
now  presented  to  our  readers,  we  have  only  to  advert  a  little 
more  fully  to  a  character  of  its  waters,  already  hinted  at,  which 
is  their  great  liability  to  sudden  and  extraordinary  floods,  called 
speats.  The  Findhorn  is,  perhaps,  in  this  respect,  the  most 
dangerous  river  in  Scotland.  The  frequent  falls  of  its  bridges, 
and  the  injuries  done  almost  every  year  to  the  low  grounds 
near  its  mouth,  sufficiently  attest  this ;  while,  in  former  days, 
the  most  distressing  accidents  were  constantly  occurring  along 
its  fords.  Its  great  length,  the  mountainous  character  of  the 
country  through  which  it  flows,  and  the  narrowness  of  its  rocky 
bed,  are  the  causes  of  this  sudden  and  dangerous  rise  of  its 
waters.  Many  disastrous  floods  are  on  record  ;  but  several 
proofs  concur  in  establishing,  that  the  greatest  of  these,  since 
the  country  was  inhabited,  occurred  between  the  2d  and  4th  of 
August,  in  the  year  1829. 

The  previous  summer  had  been  a  remarkably  dry  one,  espe- 
cially in  Morayshire.  An  accumulation  of  vapours  appears  to 
have  taken  place  to  the  north-east  of  the  British  Isles,  and  a 
storm  of  wind  and  rain,  commencing  at  the  Orkneys,  seems  to 


ROUTE  II.  E.       GREAT  FLOOD  OF  1829.  313 

have  been  impelled  across  the  Moray  Firth,  and  to  have  dis- 
charged itself  on  the  Cairngorm  and  Monaliagh  mountains,  the 
first  high  ground  which  it  met.  On  the  coast  but  few  indica- 
tions of  the  coming  deluge  were  perceived,  except  vast  columns 
of  clouds  hurrying  to  the  southward.  After  these,  however, 
were  broken  on  the  mountains,  the  whole  atmosphere  became 
surcharged  with  moisture,  which  descended  in  a  small,  pene- 
trating rain,  almost  as  fine  as  dew,  but  so  continuous,  that,  at 
Huntly  Lodge,  where  accurate  observations  were  taken,  in  the 
course  of  twenty-four  hours,  3|  inches  of  rain  fell ;  which,  as 
compared  with  the  average  of  all  the  years  from  1821  to  1828 
inclusive,  is  equal  to  one-sixth  part  of  the  whole  annual  allow- 
ance of  rain  for  these  years. 

The  loss  of  human  life  on  this  occasion  was,  on  the  whole, 
very  inconsiderable ;  but  the  value  and  quantity  of  land  de- 
stroyed, of  houses  overturned,  and  of  valuable  timber  torn  up 
by  the  roots,  along  the  Findhorn  and  the  other  rivers  affected 
by  the  flood,  extending  over  a  line  of  from  500  to  600  miles, 
exceeded  all  calculation.  Some  idea,  however,  of  the  awful 
effects  produced  by  this  impetuous  torrent  of  water  may  be 
formed  from  the  fact,  that  in  the  Findhorn  (as  related  in  the 
very  interesting  and  complete  account  of  the  flood  published 
by  Sir  Thomas  Dick  Lauder),  it  rolled  along  masses  of  rock  of 
from  six  to  eight  tons'  weight ;  that  in  the  Streens  it  rose  from 
fifteen  to  twenty-five  feet  above  its  ordinary  level ;  forty  feet 
at  Dulsie  Bridge ;  and  at  the  more  open  space  where  the  Far- 
ness  Bridge  stands,  it  overtopped  the  parapets  twenty-seven 
feet  above  its  usual  bed.  The  height  of  the  parapet  of  Daltu- 
lich  Bridge,  above  the  common  line  of  the  stream,  is  forty-four 
feet,  of  which  the  flood  rose  thirty-one  feet ;  and  at  the  gorge 
below,  on  the  Relugas  property,  the  water  actually  ascended 
over  the  very  tops  of  the  rocks,  forty-six  feet  beyond  its  usual 
height,  and  inundated  the  level  part  of  Rannoch-haugh,  which 
lies  over  them,  to  the  depth  of  four  feet,  making  a  total  perpen- 
dicular rise  at  this  point  of  no  less  than  f fly  feet.  In  the  rapids 
of  the  Esses,  on  the  Logic  property,  the  flood  also  stood  at  this 
last-mentioned  height ;  but  below  the  estate  of  Sluie,  the  quan- 
tity of  water  was  more  easily  ascertained  by  its  destructiveness 
to  the  fields,  mills,  and  other  buildings  along  its  banks,  than  by 
its  depth.  Of  the  beautiful  bridge  of  Findhorn,  near  Forres, 
consisting  of  one  arch  of  ninety-five  feet,  and  two  others  of 


314  STRATHNAIRN.  SECT.  V. 

seventy-five  feet  span  each,  no  trace  was  left  but  a  fragment  of 
the  northern  land-breast  and  part  of  the  inclined  approach  from 
the  south.  All  the  salmon  pools  in  the  river  were  changed  or 
filled  up  ;  and  the  water  was  so  long  impregnated  with  sand  and 
mud,  that  the  fish  did  not  return  for  a  long  time  in  such  num- 
bers as  they  were  wont  to  do. 

But  our  limits  forbid  our  pursuing  this  subject  any  farther. 


ROUTE  SECOND.— BRANCH  F. 

STRATHNAIRN    AND    STRATHERRICK. 

Farr  and  Aberarder ;  Strathnairn,  1.— Stratherrick ;  Loch  Farraline,  2.— Pass  of  In- 
verfarikaig;  Dundarduil,  3.— Ballachernoch  Road ;  Dunriachy,  4. 

FROM  the  Bridge  of  Craggy,  on  the  Perth  road,  six  miles  south 
of  Inverness,  a  road  (nineteen  miles  in  length)  has  been  formed 
by  the  Parliamentary  Commissioners,  proceeding  westward 
through  Strathnairn  and  Stratherrick,  and  joining  the  district 
road  at  Farraline.  From  Craggy,  another  district  road,  in  an 
opposite  direction,  is  continued  down  Strathnairn  to  Cawdor. 
(See  Route  in.  A.) 

On  the  upper  line  there  is  one  small  inn,  or  dram-house,  at 
Fan-,  five  miles  up  the  strath ;  and  another  near  Gortuleg,  ten 
miles  farther  on ;  between  which  and  the  inn  at  Foyers  there 
is  another  public  house  at  Inverfarikaig,  on  Loch  Ness  side  in 
one  direction,  and  at  Whitebridge,  where  the  Foyers  is  crossed 
by  the  Fort-Augustus  road,  in  another  direction. 

1.  Strathnairn  is  a  pastoral  valley  with  a  few  patches  of 
corn  land,  and  is  flanked  by  barren  heathy  mountains.  Some 
clumps  of  alder  and  birch  occasionally  adorn  the  sides  of  the 
river,  and  follow  its  windings ;  but  in  general,  there  is  rather  a 
want  of  wood,  except  on  the  properties  of  Farr  and  Aberarder. 
A  short  way  above  the  Craggy  bridge  an  unusually  great  as- 
semblage of  gravel  banks  and  terraces  will  be  observed  ;  and  in 
fact,  no  river  course  in  the  Highlands  is  more  distinctly  marked 
with  these  indications  than  that  of  the  Nairn,  from  its  mouth 
upwards.  In  the  more  inland  reaches  of  the  river  the  valley 
widens  considerably,  and  is  but  slightly  inclined  ;  and  while  the 
lower  ridges  and  eminences  have  been  rounded  off  by  the  cur- 


ROUTE  II.  F.  STRATHKRRICK.  315 

rents  which  anciently  swept  along  the  surface,  the  higher  rocks 
and  summits  are  sharp  and  rugged,  shewing  that  they  had  stood 
above  the  flood  or  the  passing  glacier.  This  district  is  inha- 
bited by  an  ancient  race,  members  of  the  clan  Chattan,  the  prin- 
cipal names  being  Mackintosh,  Macbean,  Macgillivray,  and 
Macphail,  many  of  whom,  in  the  midst  of  the  general  changes 
of  opinion  around  them,  still  retain  a  zealous  and  simple-minded 
attachment  to  the  Episcopal  Church  of  their  forefathers.  The 
proprietors  are  Colonel  Mackintosh  of  Farr,  —  Sutherland  of 
Aberarder,  C.  Mackintosh  of  Glenmazeran,  and  Macgillivray  of 
Dunmaglass. 

2.  A  short  ascent  from  the  top  of  Strathnairn  leads  into 
Stratherrick,  which  is  a  broad  upland  valley,  lying  between  the 
hills  which  skirt  the  south  side  of  Loch  Ness  and  the  Monaliagh 
mountains,  bordering  on  Badenoch  and  Strathdearn.     It  is  in 
general  bleak  and  moorish,  being  composed,  like  the  moor  of 
Rannoch,  of  hard  undecomposing  granite,  which  shoots  up  oc- 
casionally in  the  form  of  bare  undulating  hillocks,  giving  the 
country  a  gray,  cold,  and  dreary  aspect.     Near  the  bases  of  the 
hills  on  the  southern  boundary,  are  a  series  of  long  uninterest- 
ing tarns,  or  collections  of  water,  which,  with  the  exception  of 
Loch  Farraline,  possess  neither  islands,  wooded  banks,  nor  pre- 
cipitous rocks,  to  render  them  attractive ;  and  which  appear 
the  more  singular,  as,  after  rising  from  the  level  of  Loch  Ness, 
one  is  apt  to  expect  that  he  had  left  the  region  of  lakes  behind 
him.     The  eastern  portion  of  Stratherrick  (a  contraction  for 
Strath  Farikaig)  is  the  finest  and  best  cultivated,  but  the  whole 
district  is  now  being  greatly  improved ;  and  around  the  small 
lake  of  Farraline  (sixteen  miles  from  the  Perth  road)  there  are 
several  extensive  fir  and  larch  plantations  on  the  improved 
estates   of  Farraline,  Balnain,  Errogy,   and  Gortuleg.      This 
strath  is  peopled  by  a  numerous  race  of  the  clan  Fraser,  who 
acquired  it  in  the  fourteenth  century  from  the  Grants  and  Bis- 
sets.     The  road  we  are  pursuing  joins  the  Inverness  and  Fort- 
Augustus  road  between  Whitebridge  and  the  Fall  of  Foyers, 
passing  Loch  Garth  and  Boleskine  church.     (As  to  the  beau- 
tiful scenery  of  Killin,  on  the  river  Foyers,  see  Route  i.  page 
153.) 

3.  From  Loch  Farraline  a  road  deflects  towards  Loch  Ness 
(two  and  a  half  miles  distant)  through  the  pass  of  Inverfari- 
kaig,  than  which  there  is  none  more  picturesquely  beautiful 


316  BALLACHERNOCH  ROAD.  SECT.  V. 

and  wild  in  the  Highlands.  Woods  of  birch  line  the  bottom 
and  mantle  the  slopes  of  the  deep  ravine,  from  which  a  few 
groups  and  single  trees  extend  along  the  face  of  the  precipitous 
rocks  above,  waving  their  graceful  twigs  like  flowery  garlands 
along  the  mountain's  brow.  At  the  entrance  of  the  pass  from 
Loch  Ness,  the  eastern  side  consists,  for  a  considerable  space,  of 
a  range  of  perpendicular  and  rugged  precipices.  As  Loch  Ness 
comes  into  view,  the  high  and  broad  frontlet  of  the  "  Black 
Rock,"  surmounting  an  ample  birch-clad  acclivity,  terminates 
the  range  of  precipices,  and  on  its  summit  we  discern  the  green- 
clad  walls  of  the  ancient  vitrified  fortress  of  Dundarduil.  We 
here  join  the  road  from  Inverness  to  Fort- Augustus. 

BALLACHERNOCH   BOAD. 

4.  Besides  the  road  now  pointed  out,  there  is  another  (fif- 
teen miles  long)  from  Inverness  to  Inverfarikaig  and  Farraline, 
which  passes  through  a  different  portion  of  Stratherrick  from 
that  just  described.  It  proceeds  by  Drummond  (one  mile 
west  of  Inverness),  Torbreck,  and  Essich,  over  the  ridge  of  Dru- 
mashie,  and  attains  a  great  height  above  Loch  Ness.  Nearly 
opposite  the  end  of  this  lake  it  passes  a  series  of  wild  and  black- 
looking  lochs  lying  in  the  hollows  of  a  moorish  table-land  ;  and 
beyond  these  it  winds  among  some  of  the  most  barren  and  rocky 
hills  of  Stratherrick.  At  the  west  end  of  Loch  Ruthven  (one 
of  these  lakes,  celebrated  for  its  trout,  and  where  the  last  shot 
was  discharged  for  Prince  Charles  on  the  retreat  from  Culloden, 
sometimes  called  the  battle  of  Drummossie  Moor)  there  is  a  high 
detached  conglomerate  rock,  on  the  summit  of  which  is  a  stone 
structure  called  Dunriachy,  "  the  stronghold  of  the  ocean  king," 
which  appears  to  have  been  one  of  a  chain  of  similar  structures 
extending  across  the  island,  and  which  here  seems  to  carry  on 
the  communication  from  the  vitrified  forts  of  Nairnshire  and 
Craig  Phadrick,  to  the  valley  of  Urquhart  and  the  shores  of 
Loch  Ness.  The  present  fortress,  though  strongly  walled  round, 
is  not  vitrified.  Soon  after  quitting  it,  the  road  branches  into 
two,  one  part  proceeding  south  through  the  central  districts  of 
Stratherrick,  and  joining  the  road  already  described  between 
Abersky  and  Farraline ;  while  the  other  branch  keeps  to  the 
right  hand  and  proceeds  towards  Loch  Ness.  It  passes  by 
Bochrubin  and  Leadclune,  and  a  small  hamlet  called  Ballacher- 


ROUTE  II.  F.      BALLACHERNOCH  ROAD.  317 

noch,  where  the  first  and  a  most  magnificent  view  of  Loch  Ness, 
backed  by  Mealfourvounie  and  the  Glen  Moriston  hills,  bursts 
on  our  sight.  The  road  then  descends  the  hill  opposite  Dun- 
darduil  by  means  of  a  series  of  traverses  cut  among  the  rocks, 
and  joins  the  Fort-Augustus  road  at  Inverfarikaig.  This  last 
route  is  well  worthy  of  the  tourist's  notice,  were  it  only  for  the 
sake  of  the  splendid  burst  of  Loch  Ness  from  the  plateau  above 
these  traverses. 


318  ABERDEEN   TO    INVERNESS  SECT.  VI. 

SECTION  VI. 

KOUTE  HI. 

ABERDEEN  TO  INVERNESS,   BY  SEA,   AND  THROUGH  THE  COUNTIES 
OF  ABERDEEN,  BANFF,  ELGIN,  AND  NAIRN. 

Approach  by  sea  along  the  Moray  Firth  to  Inverness  and  Northern  Counties,  1.  — 
Itinerary  ;  Aberdeen  ;  Bay  and  New  Town,  2.  —  Old  Aberdeen  ;  Bridge  of  Don  ; 
Cathedral  ;  King's  College,  3.  —  Old  Buildings  ;  History  and  Trade  of  Aberdeen,  4. 
Route  through  Bnchan  to  Peterhead  and  Banff.  —  Abbey  of  Old  Deer,  5.  —  Peter- 
head  ;  Bullers  of  Buchan  ;  Slain's  Castle,  6.  —  Cairnbulg  and  Inverallochy  Castles, 
7.  —  Fraserburgh,  8  —  Kinnaird's  Head  and  Light-  House,  9.  —  Trouphead,  10.— 
Banff;  Duff  House,  11.—  Portsoy  ;  Minerals  and  Fossil  Fish  of  Gamrie,  12.  —  Cullen 
and  Cullen  House,  13.  —  Mid-road  from  Aberdeen  to  Banff  by  Old  Meldrum.  —  Haddo 
House;  Fyvie  Castle;  Turrff,  14.—  Upper  road  from  Aberdeen  by  Inverury 
and  Huntly  to  Inverness.  —  The  Foudland  Hills  ;  Improvements  ;  Foot  Note.  — 
Detour  by  the  Don.  —  Kemnay;  Monymusk;  Kildrunmiie  ;  Castle  Fraser,  144.  — 
Huntly  ;  Keith  ;  Strathbogie,  15.  —  Foohabers  ;  Gordon  Castle,  16.  —  Entrance 
to  Morayshire  ;  the  Spey,  17.  —  Elgin  ;  Esplanade  ;  Church  of  St.  Giles  ;  Streets 
and  Public  Buildings,  18.  —  Elgin  Cathedral  ;  Diocese  of  Moray  ;  Burnings  of  the 


Stone,  or  Carved  Pillar,  23.—  Abbey  of  Kinloss;  Seaport  of  Findhorn  ;  Coubin 
Sandhills,  24.  —  Forres  ;  Clunie  Hills  ;  Drives  along  the  Findhorn,  25.  —  Tarnaway 
Castle,  26.  —  Brodie  ;  Dalvey,  27.  —  Nainishire  ;  the  Hard  Moor  ;  Witches  of  Mac- 
beth ;  Shakespere's  blasted  heath,  28.  —  Auldearn,  Battle  of;  Burying  Ground; 
Castle  of  Inchok,  29.—  Nairn,  30.  —  Duke  of  Cumberland's  Encampment  at  Bal- 
blair;  Peat  Mosses,  31.  —  Roads;  Approach  to  the  Highlands  ;  Ancient  Encamp- 
ments ;  Campbelltown  and  Fort-George,  32,  and  Foot  Note.  —  Dalcross  Castle,  33. 
Castle  Stewart  ;  Culloden  House  ;  Tumuli  ;  removal  of  land-mark,  34.  —  Druidi- 
cal  Circles,  Foot  Note  ;  Splendid  View  and  Arrival  at  Inverness,  35.  —  Lowlands 
and  Highlands  ;  Ancient  Inhabitants,  36. 


Conveyances. 

Railway  to  Aberdeen  (inquire  for  Time  Tables  at  Station  House,  as 
the  hours  are  frequently  changed). 

North  Star  Steamer  from  London  to  Inverness,  and  the  Duke  of  Rich- 
mond, and  Bonnie  Dundee,  and  Isabella  Napier,  Steamers,  from  Leith,  call 
off  Aberdeen  (see  page  203). 

AbSn.    atones,      ^       °^ 

Royal  Mail  Coach —  £2         £1 :  Is. 

Defiance  (daily) 6  A.M.         6|  P.M.  £2         £l:ls. 

Duchess  of  Gordon  between  Aberdeen  and  Huntly  every  alternate  day. 

Earl  of  Fife,  from  Aberdeen,  by  Huntlj-,  7  A.M.,  1  P.M.  at  Banff. 

Earl  of  Fife  and  other  coach  leaves  Banff  at  half-past  2  P.M.  for  Elgin, 

where  it  arrives  at  7  P.M.,  and  returns  the  next  morning,  starting 

from  Elgin  at  6  A.M. 


UODTE  III. 


BY  THE  MORAY  FIRTH. 


319 


A  daily  mail  runs  between  Aberdeen  and  Peterhead;  and  the  Lord 
Lovat  stage  coach  leaves  Peterhead  at  7  A.M.,  and  reaches  Banff  at  12 
noon,  going  back  again  the  same  day  from  Banff  at  half-past  2  P.M. 


Distances. 


Miles. 


Miles. 


Aberdeen  Mid- Road  to  r-j  flnverury 16  16 

j     Pitmachie  9  25 

^JHuntly   13  38 

S.  I  Keith  10  48 

•§*  I^Fochabers   9  57 

Elgin  9  66 

Forres 12  78 

Nairn  11  89 

Inverness    18  107 

107 

Aberdeen  to  Old  Meldrum 16  16 

„              Turriff 16  32 

„             Banff  11  43 

„              Portsoy    8  51 

„              Cullen 6  57 

„              Fochabers   12  69 

Coast  Road  to  Peterhead  and  Banff — 

Aberdeen  to  EUon 16  16 

„             Cruden 9  25 

Peterhead 9  34 

Mintlaw   8  42 

Strichen    8  50 

Boe   10  60 

Banff    10  70 

1.  Very  many  of  our  readers  will  have  reached  Inverness, 
the  Highland  capital,  from  the  south,  either  by  the  Perth  and 
Athole  road,  or  by  steam  from  the  south-west  through  the  Cale- 
donian Canal  (as  to  which  see  Routes  i.  and  n)  ;  or,  they  may 
arrive  by  sea  from  London  or  Leith,  which,  in  summer  especially, 
and  during  the  busy  season  of  the  herring-fishery,  when  whole 
fleets  of  boats  bestrew  the  ocean,  is  a  common  and  pleasant 
way  of  attaining  a  central  point  whence  to  start  in  perambulat- 
ing the  north  Highlands.  Reference  is  previously  made  (p. 
203)  to  the  steam  accommodations  on  the  Moray  Firth  ;  and 
if  the  tourist  should  avail  himself  of  these,  he  can  at  pleasure 
land  at  any  of  the  ports  on  the  south  side  of  the  Firth,  or 
come  on  at  once  to  Inverness,  or  go  ashore  at  Cromarty  or 


320  MORAY    FIRTH — ITINERARY.  SECT.  VI. 

Invergordon,  if  his  object  be  in  the  first  place  to  explore  the 
northern  counties.  If  the  weather  be  fine,  the  sail  up  the 
Moray  Firth  is  exceedingly  interesting  and  grand,  though 
not  so  picturesque  and  varied  as  the  west  coast.  Some 
of  the  headlands  on  the  Aberdeen  and  Banff  shores,  after-men- 
tioned, are  quite  magnificent ;  but  after  passing  them,  the 
Moray  coast,  though  what  is  called  an  iron  bound  one,  consists 
of  low  rocky  ridges,  with  extensive  flat  sandy  beaches,  over 
which  the  Highland  mountain  screens  are  seen  in  dim  and  dis- 
tant perspective.  The  Sutherland  and  Ross  shire  ranges,  as 
they  gradually  come  into  view,  present  very  varied  and  elegant 
forms  ;  the  outlines,  especially  of  the  chain  which  stretches  in- 
wards from  the  Ord  of  Caithness,  and  divides  that  county  from 
Sutherland,  being  beautifully  peaked.  When  once  fairly  quit 
of  the  rather  dangerous  headlands  of  the  Aberdeen  coast  (on 
which  the  full  fury  of  the  ocean  is,  with  a  north-east  wind, 
driven  unbroken  from  the  the  Pentland  Firth),  and  afloat  on 
the  more  land-locked  waters  of  the  Moray  Firth,  the  promon- 
tory of  Burghhead,  and  the  bluff  Sutors  of  Cromarty,  backed  by 
the  giant  mountain  of  Ben  Wyvis,  soon  come  into  view  ;  while 
the  round  dome-shaped  summit  of  Mealfourvounie  attracts  the 
eye  in  the  far-off  recesses  of  the  Great  Glen.  The  Stotfield, 
Tarbat  Ness,  Cromarty,  and  Fortrose  lighthouses,  as  they  come 
successively  before  him,  impart  a  feeling  of  pleasing  security 
to  the  voyager,  and,  at  the  same  time,  broad  belts  of  cultivated 
ground  and  hanging  woods  appear  to  greet  his  approach  to 
the  Highland  towns  and  villages,  to  which  we  shall  afterwards 
more  particularly  introduce  him.  Let  us  return  then  to  our 
itinerary. 

2.  The  approach  to  Scotia's  north-east  capital  by  sea  is  not 
inviting.  A  bleak  sandy  coast,  with  long  reefs  and  promontories 
of  low  rocks,  having  a  few  fishing  villages  scattered  along  it, 
and  a  tame  uninteresting  back-ground,  hurry  us  on  to  Aberdeen 
— the  city  of"  Bon  Accord,"  the  Oxford  of  Scotland,  the  "  brave 
toun  of  Aberdeen."  Immediately  after  passing  the  lighthouse  on 
Girdleness  we  come  upon  the  bar,  crossing  which,  if  the  winds  and 
waves  permit,  we  enter  the  bay  and  find  ourselves  instantly  in- 
volved among  a  vast  quantity  of  boats  and  shipping,  steaming  our 
way  to  the  harbours,  over  which  rise  the  spacious  granite  built 
streets  and  houses  of  the  New  Town.  They  crown  the  north  bank 
of  the  Dee ;  and  after  the  traveller  has  refreshed  himself  at  the 


ROCTE  III.      NEW  ABERDEEN — MARISCHAL  COLLEGE.        321 

"  Royal,"  the  "  Union,"  the  "Aberdeen,"  the  "Lemon  Tree,"  or 
"  Mollisons,"  or  secured  apartments  in  some  of  the  numerous  pri- 
vate lodging-houses  with  which  the  city  abounds,  we  advise  him 
to  sally  forth  and  admire  the  spacious  line  of  Union  Street,  about 
a  mile  in  length  ;  Union  Bridge,  a  single  arch  of  132  feet  span, 
over  the  Den  Bum,  one  of  the  most  perfect  in  the  kingdom  ; 
the  much  admired  Cross  ;  Castle  Street,  at  the  east  end  of 
Union  Street,  forming  the  market-place,  and  encircled  by  some 
of  the  principal  edifices,  and  ornamented  by  a  granite  statue  of 
the  last  Duke  of  Gordon  ;  Broad  Street  ;  King  Street ;  the 
East,  West,  North,  and  South,  and  Grayfriar's  Churches  ;  the 
new  Free  Churches  ;  large  and  elegant  Assembly  Rooms  ; 
Bridewell  ;  Grammar  School ;  the  Banks  ;  Jail  ;  Court-House  ; 
Town-House  ;  Episcopal  Chapels  ;  with  the  Infirmary ;  the 
very  commodious  and  handsome  New  Markets,  among  the 
finest  in  the  kingdom,  and  other  public  buildings  ;  some  of  the 
principal  works  and  manufactories  ;  and  especially  the  steam 
apparatus  of  Messrs.  M'Donald  and  Leslie  for  polishing  granite  ; 
with  the  harbours,  the  Inch,  and  the  mouth  of  Dee.  The  streets 
and  buildings  of  Aberdeen,  being  chiefly  constructed  of  granite, 
have  an  unusually  massive  and  durable  appearance.  The 
opening  up  of  some  of  the  new  streets  cost  about  .£200,000  ; 
and  the  improvement  of  the  harbour,  which  affords  5000  feet 
of  wharfage,  the  large  sum  of  £2  70,000.  Marischal  College,  a 
square  pile  of  buildings,  entering  from  Broad  Street,  lately 
splendidly  refitted,  was  founded  by  the  noble  family  whose 
name  it  bears,  in  1593,  and  is  attended  by  nine  professors,  and 
about  300  students.  It  has  a  fine  museum,  library,  and  obser- 
vatory, and  a  good  collection  of  paintings,  among  which  are 
some  of  the  best  productions  of  Jameson  the  Scottish  Vandyke. 
3.  A  walk  of  about  a  mile  separates  this  bustling  emporium 
of  trade  from  the  more  classic  retirements  of  Old  Aberdeen. 
Should  the  tourist  have  made  a  detour  along  the  beach,  or 
entered  from  the  north,  he  would  first  pass  by  the  New  Bridge 
of  Don,  within  sight,  however,  of  the  old  one,  called  the  Brig 
of  Balgownie,  a  beautiful  Gothic  arch  of  fifty-two  feet  span, 
and  great  strength,  built  by  Bishop  Cheyne,  nephew  to  Cuming, 
Earl  of  Buchan,  and  competitor  of  the  Bruce,  and  which  is  well 
known  through  Lord  Byron's  record  of  the  popular  prophetic 
stanza,  of  which  his  lordship  and  the  late  Lord  Aberdeen  both 
stood  in  awe. 


322  OLD  ABERDEEN — KING'S  COLLEGE.        SECT.    VI. 

"  Brig  o'  Balgownie,  though  wight  be  your  wa', 
Wi"  a.  wile's  ac  son,  and  a  uiure's  ae  i'oal,  down  ye  shall  fit'." 

The  Don  is  here  confined  within  a  narrow  rocky  bed,  and  hence 
the  top  of  the  high  "  Brig,"  which  is  itself  very  narrow,  appears 
to  stand  at  a  great  altitude  above  the  salmon  pool  below. 
Entering  the  Old  Town  of  Aberdeen,-  on  the  south  bank  of  the 
Don,  we  pass  first  the  venerable  parish  church  of  Old  Machar, 
which  is  only  the  nave  of  the  ancient  cathedral,  the  other  por- 
tions of  which  yielded  to  the  fury  of  the  mob  at  the  Reformation, 
and  to  the  more  fiery  and  wicked  zeal  of  Cromwell's  soldiers, 
who,  as  usual  with  them,  removed  the  stones  to  build  a  garri- 
son for  the  future  subjection  of  their  then  Scottish  friends. 
The  structure  is  still  a  noble  one  (more  massive,  however,  than 
elegant),  and  is  kept  in  high  preservation ;  and  its  large  western 
window  of  seven  high  lancet  lights,  and  oak  ceiling,  painted 
with  armorial  bearings,  are  much  admired.  The  pillars  of  the 
transept  have  their  capitals  beautifully  carved  with  oak  and 
vine  leaves  ;  the  columns  and  windows  being  otherwise  plain, 
and  in  the  severe  early  English  style.  There  are  several 
sculptured  tombs  and  remains  of  brasses,  with  many  modern 
additions  in  debased  Gothic,  and  all  in  bad  taste.  Next,  we 
pass  on  to  King's  College,  the  fine  tower  of  which,  highly  orna- 
mented and  formed  into  an  imperial  crown,  early  attracts 
attention.  It  was  founded  in  1494  by  Bishop  Elphinstone, 
and  subsequently  taken  under  royal  protection.  The  buildings 
occupy  the  sides  of  a  large  quadrangle,  and,  with  their  chapel, 
have  all  been  recently  renewed,  though  the  new  parts  harmonize 
but  ill  with  the  old.  All  the  old  buildings  are  of  granite, 
with  round-headed  or  severe  sharp  early  English  arches,  while 
the  restored  parts  have  polished  freestone  fronts,  with  florid  per- 
pendicular windows.  Within  the  chapel  and  examination  hall, 
the  ancient  carved  benches  and  oak  roofs  have  been  sadly  inter- 
fered with  by  modernized  seats,  and  pulpits,  and  stucco  !  The 
walls  exhibit  a  fine  collection  of  portraits  of  the  old  Scottish 
kings  and  early  principals  of  the  college,  including  one  of  the 
founder,  Bishop  Elphinstone.  About  250  students  attend, 
habited  in  red  gowns  ;  and,  besides  the  assistance  of  ten  able 
professors,  they,  and  the  students  of  Marischal  College  in  the 
new  town,  have  access  to  a  splendid  library,  of  an  old  founda- 
tion, and  which  is  now  furnished  with  a  free  copy  of  every  book 
entered  in  Stationer's  Hall.  Many  of  Scotland's  best  and 


ROUTE  III.  KING'S  COLLEGE MAtt's  CASTLE.  323 

greatest  sons  were  alumni  of  King's  College  ;  and  every  High- 
land heart  especially  must  warm  at  the  sight  of  those  towers 
under  which  his  poor  but  ardent  and  enterprising  countrymen 
have,  in  thousands,  drunk  of  the  fountains  of  Divine  and  human 
knowledge,  whereby,  in  all  quarters  of  the  globe,  they  have 
risen  to  respectability,  fame,  and  opulence.  Young  men,  from 
the  most  remote  parts  of  the  Highlands  and  Hebrides,  still 
press  on,  every  autumn,  for  King's  College ;  and  before  steamers 
and  coaches  were  known,  they  all  had  to  travel  on  foot,  and 
many  of  them  depended  for  their  subsistence  afterwards  on 
obtaining  one  or  other  of  the  numerous  Bursaries,  or  presenta- 
tions (varying  from  £o  to  £20  and  ,£50),  which  are  competed 
for  at  the  opening  of  each  winter's  session.  It  was  an  amuse- 
ment, and  a  grateful  one  too,  of  the  late  Duke  of  Gordon,  to 
send  out  his  carriages,  when  the  poor  Highland  lads  were  on 
their  way  to  or  from  College,  to  give  them  a  lift  for  a  stage  or 
two  ;  and  the  writers  of  these  pages  have  known  young  men 
who  wrought  in  summer  as  operatives  at  the  Caledonian  Canal, 
who  have  thus  had  a  ride  in  the  kind  and  hearty  nobleman's 
carriage,  and  perhaps  an  hour's  chat  with  the  "  brave  and  manly 
spirit"  which  beat  in  the  breast  of  "the  last  of  the  Dukes  of 
Gordon." 

4.  Mar's  Castle,  and  several  old  courts,  streets,  and  closes 
in  the  "auld  town,"  are  worthy  of  examination  ;  and  the 
stranger  will  not  fail  to  remark  the  quaint  antique  character  of 
the  whole  place  as  contrasted  with  the  business-like  magnitude 
and  pretension  of  the  buildings  in  the  New  Town.  He  will  also 
be  struck  with  the  number  of  gardens  in  and  around  Aberdeen, 
and  especially  with  the  vast  quantities  of  the  new  and  finest 
strawberries  grown  in  them.  The  climate  is  severe  and  intensely 
cold,  but  in  summer  the  air  here  is  bracing,  and  the  sea-bathing 
(with  the  use  of  hot  and  cold  salt-water  baths)  remarkably 
good  and  convenient. 

Aberdeen  is  of  a  very  high  antiquity,  being  known  as  the 
abode  of  a  collection  of  people  since  the  third  century,  and 
supposed  to  be  the  Devana  of  the  Itinerarium  Antonini ;  and 
it  was  certainly  a  privileged  burgh  since  the  ninth.  Its  earliest 
charter  extant,  however,  is  one  of  the  twelfth  century  by 
William  the  Lion.  "  It  is  the  place  where  commerce  first  took 
its  rise  in  Scotland,  or  rather  where  commerce  may  be  said  to 
have  disembarked  from  other  countries  into  this.  Long  before 


324  HISTORY  OF  ABERDEEN.  SECT.  VI. 

Edinburgh  was  anything  (as  remarked  by  Mr.  Chambers)  but 
the  insignificant  hamlet  attached  to  a  fortress,  and  while  the 
germ  of  the  mercantile  character  as  yet  slept  at  Glasgow  in  the 
matrix  of  an  Episcopal  city,  Aberdeen  was  a  flourishing  port, 
and  the  seat  of  a  set  of  active  and  prosperous  merchants  ;"  and 
is  still  the  third  principal  port  of  North  Britain.  The  bishop- 
rick  of  Aberdeen  was  founded  in  1137  by  David  I.,  who  trans- 
ferred the  see  from  Mortlach  in  BanfFshire,  where  a  religious 
house  had  been  erected  in  1010  by  Malcolm  II.,  soon  after  his 
great  victory  over  the  Danes,  and  where  a  bishop  had  subse- 
quently resided.  Many  of  the  succeeding  bishops  were  distin- 
guished for  their  learning,  piety,  and  public  spirit ;  and  the 
inhabitants  of  the  city,  and  their  magistrates,  have  at  all  times 
been  noted  for  their  sufferings  in  all  the  civil  and  religious 
contentions  of  the  times,  from  Edward  I.  down  to  Montrose, 
and  the  "fifteen"  and  "forty-Jive,"  and  for  their  readiness  to 
protect  their  liberties  and  avenge  their  quarrels.  Sir  Robert 
Davidson,  provost  of  Aberdeen,  contributed  much,  along  with 
the  Earl  of  Mar,  to  the  defeat  of  Donald  of  the  Isles,  at  the 
great  battle  of  Harlaw  in  1411;  and  his  monument,  surmounted 
by  a  statue,  is  still  preserved  in  the  church  of  St.  Nicholas. 
There  were  four  convents  in  the  city ;  but  the  inhabitants  early 
embraced  the  revival  of  primitive  truth  at  the  Reformation ; 
and  there  have  always  been  two  strong  and  rival  parties  here — 
the  Presbyterian  and  Episcopalian ;  though  now,  happily,  they 
live  on  the  best  terms  with  one  another. 

Prior  to  1745,  the  principal  manufacture  of  Aberdeen  was 
the  knitting  of  stockings  and  coarse  woollen  stuffs :  now  it  is 
celebrated  not  only  for  these,  but  also  for  its  linen,  hemp,  cot- 
ton, paper,  leather,  and  carpet  manufactories  ;  for  its  porter 
breweries,  distilleries,  ironworks,  shipbuilding ;  and  its  exports 
of  salmon,  farm  and  dairy  produce,  and  granite  blocks,  of  which 
about  20,000  tons  are  sent  away  annually.  The  population  of 
both  towns  approaches  70,000 ;  and  the  shipping  exceeds  30,000 
tons.  Harbour  dues  are  annually  paid  on  about  200,000  tons. 
There  are  three  local  banks — all  of  them  highly  prosperous. 
There  are  also  two  Aberdeen  Fire  and  Life  Insurance  Companies. 
Although  the  bay  of  Aberdeen  is  rough  and  exposed,  and  the 
bar  in  front  of  the  harbour  dangerous — so  that  the  citizens  have 
frequently  been  subjected  to  witness  shipwrecks,  without  the 
]>i'\vtT  of  affording  any  relief — yet  the  trade  is  most  extensive. 


ROUTE  III.  HISTOKY  OF  ABERDEEN.  325 

and  the  communication  with  all  parts  of  the  world  frequent ; 
and  here  our  readers  from  the  south  will  find  steamers  prepared 
to  start  for  Inverness,  and  the  ports  of  the  Moray  Firth ;  in 
summer,  once  a-week  for  Wick,  Kirkwall  in  Orkney,  and  Ler- 
wick  in  Shetland  ;  while  with  Leith  there  is  daily  intercourse  ; 
and  with  London  at  least  twice  a-week  by  steam,  making  the 
voyage  in  sixty  hours.  Altogether,  Aberdeen  is  a  very  fine  and 
flourishing  city,  and  the  "canny  Aberdoniaus "  at  once  enter- 
prising and  careful,  and  thus  eminently  money-making.  Their 
south  railway,  just  opened,  we  trust  will  add  to  their  wealth, 
and  reward  the  enterprise  which  originated  it. 

ROUTE  THROUGH  BUCHAN  TO  PETERHEAD  AND  BANFF. 

5.  The  tourist  bound  for  the  northern  counties,  unless  he 
take  time  to  explore  the  courses  of  the  Dee  and  Don,  will  not 
find  much  in  the  undulating  and  highly  cultivated  plains  of 
Aberdeenshire,  though  not  without  many  spots  of  great  beauty, 
to  detain  him ;  and  he  will  probably  cut  short  his  route  by  pro- 
ceeding directly  by  Huntly  and  Keith  to  the  Spey  at  Fochabers. 
But  should  business  call  him  to  the  district  of  Buchan  and  Peter- 
head,  he  will  either  proceed  by  sea  or  keep  along  the  coast  road, 
or  take  the  middle  one  by  Ellon,  Mintlaw,  and  Strichen.  The 
latter  in  days  of  yore  had  the  best  made  road,  and  it  has  been 
rendered  classical  by  the  "  Tour"  of  Dr.  Johnson.  On  the  first 
part  of  it  the  Doctor  remarked,  that  "  I  have  now  travelled  two 
hundred  miles  in  Scotland,  and  seen  only  one  tree  not  younger 
than  myself,"  so  that,  at  Strichen,  he  rejoiced  to  meet  "  some 
forest  trees  of  full  growth ;"  but  the  sage  seemed  equally  sur- 
prised at  the  ancient  towns  of  Scotland,  "  which  have  generally 
an  appearance  unusual  to  Englishmen — the  houses,  whether 
small  or  great,  being,  for  the  most  part,  built  of  stones  /"  At 
Ellon,  Pitfour,  and  Strichen,  and  along  Lord  Aberdeen's  estates, 
he  would  now  find  whole  forests  of  planted  wood ;  and,  what 
would  have  equally  delighted  the  Doctor,  numerous  Episcopal 
chapels — that  at  Longside,  near  Mintlaw,  in  particular,  accom- 
modating perhaps  the  largest  country  congregation  in  Scot- 
land, of  which  nearly  600  are  communicants,  and  which  is  far- 
ther celebrated  as  having  been  the  cure  of  the  Rev.  John  Skinner, 
author  of  the  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Scotland,  of  several  poems 
and  songs  of  considerable  merit — such  as  "  Tullochgorum,"  and 


326  OLD  DEER PETERHEAD.         SECT.  VI. 

the  "  Ewie  wi'  the  crooked  horn " — and  who  was  the  father  of 
the  late,  and  grandfather  of  the  present  Bishop  Skinner — both 
Primates  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  Scotland.  At  no  great 
distance  from  this  chapel  stood  the  once  renowned  Abbey  of  Old 
Deer,  built  in  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century  by  one 
of  the  Cumings,  Earls  of  Buchan,  for  monks  of  the  Cistertian 
order.  It  has  been  razed  almost  to  its  foundations,  and  the 
grounds  have  been  enclosed  within  an  extensive  orchard,  by  the 
proprietor,  Mr.  Ferguson  of  Pitfour. 

6.  The  coast  road  has  nothing  in  point  of  beauty  to  recom- 
mend it — extensive  sands  and  low  rocks  accompanying  us  all 
the  way  to  Peterhead.  Here,  on  the  most  easterly  promontory 
of  Scotland,  and  opposite  that  of  Buchan  Ness,  which  is  distin- 
guished by  its  elegant  lighthouse,  stands  the  bustling  and  im- 
portant seaport  of  Peterhead,  the  commodious  and  extensive 
bay  and  harbours  of  which  annually  save  many  a  seaman  from 
a  watery  grave.  It  is  remarkable  for  the  great  commercial 
enterprise  of  the  inhabitants  in  the  whale  and  domestic  fisheries, 
and  is  the  nursery  of  the  boldest  and  most  scientific  mariners ; 
while  the  most  wonderful  acuteness  and  activity  have  been  ex- 
hibited by  the  people  in  every  detail  of  trade.  It  is  a  burgh  of 
barony,  holding  of  the  Merchant  Maiden  Hospital  of  Edinburgh, 
who  acquired  the  superiority  by  purchase  from  an  English  com- 
pany, who  bought  it  from  the  Crown,  on  the  forfeiture  of  the 
Earl  Marischal ;  to  whose  protection  the  Chevalier  St.  George 
intrusted  himself  on  his  landing  here  in  1715.  The  neighbour- 
ing bay  exhibits  a  perfect  chevaux-de-frize  of  needle-shaped 
granite  rocks,  jutting  up  in  all  directions ;  and  of  this  stone, 
which  is  of  a  beautiful  flesh  colour,  the  houses  of  the  town  are 
erected ;  and  a  considerable  quantity  is  exported  for  building- 
blocks,  and  polished  slabs  for  chimney-pieces  and  monuments. 
Peterhead  was  once  much  resorted  to  in  summer  for  sea-bath- 
ing, and  for  the  waters  of  its  celebrated  sparkling  mineral  well ; 
and  it  is  a  common  feat  for  the  valetudinarians  to  visit  the 
Bullers  (or  Boilers)  of  Buchan,  about  six  miles  distant  on  the 
southern  coast,  but  which,  if  the  weather  be  rough,  can  also  be 
approached  from  the  shore.  They  consist  of  an  immense  caul- 
dron, or  pot,  fifty  feet  wide,  hollowed  out  by  the  waves,  and  the 
rock  is  arched  beneath,  so  as  to  admit  the  entrance  of  a  boat ; 
but  which  can  also  be  looked  down  upon  from  the  lip  above. 
The  general  height  of  the  cliffs  is  fully  200  feet ;  and  they  are 


ROUTE  III.    SLAIN'S  CASTLE INVERALLOCHY  CASTLE.       327 

perforated  on  all  hands  by  deep  caves  and  recesses,  along  which 
a  tremendous  surge  constantly  rolls.  Dr.  Johnson  quaintly 
describes  the  Buller  as  "a  rock  perpendicularly  tubulated;" 
and  alluding  to  the  narrow  ledge  at  the  top,  which  appeared 
"  very  narrow,"  he  gravely  assures  his  readers  that  his  party 
"  went  round,  however,  and  we  were  glad  when  the  circuit  was 
completed !  "  Hard  by,  Slain's  Castle,  the  seat  of  the  Earl  of 
Errol,  a  spacious  quadrangular  edifice,  stands  on  the  edge  of  a 
crag,  as  wild  as  that  of  the  Buller :  and  the  castle  wall  seems 
only  to  be  the  continuation  of  a  perpendicular  rock,  the  foot 
of  which  is  beaten  by  the  waves.  The  Earl's  next  neighbour, 
on  the  north-east,  is  the  King  of  Denmark,  whose  subjects,  it  is 
said,  claim  a  right  of  sepulture  in  the  adjoining  "  kirk-yard," 
which  they  periodically  visit  to  renew  the  grave  stones  of  their 
departed  brethren,  who  are  so  often  drowned  on  this  fearful 
coast ;  and  so  desolating  is  the  sea-breeze,  as  to  prevent  Slain's 
Castle  from  being  adorned  by  a  single  tree,  "  a  characteristic 
(as  remarked  by  Mr.  Chambers)  in  which,  as  the  residence  of  a 
Scottish  nobleman,  it  is  happily  singular." 

Proceeding  onwards  to  Fraserburgh  (eighteen  miles  from 
Peterhead)  the  tourist  will  take  a  passing  glance  of  Inverugie 
Castle,  which  was  the  ancient  seat  of  the  Earls  Marischal,  and 
was  occupied  till  the  attainder  of  the  family  for  their  joining  in 
the  Rebellion  of  1715.  Here  was  born  Field-marshal  Keith, 
brother  of  the  last  earl,  who,  after  the  affair  of  Sheriffmuir,  went 
abroad,  and  attained  the  highest  fame  and  honours  in  the  ser- 
vice of  Peter  the  Great  and  King  Frederick  of  Prussia. 

7.  The  roads  now  deflect  inward  from  the  coast,  to  avoid  the 
sandy  beaches,  which  here  extend  a  great  way  along  the  shore ; 
the   country  also   being  bare,   tame,  and  uninteresting,   but 
abounding  in  herds  of  the  finest  cattle,  and  celebrated  for  its 
superior  butter  and  cheese.     But  Cairnbulg  Castle  (two  miles 
off),  though  a  mere  heap  of  ruins,  is  conspicuous  at  a  distance, 
from  the  flatness  of  the  country.     It  lies  near  Philorth,  the  re- 
sidence of  Lord  Saltoun.    Inverallochy  Castle,  which  next  comes 
in  view,  stands  near  the  very  dangerous  promontory  of  Rat- 
teray  Head,  on  which,  as  yet,  there  is  no  lighthouse,  and  from 
which  a  reef  of  very  fearful  rocks  runs  out,  which  are  partially 
covered  at  high  water,  and  are,  hence,  often  the  more  fatal  to 
shipping. 

8.  Fraserburgh,  strange  offshoot  of  a  Highland  clan,  is  a 


328  FRASERBURGH KINNAIRD's  HEAD.         SECT.  VI. 

burgh  of  regality,  of  which  Lord  Saltoun  is  superior  and  per- 
petual Provost,  which  was  founded  in  the  middle  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  along  a  fine  bay  and  safe  road-stead,  by  Sir 
Alexander  Fraser  of  Philorth.  In  1592  he  obtained  a  royal 
charter  for  the  institution  of  a  University  here ;  but  the  design 
was  never  carried  farther  than  the  erection  of  a  square  tower 
of  three  storeys  for  one  of  the  Colleges ;  and  in  which,  and  at 
Peterhead,  the  students  of  Aberdeen  were  taught  one  season 
(1647),  when  that  city  was  infested  with  the  plague.  The 
beautiful  stone-cross,  surmounting  an  hexagonal  structure 
(adorned  by  the  British  and  Philorth  arms),  which  was  erected 
by  the  founder,  is  still  entire ;  and  the  adjoining  magnificent 
harbour,  constructed  partly  at  the  expense  of  Government  and 
partly  by  subscription,  cost  about  .£50,000.  It  has  rendered 
Fraserburgh  a  retreat  to  vessels  of  war,  as  well  as  merchantmen, 
in  stormy  weather ;  and  hence,  the  town  has  become  wealthy, 
stirring,  and  populous.  The  adjoining  district  has,  ever  since 
the  Reformation,  been  a  stronghold  of  Episcopacy ;  and  the 
town  was  long  the  residence  of  the  late  venerable  and  learned 
Bishop  Jolly,  whose  piety  united  the  strictness  and  self-denial 
of  an  ancient  monk  or  hermit  to  the  simplicity  of  primitive 
times,  and  the  cheerfulness  and  activity  of  the  best  Protestant 
divines. 

9.  Kinnaird's   head  and  lighthouse  lie  a  mile  north   of 
Fraserburgh,  and  rough  and  uninviting  though  the  approach 
in  all  directions  to  this  promontory  is,  the  scenery  partakes 
much  of  the  sublime, — for  the  far  off  hills  and  headlands  of 
Sutherland  and  Caithness  stretch  away  in  dark  undefinable 
masses  over  the  blue  waves,  which  roll  in  wide  expanse  between  ; 
while  near  at  hand  huge  detached  blocks  of  rock  jut  out  upon 
the  waste  of  waters,  as  if  to  meet  the  lashings  of  the  Pentland 
tides  which  dash  full  tilt,  and  are  broken  upon  them.      Here 
and  there  grim  old  eyry-like  fortresses,  the  giant  guardians  of 
the  land,  frown  out  upon  the  sea ;  and  in  some  places  a  recess 
of  yellow  beach,  where  perhaps  some  fleet  of  Norsemen  had 
formerly  stranded,  and  found  a  sandy  grave. 

10.  The  tourist  is  now  twenty-one  miles  distant  from  Banff, 
a  space  which  is  divided  into  two  stages  by  the  excellent  inn  at 
Troup,  the  patrimonial  property  of  Lord  Gardenstone,  and  where 
he  should  visit  Troup  Head,  which  presents  a  breastwork  of  old 
red  sandstone  precipices  several  hundred  feet  high,  and  nearly 


ROUTE  III.  BANFF.  329 

three  miles  in  extent,  to  the  waves.  There  are  no  other  emi- 
nences to  be  seen,  saving  the  hill  of  Mormond,  eight  miles  inland 
from  Fraserburgh  ;  and  though  only  800  feet  high,  it  is  con- 
spicuous for  at  least  forty  miles  all  round.  The  flatness  and 
want  of  trees  bestow  an  imposing  altitude  even  on  the  stone  walls 
or  dykes  and  cottages. 

11.  The  neat  and  cheerful  town  of  Banff  (which  can  boast 
of  a  large  and  excellent  hotel),  on  a  gently  sloping  hill  side, 
and  the.  fisher  town  of  Macduff,  connected  with  it  by  a  hand- 
some bridge  over  the  Deveron,  should  both  be  examined  before 
proceeding  to  Duff  House,  though  in  the  first  there  is  scarcely 
a  house  remaining  to  indicate  its  very  high  antiquity.  It  is 
known  to  have  been  a  residence  of  Malcolm  IV.,  called  the 
Maiden,  most  probably  while  engaged  in  exterminating  the  an- 
cient inhabitants  of  Moray  (1160),  and  whose  charters  are  some- 
times dated  from  Banff ;  and  it  is  not  clear  but  that  his  pre- 
decessor, Malcolm  Caenmore,  also  resided  here.  Banff  Castle 
was  a  constabulary  or  royal  one,  held  for  the  crown — was  the 
head  of  a  small  thanedom — and,  like  the  similar  fortresses  of 
Cullen,  Elgin,  Forres,  Nairn,  and  Inverness,  was  the  king's  re- 
sidence when  visiting  his  dominions,  and  the  abode  of  his  sheriffs 
or  constables,  and  the  place  of  administering  justice  in  his  ab- 
sence. Randolph,  Earl  of  Moray,  appears  to  have  got  the 
thanedom  of  the  Boyne  from  Robert  the  Bruce,  by  whom  also 
the  liberties  of  the  burgh  were  renewed  and  confirmed.  Sub- 
sequently it  became  the  county  town,  and  Banff  Castle  was  de- 
clared the  messuage  of  the  earldom  of  Buchan,  on  the  marriage 
of  Margaret  Ogilvie  of  Auchter  House  with  James  Stuart,  Earl 
of  Buchan,  and  brother  of  King  James  II.,  the  Earl  being  then 
appointed  hereditary  thane  or  constable,  an  office  which  after- 
wards was  resigned  to  the  Findlater  family,  and  by  them  exer- 
cised till  the  abolition  of  heritable  jurisdictions.  Pecuniary 
embarrassments  caused  the  Earl  of  Buchan  to  part  with  the 
castle  to  Robert  Sharp,  sheriff-clerk  of  Banff,  elder  brother  of 
the  celebrated  and  unfortunate  Archbishop  Sharp,  who  was  born 
there  in  1613,  and  on  whose  murder,  in  1679,  his  brother,  Sir 
William  Sharp  of  Stonyhill,  took  up  the  property.  The  arch- 
bishop's father  previously  held  the  castle  in  feu. 

In  Banff  there  was  a  large  monastery  of  the  Carmelites, 
dedicated  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  supposed  to  have  been  co- 
eval with  the  royalty.  At  the  Reformation,  the  friars  made 

p  2 


330  BANFF — DUFF   HOUSE.  SECT.  VI. 

over  their  possessions  to  Sir  Walter  Ogilvie  ;  but  these,  along 
with  the  superiority  and  feu-duties,  which  were  gifted  by  James 
VI.  to  King's  College,  Aberdeen,  have  all  been  bought  up  by 
Lord  Fife.  The  Knights  Templars,  also,  had  an  hospital  here, 
long  distinguished  by  their  usual  mark,  an  iron  cross,  on  the 
top.  Like  all  the  Scottish  towns  of  any  consequence,  the  free 
traders,  and  wealthy  burghers  of  Banff,  were,  in  ancient  times, 
continually  harassed  by  the  exactions  and  cupidity  of  the  feu- 
dal aristocracy  of  the  neighbourhood  ;  and  even  such  great 
nobles  as  the  Duke  of  Gordon  and  the  Marquis  of  Montrose, 
disdained  not  occasionally  to  mulct  the  citizens  in  loans  which 
were  never  intended  to  be  repaid,  but  which  could  not  be  re- 
fused. According  to  the  last  very  able  Statistical  Report  of 
the  parish,  it  would  appear  that  Banff  is  not  now  a  "  thriving 
place," — neither  increasing  in  size  nor  population  (which 
amounts  to  about  3000  souls),  though  it  has  the  advantage  of 
excellent  schools,  abundant  markets,  numerous  places  of  wor- 
ship, literary  institutions,  and  good  society.  The  modern 
suburb  of  Macduff,  which  is  provided  with  a  better  harbour, 
and  lies  more  conveniently  for  trade,  threatens  to  attract  the 
young  and  adventurous  part  of  the  community  to  itself ;  while 
the  domains  of  two  great  landed  proprietors,  hemming  in  the 
burgh  on  all  sides,  necessarily  prevent  its  spreading  itself  out 
into  new  streets  or  ornamental  villas. 

But  the  chief  object  of  interest  about  Banff  is  Duff  House, 
which  was  erected  about  ninety  years  ago  by  William,  Lord 
Draco,  after  a  purely  Tuscan  design,  by  Adams,  at  an  expense 
of  .£70,000.  It  was  never  fully  completed,  the  large  quadran- 
gular central  part  without  the  wings  being  alone  executed,  and 
though  rich  and  graceful  in  detail,  the  structure  is  not  impos- 
ing when  viewed  at  a  distance.  The  interior  is  perfectly  "  Lou- 
verized"  with  pictures, — all  remarkably  interesting,  and  with 
many  first-rate  works  of  art,  "  at  which  criticism  may  vainly 
level  her  eye-glass."  The  walls  are  quite  crowded  with  pro- 
ductions of  Titian,  Corregio,  Murillo,  Vandyke,  Cuyp,  Jameson, 
Sir  Peter  Lely,  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  Raeburn,  and  many  others, 
both  of  the  past  and  present  day  ;  and  the  collection  is  parti- 
cularly rich  in  portraits  of  distinguished  personages  ;  but  not 
the  least  interesting  of  the  curiosities  is  the  ponderous  sword  of 
the  famous  outlaw  Macpherson,  who  was  seized,  after  a  desper- 
ate resistance,  by  the  Laird  of  Braco  (ancestor  of  the  Earl  of 


ROUTE  III.       PORTSOY MINERALS — LORD  FIFE.  331 

Fife),  and  some  of  his  followers,  at  a  fair  at  Keith  ;  and  was 
tried  and  condemned,  along  with  three  of  his  accomplices,  by 
the  Sheriff  of  Banff,  in  November  1700,  as  "  known  holden  and 
repute  Egiptians  and  vagabonds,  and  oppressors  of  his  Majesty's 
free  lieges,  and  as  thieves  and  receptors  of  theives pessimafama." 
The  records  of  the  trial  are  amusing  and  instructive  :  "  three 
young  rogues  in  prison"  having,  at  the  same  time,  had  substan- 
tial, though  perhaps  not  formal,  justice  administered  to  them, 
iu  having  their  "  ears  cropped,  burnt  on  the  cheek,  and  pub- 
lickly  scourged"  through  the  town  of  Banff;  but  though  all 
were  found  guilty,  Macpherson  alone  was  executed,  two  of  the 
other  culprits  having  been  repledged  as  vassals  of  the  Laird  of 
Grant,  and  probably  saved  as  subject  to  his  jurisdiction.  Mac- 
pherson, who  was  an  excellent  musician,  is  said  to  have  com- 
posed his  own  beautiful  Lament  and  Pibroch,  and  to  have 
played  them  "  under  the  gallow's  tree."  He  then  offered  his 
Cremona  violin  to  any  one  in  the  crowd  who  would  receive  it  as 
a  remembrance  of  him,  and  the  gift  being  declined,  he  broke  it, 
and  threw  the  fragments  into  the  grave  prepared  for  his  body. 

12.  At  Portsoy  (8  miles  from  Banff),  the  most  conspicuous 
object  in  which  is  a  new  and  neat  Episcopal  chapel,  the  tourist 
will  find  a  perfect  mineralogical  world, — an  epitome  of  the 
science  ;  and  choice  polished  specimens  may  be  purchased  of 
Mr.  Clark,  a  local  lapidary.  The  district  abounds  with  the 
greatest  variety  of  granite,  quartz  rock,  and  all  the  usual  pri- 
mary rocks,  with  large  beds  of  beautiful  marble  and  serpentine, 
and  quantities  of  crystals  of  garnets,  Labrador  felspar,  Hyper- 
stene,  Tourmaline,  Hornblende,  and  Bronzite,  with  asbestus, 
tremolite,  actynolite,  and  many  of  the  allied  magnesian  mine- 
rals. The  marble  and  serpentine  beds  have  only  been  occasion- 
ally employed  for  chimney-pieces,  vases,  and  small  ornaments  ; 
but  if  extensively  worked,  and  opened  up,  we  feel  confident  that 
the  purity  and  variety  of  the  colours  would  command  a  ready 
market,  especially  if  the  serpentine  was  exhibited  in  large  and 
highly-polished  slabs.  Professor  Jameson,  in  his  mineralogical 
travels,  was  the  first  to  describe  this  extremely  interesting 
neighbourhood. 

Cultivation  and  woodland  here  abound,  where  not  many 
years  ago  the  whole  country  was  a  wide  wilderness  of  bog. 
The  Earl  of  Fife,  the  principal  proprietor,  has  long  devoted 
himself  to  the  personal  superintendence  of  those  vast  improve- 


332  FOSSIL  FISH  OF  GAMRIE — CULLEN.         SECT.  VI. 

mcnts ;  and  three  hundred  persons,  it  is  said,  are  constantly 
employed  about  the  grounds  of  Duff  House  alone.  The  rough 
and  wild  scenery  occasioned  by  the  primitive  rocks  which  com- 
pose the  great  mass  of  the  country,  and  which  in  the  Buchan 
district,  to  the  eastward,  project  into  the  sea  in  rude  and  dan- 
gerous reefs  and  headlands,  here  give  way  occasionally  to 
smoother  ridges  and  promontories  of  red  sandstone  and  its  as- 
sociated conglomerate,  which  diversify  and  soften  the  outlines, 
and  which  are  the  remains  of  the  great  sandstone  basin  now 
filled  only  by  the  heaving  waters  of  the  Moray  Firth,  but 
which,  in  an  ancient  state  of  things,  was  so  extensive,  that  we 
can  identify  the  remote  sandstone  ridges  at  Tomintoul  abutting 
against  the  granite  of  the  Grampians,  as  parts  of  them.  In 
Gamrie  Bay,  on  the  south  side  of  the  great  conglomerate  mass 
of  Troup  Head,  nodules  of  a  subcrystalline,  fibrous,  and  radiat- 
ing structure,  occur  in  a  bed  of  bituminous  clay,  each  enclos- 
ing an  organic  remain  (generally  a  coccosteus) ;  and  these  or- 
ganisms, after  many  guesses  and  speculations,  have  been  found 
to  belong  to  the  petrifactions  of  the  old  red  sandstone  formation, 
and  to  be  connected  with  the  similar  fish-beds  which  stretch 
along  the  country  past  Dipple,  Rothes,  Scatscraig,  Clunie, 
Lethan  Bar,  Cawdor,  Culloden  Moor,  and  Inverness,  round  to 
Cromarty,  Caithness,  and  Orkney.  To  complete  our  glance  at 
this  most  interesting  geological  district,  we  have  to  add,  that 
flint  nodules,  and  other  traces  of  the  chalk  formation,  as  well 
as  of  the  inferior  lias  and  oolite,  are  found  on  the  surface  and 
in  the  tertiary  deposits  of  Banff  and  Aberdeen  shires ;  but 
whence  they  have  come  has  not  yet  been  properly  ascertained. 

13.  A  drive  of  six  miles  lands  us  opposite  the  three  rocky 
kings  in  the  bay,  at  the  sumptuous  hotel  and  three  towns  of 
Cullen,  of  which  the  neat  houses  of  the  more  modern  portion, 
strongly  contrast  with  the  habitations  of  the  humble  fisher  town. 
In  the  midst  rises  an  eminence  on  which  a  large  fortress  once 
stood,  where  Elizabeth,  the  wife  of  Robert  Bruce,  breathed  her 
last.  The  dense  woods  behind  environ  Cullen  House,  the  low 
country  residence  of  the  Earl  of  Seafield,  chief  of  the  clan 
Grant,  built  on  the  edge  of  a  deep  rocky  burn  course,  and  which 
is  almost  buried  in  them,  and  is  screened  from  view  by  the  sides 
of  the  narrow  dell  or  valley  in  which  it  lies,  but  which  is  worthy 
of  a  visit,  not  only  as  one  of  the  most  princely  and  wealthy 
mansions  in  the  north,  but  as  containing,  as  has  been  remarked, 


ROUTE  III.    CULLEN  HOUSE — BOYNE  CASTLE.         333 

"  several  battalions  of  pictures,  both  foreign  and  domestic,"  of 
great  interest  and  value.  The  historical  and  family  paintings 
are  chiefly  deserving  of  attention ;  and  of  the  former,  one  of 
the  finest  is  of  James  VI.  by  Mytens,  which  was  rescued  at  the 
great  revolution  by  the  Earl  of  Findlater,  then  Chancellor  of 
Scotland,  from  a  mob  who  had  torn  it  off  the  walls  of  Holyrood- 
house  ;  a  portrait  of  James,  Duke  of  Hamilton,  who  was  beheaded 
in  1649,  by  Vandyke,  and  another  of  the  admirable  Crichton. 
The  woods  and  policies  lead  up  to  the  top  of  the  Bein  Hill,  a 
prominent  hill  fort,  which,  with  the  Durn-Hill  behind  Portsoy 
(which  is  formed  of  the  most  beautiful  slaty  quartz  rock), 
having  three  entrenchments  round  it,  constituted  the  first  links 
of  the  great  chain  of  signal  stations  (many  of  them  vitrified) 
which  stretch  inland  towards  the  sources  of  the  Don  and  Dee, 
and  westwards  around  the  coasts  of  the  Moray  Firth.  Dunidich 
on  the  shore  side,  and  numerous  cairns  and  stones  of  memorial 
along  the  district,  attest  the  frequent  struggles  of  the  natives 
with  the  Danes  and  other  Northmen.  The  church  of  Cullen  is 
an  interesting  old  fabric,  and  contains  a  fine  canopied  tomb, 
but  the  history  of  which  is  unknown.  The  ruins  of  Findlater 
Castle  and  of  Boyne  Castle  below  the  road  as  we  approach  from 
the  east,  are  interesting  objects.  Both  belonged  to  the  old 
family  of  the  Ogilvys,  Earls  of  Findlater.  From  Cullen  a 
pleasing  drive  of  twelve  miles  through  a  fine  corn  country,  and 
latterly  through  dense  fir  woods,  leads  us  past  the  great  estuary 
of  the  Spey  to  Fochabers,  which  we  shall  afterwards  notice 
when  we  have  brought  on  the  itinerary  by  the  middle  and  upper 
or  great  north  road  from  Aberdeen. 

MID-ROAD  PROM  ABERDEEN  TO  BANFF,  BY  OLD  MELDRUM 
AND  TTTRRIFF. 

14.  This  route  for  some  miles  adheres  to  the  Vale  of  the 
Don,  and  then  passes  into  that  of  the  sluggish  Ythan.  The 
country  naturally  is  bleak  and  uninteresting,  but  its  broad  un- 
dulating surface,  which,  intermediate  between  the  different 
river  courses,  is  an  aggregation  of  wide,  somewhat  saucer-shaped 
elevations  and  hollows,  locally  designated  as  "  heights  and 
hows"  is  now  becoming  highly  cultivated.  The  staple  cereal, 
however,  in  Aberdeen  and  Banff  shires,  is  oats  ;  and  there  is 
comparatively  little  wheat  grown.  In  the  first  stage,  the  most 


334  1IADDO  HOUSE — FYVIE  CASTLE.  SECT.  VI. 

conspicuous  eminence  is  that  of  Benochie,  the  high  and  trun- 
cated summit  of  which  is  a  noted  landmark  to  all  vessels  making 
this  coast.  The  burgh  of  barony  of  Old  Meldrum,  a  village 
chiefly  of  artizans  and  labourers,  has  nothing  to  detain  the 
stranger ;  but  it  overlooks  a  great  expanse  of  fertile  land  to  the 
west,  called  Chapel  of  Garioch.  By  diverging  from  the  turn- 
pike road,  at  Old  Meldrum,  to  Methlick,  on  the  Ythan,  and 
thence  along  its  course,  rejoining  the  high  road  to  Turriff,  near 
Fyvie  Castle,  Haddo  House,  the  seat  of  the  Earl  of  Aberdeen, 
can  be  numbered  among  the  tourist's  reminiscences.  It  is  a 
substantial  square  structure,  with  wings  advancing  in  front  at 
either  extremity,  and  set  down  amid  a  wide  expanse  of  undu- 
lating and  well-wooded  park-ground,  and  contains  a  good  col- 
lection of  paintings,  including  several  of  Lawrence's  master- 
pieces. The  banks  flanking  the  Ythan  rise  steeply,  and  are 
well  wooded,  and  the  scenery  very  pleasing  within  the  vale  itself, 
and  when  regaining  the  higher  ground,  the  eye  courses  over 
more  expanded  sections  of  the  winding  and  deeply-imbedded 
stream.  It  dwindles  to  the  size  of  a  mere  brook  as  it  curls 
round  the  pleasure-grounds  of  Fyvie  Castle — laid  out  like  an 
English  park,  half-way  between  Old  Meldrum  and  Turriff — and 
is  there  still  and  sedgy.  As  remarked  by  Mr.  Billings,  Castle 
Fyvie  was  originally  a  very  old  keep,  but  added  to  and  orna- 
mented by  Chancellor  Seton,  afterwards  Lord  Fyvie  and  Earl  of 
Dunfermline.^"  There  is  no  such  edifice  in  England.  It  is, 
indeed,  one  of  the  noblest  and  most  beautiful  specimens  of  that 
rich  architecture  which  the  Scottish  barons  of  the  days  of  King 
James  VI.  obtained  from  France.  Its  three  princely  towers, 
with  their  luxuriant  coronet  of  coned  turrets,  sharp  gables,  tall 
roofs  and  chimneys,  canopied  dormer  windows,  and  rude  statu- 
ary, present  a  sky-outline  at  once  graceful,  rich,  and  massive, 
and  in  these  qualities  exceeding  even  the  far-famed  Glammis. 
The  form  of  the  central  tower  is  peculiar  and  striking ;  it  con- 
sists, in  appearance,  (in  front,  i.  e.)  of  two  semi-round  towers, 
with  a  deep  curtain  between  them,  retired  within  a  round-arched 
recess  of  peculiar  height  and  depth.  The  minor  departments 
of  the  building  are  profusely  decorated  with  mouldings,  croc- 
kets, canopies,  and  statuary.  The  interior  is  in  the  same  fine 
keeping  with  the  exterior.  The  great  staircase  is  an  architec- 
tural triumph,  such  as  few  Scottish  mansions  can  exhibit ;  and 
it  is  so  broad  and  so  gently  graduated,  as  to  justify  a  traditional 


ROUTE  III.  TURRIFF DALGETTY  CASTLE.  335 

boast,  that  the  laird's  horse  used  to  ascend  it."  The  three 
towers  are  in  a  line,  with  high  roofs,  and  not  battlemented,  and 
of  uniform  height,  and  square,  with  the  variation  alluded  to. 
The  ample  staircase  winds  under  a  succession  of  massive  arch- 
ways at  right  angles  to  each  other,  and  is  vaulted  overhead ; 
and  the  outer  gateway  and  lodge — a  large  square  structure, 
with  a  high  conical  turret  at  each  corner,  and  completely  enve- 
loped in  ivy — forms  a  remarkably  fine  outwork  in  keeping  with 
the  castle  itself.  Here,  also,  are  several  valuable  paintings. 
Aberdeenshire  is  rich  in  these  fine  old  castles ;  and  in  this 
neighbourhood,  the  tourist  should  see  those  of  Gight  and  Tol- 
quhon,  though  they  are  much  inferior  to  Castle  Fyvie  and  to 
Castle  Fraser,  and  others  mentioned  as  occurring  along  the 
course  of  the  Don.  As  it  nears  Turriff,  the  road  passes  the 
house  and  grounds  of  Hatten  (Duff). 

Turriff  is  a  thriving  manufacturing  village,  with  fine  bleach- 
fields,  and  overlooking  the  Vale  of  the  Deveron.  It  claims  a 
high  antiquity,  and  is  known  to  have  had  an  almshouse  or  hos- 
pital, erected  by  the  Earl  of  Buchan  in  1272,  which  was  after- 
wards enlarged  by  Robert  Bruce.  The  Knights  Templars  also 
had  lands  here ;  and  the  present  buildings  of  the  town  most 
worthy  of  notice  are,  a  handsome  parish  church,  a  venerable  old 
disused  one,  and  an  Episcopal  chapel.  Thence  to  Banff,  the 
banks  of  the  Deveron  exhibit  a  deal  of  fine  woodland  and  river 
scenery,  especially  opposite  Forglen  House,  near  Turriff,  and 
again  at  the  Bridge  of  Alva,  and  thence  through  the  policies  of 
Duff  House ;  but,  generally,  the  country  away  from  the  river's 
.side,  and  along  the  public  road,  is  bleak  and  cold,  though  well 
cultivated.  The  road  passes  at  a  short  distance  from  Dalgetty 
Castle,  (James  Duff,  Esq.,  M.  P.  for  Banffshire,)  another  and  a 
very  interesting  specimen  of  the  old  Tower,  embellished  with 
French  additions,  and  where  the  old  family  chapel  is  still  pre- 
served. 

It  will  be  apparent,  that  the  round  by  Turriff  and  Banff  to 
Fochabers,  gives  opportunity  of  seeing  a  succession  of  mansions, 
each  well  worthy  of  a  visit — Haddo  House,  Fyvie  Castle,  Duff 
House,  and  Cullen  House,  in  addition  to  Gordon  Castle — besides 
presenting  a  specimen  of  the  coast  scenery,  as  well  as  of  the 
central  districts  of  that  part  of  the  country. 


336  ABERDEEN  TO  HDNTI.Y.         SECT.  VI. 


THE  UPPER  OB  GREAT  SORTH  ROAD  BY  HUNTLY  TO  INVERNESS. 

14  b.  The  traveller  by  coach  is  usually  surprised  to  find 
himself  accompanied  side  by  side  for  the  first  stage  out  to 
Inverury  (16  miles),  by  the  tract-boats  of  an  inland  canal  which 
was  formed  chiefly  for  the  transit  of  merchandise,  and  the  ex- 
port of  the  great  quantities  of  corn  raised  in  the  interior  valleys 
of  Aberdeenshire,  and  of  the  slates  and  limestones  of  the  adjoin- 
ing hills.  Passing  Kintore,  Inverury,  and  other  thriving 
villages,  the  road  then  proceeds  through  an  upland  moorish 
country,  winding  among  a  succession  of  undulating  shapeless 
hills,  the  passes  through  which,  especially  in  the  Foudland 
Hills,  south  of  Huntly,  are  often  in  winter  for  a  considerable 
period  blocked  up  with  snow. 

The  hill  sides,  however,  are  now  being  extensively  planted 
with  forest  trees,  to  increase  the  shelter  and  ameliorate  the 
climate ;  and  here,  as  well  as  along  the  coast,  most  noble  and 
extraordinary  efforts  have  been  made  to  reclaim  and  improve 
the  ground.  In  no  part  of  Scotland  have  greater  industry  and 
skill  been  exhibited,  or  more  capital  invested  in  agricultural 
pursuits,  than  in  this  quarter,  and  that  with  a  soil  naturally 
wet  and  cold,  and  a  climate  by  no  means  propitious.*  Though 
now  possessed  by  a  race  of  Flemish  or  Saxon  origin,  and  speak- 
ing a  dialect  of  the  lowland  Scotch,  peculiarly  broad,  where 
Gaelic  is  never  heard  except  in  the  more  inland  glens,  Banff 
and  Aberdeen  shires  anciently  composed  a  great  Celtic  territory 
under  the  dominion  of  the  Earls  (previously  the  Maormors)  of 
Mar  and  Buchan,  in  which  the  names  of  places  still  point  out 
the  Celtic  character  of  the  first  inhabitants.  Hence,  apart  from 
the  outline  of  the  country,  we  might  not  inappropriately  con- 
sider these  two  counties  as  Highland,  though  Scotchmen  in 
general  rank  them  as  belonging  to  the  Lowlands.']' 

*  The  district  about  Huntlv  and  Keith  abounds  in  primitive  limestone  and  slate. 
which  have  largely  contributed  to  local  improvements. 

t  Instead  ol  proceeding  the  length  of  Inverury,  and  following  the  course  of  the 
Ury  and  the  direct  road  to  Huntly,  a  very  agreeable  detour  may  be  made  by  striking 
across  from  near  Kintore,  so  as  to  regain  the  Don  near  Kemnuy  (distinguished  for  an 
excellent  school,  and  a  schoolhouse  and  grounds,  which  are  a  marvel  for  spruceness) 
— following  its  course  to  Mom  musk,  thence  by  Alford  to  Kildrummie;  and  there 
diverging  northwards,  by  Clova  and  Strathbogie,  to  Huntly.  Some  of  the  reaches  of 
the  ifon,  as  at  Fetternear  and  Monymusk — tfie  Paradise  near  it — and  Castle  Forbes, 
a  showy  modern  castellated  building,  which  may  be  reached  at  some  sacrifice,  as  the 
turnpike  road  docs  not  follow  the  river  here,  are  exquisitely  sweet  and  beautiful. 
The  river  is  lined  by  soft  and  moderate-sized  eminences,  highly  wooded,  while  the 
low  grounds  are  well  cultivated.  Kildrummie  Castle,  which  repeatedly  figures  in 


ROUTE  III.      HUNTLY  AND  KEITH  ROAD.  337 

15.  Huntly  and  Keith,  the  two  principal  inland  towns  on 
this  road,  owe  their  prosperity  chiefly  to  their  localities  being 
well  adapted  for  bleachfields,  and  the  manufacture  of  linen  and 
woollen  stuffs.  The  latter,  or  rather  the  new  town  of  Keith, 
was  founded  in  1750,  on  a  barren  moor  upon  the  Isla  Water, 
by  James,  father  of  the  last  Ogilvy,  Earl  of  Findlater,  whose 
title  and  estates  have  now  passed  into  the  family  of  Grant  of 
Grant,  Earls  of  Seafield.  Huntly  stands  on  a  dry  and  pleasant 
bank  at  the  confluence  of  the  Bogie  with  the  Deveron,  and 
consists  chiefly  of  two  principal  streets  crossing  each  other  at 
right  angles,  and  forming  a  spacious  square  or  market-place. 
Near  it  on  the  banks  of  the  Deveron,  is  the  elegant  residence  of 
Huntly  Lodge,  the  jointure-house  of  her  Grace  the  Duchess  of 
Gordon ;  and  hard  by,  the  ruins  of  the  old  castle  of  Huntly, 
the  ancient  seat  of  the  Duke  of  Gordon's  eldest  son  while  Mar- 
quis of  Huntly,  and  which  is  a  structure  with  peculiar  features, 
and  far  more  imposing,  when  examined  in  detail,  than  it  seems 
to  be  at  a  distance. 

Scottish  history,  is  a  bulky  and  imposing  structure,  now  a  mere  shell,  however,  ou  an 
elevated  recess  overlooking  Strathdon.  The  Burn  of  Clova  presents  a  fine  wooded 
dell,  and  the  Clova  hills  are  a  fruitful  botanical  habitat.  In  Strathbogie,  which 
descends  to  Huntly,  the  first  throes  were  experienced  of  that  great  convulsion  which 
has  rent  asunder  the  Church  of  Scotland.  But  one  of  the  chief  recommendations  of 
this  route  is,  that  between  Kemnay  and  Monymusk,  it  leads  within  little  more  than  a 
mile  of  Castle  Frascr  (Colonel  Fraser),  wliich,  and  Fyvie  Castle,  already  described, 
form  the  finest  architectural  ornaments  of  Aberdeenshire.  The  following  is  the 
description  in  Messrs.  Billings  and  Burns'  Baronial  and  Ecclesiastical  Antiquities : — 
"  It  may  be  considered  as  standing  in  competition  with  Fyvie  Castle  for  supremacy 
among  the  many  French  turreted  mansions  of  the  north.  "While  its  rival  rest's 
supreme  in  symmetrical  compactness,  Castle  Fraser  is  conspicuous  for  the  rich  variety 
of  its  main  features,  and  its  long,  rambling,  irregular  masses.  Descending  to  minute 
details — while  Fyvie  is  remarkable  for  its  grotesque  statuary,  Castle  Fraser  has  u 
more  abundant  richness  of  moulding  and  carved  decoration.  The  quantity  of  tym  - 
panumed  dormer  windows,  and  the  variety  of  decorations  with  which  they  are  enriched, 
give  much  character  and  effect  to  the  b'uilding.  There  is  one  small  feature,  taken 
from  France,  seldom  exemplified  in  the  turreted  mansions  of  the  north,  yet  of  which 
there  are  a  few  specimens  in  edifices  otherwise  meagre — this  is  the  light,  lofty  turret, 
with  an  ogee  or  pavilion-shaped,  instead  of  a  conical  roof,  and  airy-looking  tiers  of 
small  windows,  perched  in  the  recess  where  the  round  tower  joins  the  central  square 
mass.  Of  that  mass,  the  upper  will  be  seen  to  be  of  very  different  character  from 
the  lower  architectural  department,  which  probably  was  the  unadorned  square  tower 
of  the  fifteenth  century.  The  dates,  wliich  appear  on  the  more  modern  and  orna- 
mental portions,  point  to  the  time  when  the  turreted  style  had  reached  its  highest 
development  in  Scotland— 1617  and  1618." 

The  central  square  mass  above  alluded  to,  with  the  roof  springing  from  a  more 
decorated  superstructure,  has  a  lofty  round  tower  of  six  storeys  overtopping  the  roof 
on  one  flank,  occupying  the  fore  half  of  that  side,  and  a  higher  slender  turret,  perched, 
as  described,  in  the  front  junction ;  while,  on  the  opposite  side,  the  main  buildins; 
is  embraced  by  another  square  tower,  retreating  back,  uniform  with  itself,  and  which 
leaves  the  fore  portion  of  that  side  of  the  central  tower  free.  The  main  building  is 
thus  more  massive  than  Fyvie.  Two  ranges  of  lower  buildings  extend  behind,  each 
terminating  in  a  conical-roofed  tower.  All  the  angles  of  the  whole  structure  arc 
surmounted  by  high  similar  shaped  turrets,  and  the  effect  of  the  whole  is  admirable. 


-MS  FOCHABERS — GORDON   CASTLE.  SECT.  VI. 

Aberdeenshire  is  traversed  by  a  number  of  fine  rivers  of 
various  character,  giving  rise  to  much  diversified  scenery,  and 
to  many  rich  alluvial  plains  or  straths,  along  their  banks.  In 
the  maritime  and  more  easterly  portions  of  Banff  and  Aberdeen 
shires,  Episcopacy  has  ever  retained  a  strong  footing,  her  con- 
gregations being  numerous,  embracing  both  rich  and  poor ; 
while  a  considerable  portion  of  the  population  are  also  Roman 
Catholics,  especially  in  the  district  of  the  Enzie,  in  Banffshire. 
About  the  city  of  Aberdeen,  and  towards  the  north-west,  Pres- 
byterianism  early  obtained  the  ascendancy. 

16.  A  short  but  rapid  descent  of  nine  miles  from  Keith 
terminates  at  Fochabers,  a  little  town  which  stands  at  the  dis- 
tance of  a  few  hundred  yards  from  the  east  bank  of  the  river 
Spey,  on  an  elevated  gravel  terrace ;  and  Gordon  Castle,  now 
the  seat  of  his  Grace  the  Duke  of  Richmond,  about  a  mile  to 
the  north,  on  a  lower  one.  The  town  forms  a  regular  parallelo- 
gram, the  sides  of  which  are  composed  chiefly  of  thatched 
cottages.  A  square,  surrounded  by  respectable  houses,  occu- 
pies the  centre ;  from  the  east  and  west  sides  of  which  straight 
streets  of  similar  buildings  proceed,  and  the  town  is  traversed 
by  two  parallel  and  cross  lanes  of  houses.  On  one  side  of  the 
square  there  is  a  porticoed  church,  surmounted  by  a  neat  spire; 
and  on  the  south  side  of  the  town,  a  Roman  Catholic  chapel, 
remarkable  for  its  handsome  and  tasteful  front,  has  been  lately 
erected.  A  Scotch  Episcopal  chapel  has  also  been  recently 
added.  The  population  of  Fochabers  is  about  900.  It  con- 
tains an  excellent  hotel,  about  seventy  slated  houses,  and  thrice 
that  number  of  thatched  cottages.  A  munificent  educational 
fund  has  lately  accrued  to  the  place,  through  the  bequest  of  a 
townsman,  Alexander  Mylne,  merchant  of  New  Orleans,  whose 
institution  has  been  erected  at  the  eastern  approach. 

Gordon  Castle,  the  north-country  residence  of  the  Duke  of 
Richmond,  formerly  the  seat  of  the  ducal  family  of  Gordon,  is 
a  magnificent  structure,  consisting  of  a  large  central  building 
of  four  storeys,  with  spacious  two-storeyed  wings,  and  connecting 
galleries  or  arcades,  of  a  like  height ;  forming  altogether  a 
front  of  540  feet.  Behind  the  main  building  rises  a  square 
tower  six  storeys  high,  which  harmonises  with  the  general 
design.  The  castle  is  faced  on  all  sides  with  freestone,  and 
encircled  by  an  embattled  coping.  It  stands  in  a  park  1300 
acres  in  extent,  formerly  a  marsh  called  the  Bog  of  Gicht, 


ROUTE  III.  RIVER    SPEY ELGIN.  339 

whence  the  duke  himself  was  often  styled  only  the  "  Gudeman 
of  Gicht,"  and  is  adorned  with  a  variety  of  forest  trees  of  large 
dimensions,  particularly  the  limes,  horse-chesnut,  and  walnut 
trees.  One  of  the  finest  is  a  lime  behind  the  castle,  measuring 
eighteen  feet  in  girth,  whose  drooping  branches  cover  an  area 
of  upwards  of  200  feet  in  circumference.  The  gardens  occupy 
about  twelve  acres,  and  the  grounds  are  ornamented  by  a  large 
pond,  where  the  lordly  swan  holds  undivided  though  secluded 
sway.  In  the  castle  are  several  paintings,  copies  from  the  old 
masters,  by  Angelica  Kauffman,  and  a  large  collection  of  family 
and  other  portraits,  of  which  a  few  are  by  Vandyke,  Jameson, 
and  Sir  Peter  Lely.  As  remarked  by  Miss  Sinclair,  Gordon 
Castle,  on  the  whole,  was,  when  she  wrote,  "  the  finest  ducal 
residence  in  Scotland " — "  a  world  of  a  house ;  the  park  is 
bounded  only  by  the  horizon,  the  trees  are  gigantic ;  every- 
thing, in  short,  appears  on  the  grandest  scale :"  while  of  the 
older  palace  which  preceded  the  present  one,  and  which  was  in 
the  Moorish  style,  Franks  wrote  in  1658,  that  "  it  struck  me 
with  admiration  to  gaze  on  so  gaudy  and  regular  a  frontispiece, 
more  especially  to  consider  it  in  the  nook  of  a  nation." 

17.  Crossing  now  the  Spey  by  a  handsome  suspension  bridge, 
from  which  the  view,  both  up  and  down  the  valley,  is  remark- 
ably beautiful,  we  leave  behind,  with  no  regret,  the  last  bleak 
spurs  and  ridges  of  the  Grampians,  and  enter  upon  the  soft 
and  verdant  alluvial  plains  of  Moray.     The  river  Spey,  it  will 
be  remarked  in  passing,  is  a  deep  and  rapid  stream,  subject  to 
sudden  speats  or  overflows,  during  which  it  "  rolls  from  bank 
to  brae"  a  fearful  and  desolating  torrent.     Hence  it  has  ever 
been  regarded  as  the  natural  bulwark  or  safeguard  of  the  North 
Highlands,  which,  before  the  erection  of  the  present  bridge, 
were  often  completely  isolated  by  it.     Here  the  clans  of  old 
fought  many  a  tough  battle  for  their  independence,  and  here 
Prince  Charles  Edward,  in  1746,  ought  to  have  contested  the 
passage  with  the  English  troops,  and  which  he  could  have  done 
with  great  advantage,  instead  of  letting  them  quietly  cross  the 
Spey,  and  the  rivers  Findhorn  and  Nairn,  before  he  met  them 
at  Culloden. 

18.  A  beautiful  ride  of  nine  miles  farther  ushers  us  to  the 
capital  of  Moray,  the  fine  old  ecclesiastical  city  of  Elgin,  built 
on  the  winding  haughs  of  a  deep  but  sluggish  stream,  the 
Lossie,  and  a  ridge  south  of  them,  and  marked  from  afar  by 


340  ELGIN — PUBLIC    BUILDINGS.  SECT.  VI. 

the  late  Duke  of  Gordon's  monument  at  the  west  end,  erected 
near  the  ruins  of  a  very  old  castellated  structure  on  the  Lady 
Hill,  and  by  the  dark  massive  towers  of  the  cathedral  at  the 
east  end,  and  by  various  public  buildings,  quite  remarkable 
for  a  small  provincial  town.  All  the  public  coaches  stop  at 
the  Gordon  Arms  Inn,  in  the  central  square  of  the  town, 
which  is  close  by  the  market-place  and  esplanade,  and  has  the 
post-office  directly  opposite  the  windows,  with  an  immense 
freestone  fountain  beneath  them,  suggesting  rather  freezing 
than  pleasing  sensations  for  this  cool  climate.  Directly  east  of 
it  is  the  huge  parish  church  (of  a  Grecian  design,  surmounted 
by  a  Prince  of  Wales  feather !)  on  the  site  of  the  ancient  Gothic 
church  of  St.  Giles,  which  was  of  venerable  antiquity,  and 
which  had  retained  ample  bounds  around  it  so  as  to  throw  the 
neighbouring  buildings  well  away  from  it  in  a  kind  of  square, 
having  a  long  street  running  east  and  west  from  either  end, 
and  numerous  cross  lanes  and  small  streets  south  and  north  like 
the  old  town  of  Edinburgh.  North  Street,  a  little  west  of  the 
inn,  leads  to  the  Lossie,  and  the  village  of  Bishopmill,  on  the 
farther  side  of  it  (past  the  loch  and  old  castle  of  Spynie),  and 
to  the  seaport  of  Lossiemouth,  distant  five  miles,  and  which, 
with  the  adjoining  village  of  Stotfield,  is  much  resorted  to  in 
summer  for  sea-bathing.  A  street  (Moss  Street  and  Lossie 
Wynd)  at  the  east  end  of  the  town  runs  directly  north  and 
south,  conducting,  in  the  latter  direction,  to  the  Glen  of  Rothes, 
and  the  interior  of  the  country,  and  near  which,  as  being  the 
sunny  side  of  the  place,  there  are  a  perfect  labyrinth  of  old 
crofts  and  burgh  riggs,  a  number  of  handsome  houses  and  villas, 
and  the  neat  churches  erected  by  the  Roman  Catholic  and  Free 
Church  congregations.  At  the  west  end,  besides  the  main  post 
road  to  Forres,  which  inclines  to  the  north,  one  proceeds  south- 
west along  the  Infirmary  and  Lunatic  Asylum  walls  to  Palmer's 
Cross,  and  the  rich  corn  district  watered  by  the  Lossie.  Elgin 
contains  a  flourishing  population  of  about  4500  inhabitants, 
and  possesses  public  printing-presses  giving  forth  two  ireekly 
newspapers,  and  an  extensive  and  valuable  circulating  library, 
and  excellent  academy.  Society  in  Elgin  comprehends  an  un- 
usual proportion  of  persons  in  affluent  or  easy  circumstances. 
The  town  is  lighted  with  gas,  and  the  inhabitants  display  much 
spirit  in  all  measures  of  improvement.  Owing  to  the  vicinity 
of  the  freestone  quarries  of  Quarrywood  and  Caussie,  its  newer 


ROUTE  III.  ELGIN    CATHEDRAL.  341 

houses  and  the  adjoining  villas  appear  to  an  advantage  rarely 
exhibited  by  small  provincial  towns ;  and  they  are  likewise,  in 
general,  tastefully  designed.  The  streets  also  abound  with  pic- 
turesque and  fantastic-looking  houses,  some  of  them  of  con- 
siderable antiquity,  which,  besides  every  variety  of  shape,  often 
display  projecting  wooden  balconies  and  piazzas,  overhanging 
and  partly  encroaching  on  the  public  way,  and  one  or  two  of 
them  have  still  the  mark  of  the  old  Templars'  property  on  them 
— a  high  iron  cross  on  the  topmost  chimney. 

19.  But  the  glory  of  Elgin  is  its  venerable  cathedral,  now 
in  ruins,  long  and.  justly  styled  "  The  Lanthorn  of  the  North." 
(Speculum  patrice  et  decus  regni.)  Of  this  edifice  there  are 
standing  only  the  two  large  square  western  towers  (84  feet  high), 
but  without  their  spires,  though,  fortunately,  the  intermediate 
large  doorway,  and  part  of  the  window  above,  are  entire ;  as 
also,  at  the  eastern  end,  the  choir  and  its  cloister,  the  grand 
altar,  and  double-rowed  and  orieled  windows  above  it,  with  the 
two  eastern  terminal  turrets  and  adjoining  chapter-house.  The 
length  of  the  cathedral  measured  282  by  86  feet  over  the  walls, 
and  the  transept  was  115  feet  in  length,  while  in  the  centre  of 
the  whole  a  magnificent  tower,  supported  on  massive  pillars, 
rose  to  the  height  of  198  feet.  A  flight  of  spacious  steps  re- 
ceived the  visitor  on  his  approach,  and  landed  him  at  the  great 
western  entrance,  the  floor  of  which  represents  the  general 
basement  level  of  the  whole  structure.  Traces  of  this  pavement 
have  lately  been  discovered,  and  the  ascent  of  steps  may  yet  be 
restored.  The  chapter-house  is  of  an  octagonal  form,  with 
windows  of  variously  patterned  tracery ;  and  its  flat  stone  roof 
is  supported  by  a  clustered  pillar,  nine  feet  in  circumference, 
rising  from  the  centre  of  the  chamber  beneath,  and  from  the 
top  of  which,  beautiful  light  groined  arches  proceed  round  the 
building,  and  unite  with  those  composing  the  windows.  While 
the  general  dimensions  of  the  whole  cathedral  (which  is  in  the 
style  of  the  early  decorated  Gothic)  attract  admiration  for  their 
symmetry,  the  workmanship  of  the  chapter-house  (erected,  it 
is  supposed,  about  1480)  is  peculiarly  deserving  of  notice  for 
its  lightness,  richness  of  ornament,  and  great  delicacy  in  the 
execution  of  the  minuter  tracery,  and  the  flowered  fillets  and 
capitals  of  its  columns.  The  cathedral  stands  at  the  east  end 
of  the  town  of  Elgin,  and  was  surrounded  by  a  high  wall  1000 
yards  in  circuit,  having  four  gates.  The  officials  had  each  a 


342  DIOCESE    OF   MORAY.  SECT.  VI. 

manse  and  garden  within  the  precinct,  in  a  street  still  called 
the  College,  and  a  glebe  in  a  large  adjoining  field.  But  little 
is  known  of  the  original  building  of  this  noble  minster,  which 
alone,  of  the  Scottish  cathedrals  of  the  thirteenth  century,  had 
two  western  towers. 

The  diocese  of  Moray  was  constituted  by  Alexander  I.,  in 
the  year  1115,  and  the  foundation-stone  of  the  cathedral  was 
laid,  on  19th  July  1224,  by  Bishop  Andrew  de  Moravia,  nephew 
of  that  St.  Gilbert  who,  on  the  opposite  shore  of  the  firth,  at 
the  same  time,  raised  the  humbler  walls  of  Dornoch.  The 
work  was  afterwards  completed,  through  the  exertions  of  the 
Popes,  who  caused  collections  in  aid  of  the  undertaking  to  be 
made  in  different  parts  of  Europe,  and  sent  artisans  and  archi- 
tects from  Rome  to  forward  and  superintend  its  execution. 
Along  with  the  towns  of  Elgin  and  Forres,  this  magnificent 
pile  was,  in  1390,  burned  by  the  ferocious  "  Wolf  of  Badenoch." 
Alexander  Stewart,  son  of  Robert  II.,  who  also,  to  avenge  him- 
self on  Bishop  Bar  for  refusing  to  recognise  him  as  his  liege 
lord,  set  fire,  at  the  same  time,  to  the  College,  the  Maison  Dieu 
(an  hospital,  it  is  believed,  for  lepers),  and  the  Town  Church  of 
St.  Giles,  which,  with  their  whole  writs  and  documents,  were 
all  reduced  to  a  heap  of  ruins.  Well  might  the  old  Church 
Chronicler  style  those  as  days  in  which  there  "  was  no  law  in 
Scotland,  but  the  great  man  oppressed  the  poor  man,  and  the 
whole  kingdom  was  one  den  of  thieves.  Slaughters,  robberies, 
fire-raising,  and  other  crimes,  went  unpunished;  and  justice 
was  sent  into  banishment  beyond  the  kingdom's  bounds."  The 
Bishop,  making  his  lamentation  to  the  king  of  the  damage 
done  on  this  occasion,  describes  the  cathedral  "  as  the  pride  of 
the  land,  the  glory  of  the  realm,  the  delight  of  wayfarers  and 
strangers,  a  praise  and  a  boast  among  foreign  nations — lofty  in 
its  towers  without,  splendid  in  its  appointments  within — its 
countless  jewels  and  rich  vestments,  and  the  multitude  of  its 
priests."  It  had  seven  dignitaries,  fifteen  canons,  twenty-two 
vicars-choral,  and  about  as  many  chaplains.  (See  Quarterly 
Review  for  June  1849.)  A  second  plundering  and  burning  of 
the  town  and  cathedral  was  perpetrated  in  1402  by  Alexander, 
third  son  of  the  Lord  of  the  Isles,  a  worthy  rival  of  the  ferocious 
Wolf,  who,  like  him,  was  previously  sworn,  bound  by  writ, 
"  not  to  allow  his  men,  nor  any  other  Kethranes,  to  beg  or 
strole  through  the  country  of  Moray,  nor  to  annoy  or  destroy 


ROUTE  III.  HISTORY   OF   ELGIN.  343 

the  inhabitants  !  "  Both  incendiaries  had  speedily  to  propitiate 
the  Church,  and  obtain  absolution  by  costly  presents.  The 
rebuilding  of  the  cathedral  was  commenced  by  Bishop  John 
Innes,  a  son  of  the  family  of  Innes,  in  1407,  but  was  not  com- 
pleted till  1420.  In  1506,  the  great  tower  fell,  and  its  re-erec- 
tion was  not  finished  till  1538.  On  the  14th  of  February  1568, 
the  Regent  Moray  and  his  council  issued  an  order  to  strip  the 
roofs  of  the  cathedrals  of  Elgin  and  Aberdeen  of  their  lead ; 
but  the  vessel  freighted  with  it  is  said  to  have  sunk  in  the  bay 
of  Aberdeen.  Since  that  period  the  building  has  been,  till  of 
late,  totally  neglected,  and  suffered  to  fall  into  its  present 
state  of  decay.  A  small  sum  was  latterly  given,  by  the  Barons 
of  Exchequer,  to  a  self-constituted  guardian,  who  displayed 
great  taste  and  industry  in  clearing  away  the  rubbish  and  restor- 
ing the  ground-plan  of  elevation,  and  is  still  continued.  Its 
original  extent  and  history  have  been  traced  out  by  a  gentle- 
man of  Elgin  (Isaac  Forsyth,  Esq.),  to  whose  public  spirit  the 
inhabitants  of  this  district  are,  for  many  reasons,  much  indebted, 
and  by  whom  a  series  of  beautiful  engravings,  on  a  large  scale, 
of  the  remains  of  the  cathedral,  with  letter-press  descriptions, 
was  published  some  years  ago.  It  is  difficult  for  us,  who  lavish 
so  much  on  our  own  "  ceiled  houses,"  to  appreciate  the  senti- 
ments of  the  age  that  decorated  so  profusely  the  house  of  God : 
but  even  after  visiting  Melrose  Abbey,  the  stranger  will  be 
obliged  to  confess,  on  beholding  Elgin,  that  "  enough  yet  re- 
mains of  it  to  entitle  it  to  rank  as  at  once  the  grandest  and  the 
most  beautiful  of  our  cathedrals,  if  not  the  most  superb  edifice 
of  Scotland." — Reg.  Norav.  Prefaced)  Elgin,  as  remarked  by 
the  learned  author,  whose  words  we  have  just  quoted — the  pre- 
sent sheriff  of  the  county  (C.  Innes,  Esq.) — "  long  retained  a 
strong  impress  of  its  ecclesiastical  origin.  Within  the  memory 
of  some  yet  alive,  it  presented  the  appearance  of  a  little  cathe- 
dral city,  very  unusual  among  the  burghs  of  Presbyterian  Scot- 
land. There  was  an  antique  fashion  of  building,  and  withal,  a 
certain  solemn,  drowsy  air  about  the  town  and  its  inhabitants, 
that  almost  prepared  a  stranger  to  meet  some  church  procession, 
or  some  imposing  ceremonial  of  the  picturesque  old  religion. 
The  town  is  changed  of  late.  The  dwellings  of  the  citizens 
have  put  on  a  modern  trim  look,  which  does  not  satisfy  the  eye 
so  well  as  the  sober  gray  walls  of  their  fathers.  Numerous 
hospitals,  the  fruits  of  mixed  charity  and  vanity,  surround  the 


)14  ELGIN   MUSEUM.  SECT.  VI. 

town,  and  with  their  gaudy  white  domes  and  porticos,  contrast 
offensively  with  the  mellow  colouring  and  chaste  proportions 
of  the  ancient  structures.  If  the  present  taste  continues,  there 
will  soon  be  nothing  remaining  of  the  reverend  antique  town 
but  the  ruins  of  its  magnificent  cathedral." 

Elgin  possesses  a  good  museum,  chiefly  illustrative  of  the 
geology  of  the  district,  and  from  this  town  have  emerged  many 
learned  scholars  and  most  able  men,  in  all  departments  of  the 
state.  No  province  in  the  kingdom  has  been  better  illustrated 
than  Moray  by  local  historians  and  antiquaries — the  foundation 
materials  being  the  cathedral  records  which  were  published  in 
1837,  under  the  eye  of  the  Bannatyne  Club,  by  the  late  and 
present  Dukes  of  Sutherland ;  and  the  most  interesting  of  which 
consists  of  transcripts  of  the  more  ancient  documents,  collected 
under  papal  authority  immediately  after  the  burnings  by  the 
Wolf  of  Badenoch  and  Alexander  of  the  Isles.  The  History  of 
the  Province  of  Moray,  by  the  Rev.  L.  Shaw,  one  of  the  minis- 
ters of  Elgin  of  the  last  century,  is  a  most  valuable  work  ;  and 
while  all  the  recent  agricultural  and  other  improvements  have 
been  chronicled  in  the  new  Statistical  Accounts  of  the  different 
parishes,  and  the  scenery  and  antiquities  by  Sir  Thomas  I>ick 
Lauder,  the  Flora  of  the  province  have  been  separately  illustrat- 
ed by  one  of  the  clergymen,  the  Rev.  George  Gordon  of  Birnie, 
and  the  geology  by  P.  Duff,  Esq.,  a  professional  gentleman  in 
the  town,  and  by  Alexander  Robertson,  Esq.,  a  native  of  it.* 

*  Instead  of  the  summary  of  the  Geology  of  Moray,  contained  in  the  last  edition 
of  this  work,  we  have  now  the  pleasure  or  submitting  to  our  readers  the  following 
synopsis  or  index  of  the  subject,  with  which  we  have  been  favoured  by  Alexander 
liobertson,  Esq.,  and  which  is  the  result  of  original  observations  carried  on  for  many 
years.  It  illustrates  the  geology  of  the  whole  basin  of  the  Moray  Firth,  and  may  be 
referred  to  by  the  geologist  in  Orkney. 

Ventose  accumulations  of  sand,  or  dunes,  are  largely  developed  at  Culbin,  to  the 
west  of  the  bay  of  Findhorn,  where  they  have  buried  an  extensive  area  of  what  was 
once  the  most  fertile  cultivated  land  in  the  county,  and  attain  a  height  of  113  feet 
above  low-water  mark.  Similar  deposits,  though  on  a  less  conspicuous  scale,  are 
found  all  along  the  seaward  zone  of  the  district,  the  sand  in  some  cases,  as  at  Inve- 
rugie,  alternating  with  seams  of  vegetable  soil 

All  the  different  kinds  of  peat  (with  the  exception  perhaps  of  the  maritime  spe- 
cies) are  met  with  in  Moravsliirc.  The  slopes  of  the  upper  hills  are  covered  with 
mountain  peat,  while  their  flats  and  hollows  are  occupied  by  the  marsh  and  forest 
varieties.  In  some  elevated  and  exposed  mosses,  as  those  on  'the  Brown  Moor,  which 
are  from  600  to  1100  feet  above  the  sea,  the  stools  and  trunks  of  oak  and  other  trees 
are  found  of  a  size,  which  the  climate  now  existing  at  such  heights  in  this  district  does 
not  admit  of.  The  stools  of  the  oaks  are  sometimes  more  than  three  feet  in  diameter, 
and  the  breadth  of  their  annual  rings  testifies  to  a  rapid  growth  having  taken  place. 
In  the  lower  region,  accumulations  of  forest,  lake,  and  marsh  peat  are  of  frequent  oc- 
currence, but  they  are,  for  the  most  part,  now  cultivated.  In  general  they  exlu'bit 
little  that  is  noticeable.  In  autumn  of  1849,  however,  the  horn  cores  and  part  of  the 
frontal  bone  of  a  large  Bos  priuigenius  (Boj.j,  together  with  the  shed  horn  of  a  stag, 


ROUTE  III.  CASTLE  OF  SPYNIE.  345 

20.  In  the  vicinity  of  Elgin,  the  castle  of  Spynie,  the  old 
residence  of  the  bishops  of  Moray,  and  the  abbey  of  Pluscardine, 
are  objects  highly  worthy  of  the  traveller's  attention  ;  our  limits, 
however,  prevent  us  from  attempting  a  description  of  them. 
We  will  advert,  however,  to 

were  found  in  cutting  a  drain  at  "Westfield.  These  specimens  are  now  in  the  Elgin 
Museum.  A  little  to  the  west  of  Burgh-head  there  is  a  submarine  forest,  which  must, 
from  the  circumstance  of  trees  being  occasionally  dragged  up  by  the  anchors  of  ships 
riding  in  the  bay,  extend  for  a  considerable  distance  beneath  the  sea.  Part  of  it  is 
exposed  at  low  water.  It  is  a  combination  of  forest,  lake,  and  marsh  peat,  and  is  full 
of  cavities  containing  dead  shells  of  Pholas  Candida,  P.  crispata,  and  Venempis 
perforans. 

Shell  marl  occurs  in  some  places,  as  in  the  old  bed  of  the  Loch  of  Spvnie  and  at 
Inverlochty,  associated  with  lake  peat.  Rock  marl  is  found,  under  similar  circum- 
stances, at  Newton. 

Clay  of  a  dirty  white  colour  appears  below  marsh  and  lake  peat  in  Mosstowie,  and 
brownish  and  bluish  clays  are  generally  found  thus  accompanied,  as  at  West  Calcotts 
and  Spynie. 

The  fiuviatile  deposits  of  the  district  consist  of  shingle,  gravel,  and  coarse  sand, 
and  of  fine  sand  and  loam.  The  coarser  accumulations  are  chiefly  to  he  found  for 
some  distance  below  the  gorges  through  which  the  rivers  pass,  as  on  the  Lossie  and 
Shoggle  in  the  parish  of  Birnie,  and  on  the  Spey  about  Craigelachie.  A  considerable 
extent  of  the  flat  and  fertile  lands  which  lie  along  the  rivers  consists  of  loam.  It  is 
distinctly  laminated,  and  sometimes  several  feet  in  depth,  with  partings  of  fine  sand. 
The  colour  is  generally  brown,  as  at  Invererne,  near  the  Findhorn,  Haughland  on  the 
Lossie,  and  Dandaleith  on  the  Spey.  Lower  down  on  the  last  mentioned  river,  after 
the  stream  has  passed  through  the"  deep  red  sandstones  and  conglomerates  there  pre- 
valent, the  loam  changes  to  the  hue  mentioned,  as  at  Dipple.  Ko  organic  remains  are 


found  in  the  fluviatile  loam  ;  but,  from  the  physical  configuration  of  the  country  covered 
by  it,  it  has  evidently  been  deposited  in  lakes  and  estuaries  now  obliterated.  The 
character  of  the  mass  precisely  resembles  that  of  the  modern  detritus  brought  down 


by  the  rivers  when  in  flood. 

Where  the  coast  is  not  rocky,  as  is  the  case  from  the  western  extremity  of  the 
county  to  Burgh-head,  between  Craighead  and  Stotfield,  and  from  Lossiemouth  to  the 
Spey,  the  present  beach  is  bounded  by  a  series  of  ridges,  externally  of  shingle,  but 
shewing  rudely  saddle-shaped  alternations  of  gravel  and  shingle,  when  a  transverse 
section  is  made.  The  ridges  vary  in  size,  and  the  distances  between  them  are  un- 
equal. The  breadth  to  which  they  extend  inland  is  sometimes,  as  near  Inchbroom, 
a  mile  and  a  half,  and  their  number  is  occasionally  from  twenty  to  twenty-five,  as  near 
the  Black  Hill  of  Spey.  They  are,  in  general,  nearly  parallel  with  the  existing  coast 
line  ;  but  at  Culbin  and  at  Speyslaw  they  are  so  contorted  as,  in  some  places,  to  run 
at  right  angles  to  it.  The  same  occurs  near  Inchbroom;  but  here  the  phenomenon 
has  clearly  been  produced  by  the  interference  of  the  ancient  estuary  of  the  Lossie, 
and  similar  agency  was  probably  at  work  in  the  other  cases  :  in  that  of  Speyslaw  this 
hypothesis  agrees  both  with  etymology  and  tradition.  The  ridges  are  due  to  the  pil- 
ing action  of  waves  during  storms.  Srom  their  mode  of  distribution  they  may  be  re- 
garded as  rings  of  growth,  shewing  the  intermittent  nature  of  the  elevation  of  the 
land.  To  the  east  of  Hopeman  Lodge,  and  on  a  terrace  about  half  a  mile  west  of 
Craighead,  similar  series  of  ridges,  though  on  a  smaller  scale,  are  found  about  forty 
feet  above  the  present  high-water  mark. 

Caves,  as  at  Covcsea,  occur  in  the  precipitous  cliffs  along  the  coast.  Although 
due  to  the  action  of  waves,  they  are  at  present  generally  far  removed  beyond  the 
abrasive  influence  of  the  ocean.  Some  isolated  rock  pillars,  as  the  Gu's  (i.  e.  gull's) 
castle,  near  Covesea,  appear  on  the  beach  below  the  cliffs,  their  bases  only  being  now 
washed  at  high  water. 

From  ten  to  twenty  feet  above  high-water  mark  there  are  beds  of  rubbed  and  com- 
minuted shells  of  existing  species,  as  to  the  west  of  Hopeman,  and  close  to  the  inn  at 
Branderburgh.  Some  years  ago  a  waterworn  fissure  was  discovered  in  a  sandstone 
quarry  at  Hopeman.  The  lower  part  of  the  cavity  contained  deposits  of  sand,  shingle, 
and  fragmented  shells.  At  some  points  these  reached  to  within  four  inches  of  the 
ledge  which  projected  from  one  side,  and  formed  a  sort  of  roof  to  the  fissure.  Above 


346  BURGH-HEAD.  SECT.  VI. 

21.  Burgh-head,  a  seaport,  about  nine  miles  distant  from 
Elgin,  and  ten  from  Forres.  The  rocky  promontory  on  which 
the  town  or  village  is  built  projects  into  the  firth,  from  the 
general  line  of  the  coast,  in  a  north-westerly  direction,  to  the 
extent  of  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile.  This  promontory 

them  lay  a  quantity  of  bones  of  quadrupeds,  birds,  and  fishes,  shells  of  Littomia  lit- 
torca,  Patella  vulgata,  and  Helix  hortensis,  pieces  of  charcoal,  burnt  stones,  and  a 
Hint  arrow-head.  These  relics  were  imbedded  in  a  brown  and  fetid  sand,  both  the 
colour  and  odour  of  which  were  due  to  the  decomposition  of  animal  matter.  Among 
the  bones,  Professor  M'Gillivray  distinguished  those  of  the  beaver  and  crane.  The 
others  belonged  to  the  ox,  red  deer,  &c.,  and,  with  the  remaining  exuviae,  were  pre- 
cisely similar  to  those  usually  found,  as  at  Culbin,  around  the  residences  of  the  an- 
cient inhabitants  of  the  country.  In  the  interval  between  the  deposition  of  these 
remains  and  the  quarrving  operations  which  led  to  their  disiuterment,  the  upper  open- 
ing of  the  fissure  had  been  partially  overgrown  by  vegetation,  and  then  covered  with 
blown  sand.  The  cavity  was  simply  a  convenient  receptacle  for  the  rejectamenta  of 
a  carnivorous  people,  and,  but  for  the  occurrence  of  remains  of  the  beaver  and  crane, 
both  of  which  are  now  extinct  in  Britain,  its  investigation  belongs  rather  to  the  do- 
main of  the  antiquary  than  the  geologist. 

In  many  parts  of  the  old  bed  of  the  Loch  of  Spynie  there  is  a  stratum  of  sea  shells, 
under  a  foot  or  two  of  sand.  The  shells  are  Littorina  littorea,  Nerita  littoralis,  Os- 
trea  edulis,  Mytilus  edulis,  Lutraria  compressa,  Carduim  edule,  Tellina  solidula,  &c. 
In  some  places,  as  near  the  Watery  Mains  road,  opposite  Findrossie  and  Duffus  Castle, 
the  shell  bed  reposes  on  lake  peat  and  shell  marl,  the  latter  containing  Lvmneus 
periger,  Plunorbis  vortex,  P.  contortus,  Pisiduim  pulchellum,  &c.  Below  this  there 
is  marine  sand.  The  phenomena  prove  that,  after  the  area  had  been  occupied  by  a 
fresh  water  lake,  it  was  again  covered  by  the  ocean. 

Sand,  gravel,  and  shingle,  with  occasional  layers  of  sandy  loam,  all  more  or  less 
regularly  stratified,  are  very  generally  distributed  tliroughout  the  lower  part  of  the 
district.  These  beds  are  found  at  all  elevations,  from  the  present  beach  line  to  the 
height  of  259  feet,  as  at  Cluny  hill  near  Forres.  The  superficial  character  of  the  strata 
is  seldom  level,  in  general  undulating.  Sometimes  they  appear  as  flat-topped  hills, 
and  bare  flat  hills ;  and  at  other  places,  as  in  the  woods  east  of  Lochnabo,  irregular  hol- 
lows have  been  worn  into  them  by  denudation,  producing  groups  of  confusedly  ar- 
ranged hillocks.  Erratics  of  various  sizes,  consisting  of  crystalline  and  conglomerate 
rocks,  are  strewn  over  the  surface  of  these  strata  in  some  localities,  as  the  low  grounds 
eastward  of  the  Loch  of  Spynie,  and  in  the  woods  of  Urquhart.  These  blocks  have, 
certainly,  been  transported  by  icebergs.  No  fossils  have  been  found,  owing  doubtless 
to  the  porosity  of  the  masses  which  are,  however,  unquestionably  of  marine  origin. 

Clays  of  various  kinds,  belonging  to  the  same  period  as  these  arenacious  strata, 
are  found  in  some  places.  At  Rosehaugh  and  Shempston  the  clay  is  red,  and  attains 
a  height  of  thirty  to  forty  feet  above  the  bottom  of  the  valley.  Below  the  old  bed  of 
the  Loch  of  Spynie  a  gray  clay  occurs  at  Lochside,  and  the  same  deposit  appears  at 
Ardivot,  the  top  of  it  being  here  about  ten  feet  above  the  present  surface  ol  the  lake. 
Some  bones  of  a  red  deer  were  found  in  the  clay  at  Locnside.  All  these  beds  are 
superior  to  the  boulder  formation ;  but  the  relative  ages  of  the  different  members  of 
the  series  have  not  been  satisfactorily  determined.  There  are  grounds  for  believing 
that,  since  the  glacial  period,  the  land  has  thrice  suffered  subsidence  and  elevation. 

The  boulder  formation  is  well  seen  in  Morayshire.  It  consists  of  a  red  loam,  con- 
taining more  or  less  rounded  and  striated  masses  of  a  great  variety  of  rocks.  The 
rocks  on  which  it  rests  are  grooved  and  scratched  in  a  direction  generally  within  a 
few  degrees  of  north-west  by  west,  and  south-east  by  south ;  but,  more  rarely,  as  at 
Spynie  and  Linkslield,  the  markings  ran  between  north  by  east  and  north-north-east, 
to  south,  by  west  and  south-south-west.  The  loam  covers  the  slopes  of  the  hills  in 
the  lower  district,  especially  on  their  northern  and  western  aspects,  where,  from  the 
strata  dipping  in  that  direction,  they  are  in  general  less  abrupt  than  on  their  oppo- 
site faces,  formerly  it  must  have  extended  over  the  tops  of  tbese  hills,  as  traces  of 
it  are  to  be  found  near  their  highest  points,  and  scratched  surfaces  occur  on  the  sum- 
mit of  Quarrywood  Hill,  and  are  strikingly  developed  on  the  Moor  of  Garden.  On  the 
Brown  Moor,  1100  feet  above  the  sea,  the 'thickness  of  the  deposit  is  still  considerable. 
The  loam  is  seen  to  pass  under  the  stratified  sand  and  gravel  which  mantle  the  infe- 


ROUTE  III.  BURGH-HEAD.  347 

rises  from  the  neck  uniting  it  to  the  mainland,  at  first  with  a 
gentle  inclination,  to  within  400  feet  or  so  of  its  termination. 
Of  the  remaining  extent,  which  narrows  towards  the  extremity, 
and  ends  in  a  perpendicular  front  towards  the  sea,  the  south- 
western half  is  a  level  space,  of  an  average  width  of  250  feet, 

rior  parts  of  the  slopes,  and  it  is  often  reached,  at  the  depth  of  a  few  feet,  on  pene- 
trating thft  superficial  beds  spread  over  the  bottoms  of  the  valleys,  as  in  digging  for 
the  purpose  of  founding  houses  at  Elgin.  In  the  western  and  southern  parts  ot  the 
district,  the  masses  included  in  the  loam  are,  chiefly,  crystalline  rocks,  identical  in 
composition  with  those  which  occur  in  situ  in  the  Wyvis  group,  and  old  red  conglo- 
merates agreeing  with  those  of  the  lower  region  of  eastern  Ross-shire.  A  small  ammo- 
nites duplex  (Low)  inclosed  in  a  matrix,  corresponding  with  that  of  specimens  from 
Shandwick,  near  Cromarty,  was  found  in  the  boulder  loam  at  Inverugie,  nearly  a  mile 
from  the  sea,  and  200  feet  above  it ;  and,  in  another  part  of  the  deposit,  a  slab  with 
the  peculiar  fucoids  of  the  lower  old  red  sandstone,  its  mineral  character  being  the 
same  as  that  of  strata  at  Navity,  to  the  south  of  Cromarty,  which  yield  the  same  spe- 
cies, was  met  with  at  Windberg,  at  an  elevation  of  600  feet  above  the  sea,  and  about 
ten  miles  inland.  Towards  the  interior,  masses  of  the  sandstones  and  conglomerates, 
which  form  the  hills  of  the  lower  district  of  Morayshire,  are  mingled  with  the  farther 
travelled  rocks  already  mentioned.  Thus  the  conglomerates  of  the  moors  of  Alves 
and  Carden  are  found  on  the  Brown  Moor  and  Tiendland,  having  traversed  the  inter- 
vening valleys,  and  ascended  the  slopes  which  lead  to  their  present  situation.  The 
boulders  in  the  loam  of  the  northern  and  eastern  portions  of  the  county  are  probably 
derived  from  the  north-east  of  Ross  and  the  south  of  Sutherland  shires,  but  their  ori- 
gin has  not  as  yet  been  clearly  traced. 

The  theory  of  floating  ice  is  quite  inadequate  to  account  for  the  phenomena  asso- 
ciated with  the  boulder  loam  of  Morayshire.  Its  distribution  is  unequivocally  due  to 
glaciers,  one  of  which  must  have  come  from  Ben  Wyvis. 

At  Inverugie  lime-quarry,  the  surface  of  the  limestone  is  striated  and  covered 
with  boulder  loam.  Above  this  there  is  a  thin  stratum  of  sand  and  gravel,  which  is 
succeeded  by  several  beds  identical  in  composition  and  structure  with  the  boulder 
loam,  but  separated  from  each  other  by  arenaceous  and  gravelly  seams.  These  beds 
of  loam  are  doubtless  droppings  from  icebergs,  deposited  during  that  subsidence  of 
the  land  which  ultimately  put  an  end  to  the  glacial  period. 

Between  the  Wealden  beds  at  Linksfield,  and  the  subjacent  "  old  red"  limestone, 
a  mass  of  boulder  loam  is  intercalated.  The  surface  of  the  limestone  is  scratched 
and  polished,  and  the  thickness  of  the  loam  varies  from  an  inch  or  two  to  about  five 
feet.  Besides  the  usual  boulders,  the  loam  contains  nearly  angular  fragments  of 
both  the  subjacent  limestone,  the  overlying  Wealden  beds,  and  sometimes  includes 
considerable  seams  of  the  clays  and  limestones  of  the  latter.  The  Wealden  beds  have 
suffered  considerable  disturbance,  and  are  irregularly  curved.  In  explanation  of 
these  appearances,  it  is  supposed  that  the  terminal  portion  of  a  vast  glacier,  in  the 
course  of  its  resistless  march,  inserted  itself  between  the  surface  of  the  underlying 
limestone  and  the  yielding  beds  of  the  Wealden,  scratching  the  former,  elevating  the 
latter,  and  introducing  a  mass  of  subglacial  detritus  (the  boulder  loam)  beneath 
them.  On  the  melting  of  the  ice,  the  Wealden  beds  would  fall  down  in  flexures,  force 
the  plastic  loam  to  accommodate  itself  to  their  sinuosities,  and  finally  rest  upon  it,  as 
they  actually  do.  It  may  be  mentioned,  that  M.  Agassiz  gives  his  sanction  to  this 
hypothesis. 

None  of  the  systems  between  the  Pleistocene  strata  and  the  Oolitic  series  are  re- 
presented in  Morayshire,  nor  is  it  certain  that  any  of  the  oceanic  members  of  the  lat- 
ter occur  absolutely  in  situ.  Detached  blocks  belonging  to  several  of  the  divisions 
from  the  superior  Oolite  to  the  Oxford  clay,  both  inclusive,  are  found  in  the  boulder 
loam,  as  well  as  in  the  overlying  stratified  deposits ;  and  in  some  places,  as  near 
Lhanbryde,  they  are  associated  with  a  sandy-gray  clay.  Their  angles  are  in  general 
but  slightly  rounded,  and  they  are  very  abundant  in  certain  localities,  from  which  cir- 
cumstances, it  may  be  inferred  that  their  parent  sites  are  not  far  distant  from  the 
spots  where  they  now  rest.  The  fossils  which  have  been  extracted  from  these  masses 
include  many  new  shells,  Hybodus  uudulatus  (Ag.)  (erroneously  stated  in  Poiss.  Foss. 
to  be  from  Linksfield),  and  an  undescribed  tooth  of  another  species  of  the  same  genus. 

At  Linksfield,  near  Elgin,  Wealden  beds  are  found ;  but  as  none  of  the  oceanic 


348  BURGH-HEAD.  SECT.  VI. 

and  80  feet  above  the  water;  while  the  rest  of  the  ground 
attains  a  somewhat  higher  elevation.  Where  the  declivity 
commences,  three  parallel  ramparts  15  and  20  feet  high,  with 
intervening  ditches  16  feet  wide  (considerable  portions  of  both 
of  which  still  exist),  were  carried  quite  across  the  promontory. 

Oolitic  beds  are  associated  with  them,  it  is  impossible  to  determine  their  position  in 
the  series.  They  consist  of  green,  gray,  and  black  clays,  gray  limestones,  varying  in 
shade  from  a  dirty  white  to  almost  black,  and  in  texture  from  compact  to  crystalline, 
shale,  and  calcareous  grit  in  nodules  and  concretional  masses.  The  fossils  of'the  grits 
are  bones,  scales,  and  teeth  of  fishes,  and  teeth  of  Plesiosaurus ;  some  of  the  upper 
pale-coloured  limestones  abound  in  shells,  with  occasional  remains  of  fishes;  the 
gray  shale  is  full  of  the  cases  of  Cypris,  and  also  contains  icthyic  relics ;  while  the 
under  surface,  of  a  blackish  limestone,  ten  or  twelve  feet  from  the  bottom  of  the  se- 
ries— itself  almost  a  mass  of  bivalves,  and  resting  on  dark-coloured  clay — has  yielded 
most  of  the  larger  specimens  of  vertebrata  hitherto  discovered.  The  total  thickness 
of  these  strata  is  about  thirty-five  feet.  They  are  found,  though  much  less  developed, 
in  other  places  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Elgin ;  and  that  their  former  extension  must 
have  greatly  exceeded  their  present  limits,  is  proved  by  the  occurrence  of  detached 
masses  of  the  stony  beds,  in  the  superficial  detritus  of  localities  several  miles  apart. 
The  remains  obtained  from  these  strata  are,  a  femur  of  a  species  of  Trionyx,  (Prof. 
Owen,)  vertebra  of  Plesiosaurus  subconcavus  oro,  and  teeth  of  Plesiosaurus ;  scales 
of  species  of  Semionotus,  Lepidotus,  Pholidophorus,  and  Euguathus  (?) ;  teeth  of  Hy- 
bodus  Lawsoni,  Duff,  and  II.  dubius  Agass.,  and  of  Sphenonehus  Martini,  Ag.,  and  ' 
an  Acrodus ;  spines  of  Hybodus.  The  shells  are  of  the  genera  Melanopsis,  Paludina 
and  Planorbis,  Ostrea  Avicula,  Modiola,  Mytilus,  Astarte,  Unio,  and  Cyclas.  There 
are  also  valves  of  Cypris,  fragments  of  carbonized  wood,  and  two  or  three  species  of 
ferns. 

Morayshire  contains  neither  Triassic,  Permian,  nor  carboniferous  rocks ;  but  those 
of  the  Old  Red  Sandstone  system  are  well  displayed,  and  several  of  the  strata  abound 
in  icthyic  remains,  although  as  yet  no  trace  of  Mollusca  or  Crustacea  has  been  dis- 
covered. As  is  generally  the  case  with  this  series,  the  classification  of  its  members, 
from  their  included  fossils,  does  not  correspond  with  that  of  any  other  district. 
Many  of  the  beds  are  unfossiliferous,  so  that  a  rigid  definition  of  the  limits  of  the  divi- 
sions is  impracticable.  The  uppermost  of  these  consists  of  gray,  yellow,  and  red 
sandstones  and  conglomerates,  both  fine  and  coarse,  associated  in  some  places  with 
chocolate-coloured  shale ;  there  are  also  occasional  deposits  of  more  or  less  siliceous 
limestone.  The  ridges  of  Stotfield,  Covesea,  Inverugie,  and  Roseille,  belong  to  this 
division.  Its  thickness  is  considerable,  but  notwithstanding  diligent  search,  it  has 
only  produced  a  single  fossil,  the  Stragonolepis  Robertsoni  Ag.  found  at  Stotfield  by 
Mr.  Duff.  The  second  division  is  composed  of  sandstones  and  siliceous  conglome- 
rates of  various  hues,  and  sometimes  containing  calcareous  matter ;  seams  of  choco- 
late-coloured shale  and  fuller's  earth ;  limestones  like  those  above  them ;  and  at  Cot- 
hall,  on  the  Findhorn,  above  the  limestone,  a  green  clay  with  calcareous  nodules. 
The  strata  of  Quarrywood,  and  the  moors  of  Garden  and  Alves,  of  the  magnificent 
section  on  the  Findhorn,  of  Scat  Craig,  and  of  the  Lossie  and  Shoggle  in  Birnie,  are 
included  in  tliis  division.  The  limestone  beds  are  unfossiliferous ;  but  the  other 
strata  generally  vield  either  osseous  relics  of  fishes,  or  the  impressions  of  them,  in 
greater  or  less'  abundance.  Prof.  Agassiz  has  figured  and  described  the  following 
icthjrolites  from  these  beds,  in  his  "  Monographic  des  Poissons  du  Vicux  Gres  Rouge, 
Ptericthys  major,  Holoptychius  Nobillissimus,  H.  giganteus,  Dendrodus  strigatus, 
1).  latus,  D.  sigmoideus,  I/amnodus  viporcatus,  L.  hastatus,  Cricodus  incurvus,  Aste- 
rolepis  Malcolmsoni,  Bothriolcpis  ornata,  B.  favosa,  Actinolepis  tubcrculata,  Placotho- 
rax  paradoxus,  and  Cosmacanthus  Malcolmsoni.  There  have  been  found,  besides 
these,  many  species  as  yet  unedited.  The  conglomerate  of  Scat  Craig  abounds  in 
fossils,  and  many  are  also  to  be  extracted  from  the  rocks  of  the  Findhorn.  Beauti- 
fully perfect  impressions  of  scales  and  osseous  plates  have  been  discovered  in  the 
Bishopmill  and  Hospital  quarries,  and  in  those  of  Garden  Moor.  The  lowest  division 
includes  red  and  gray  sandstones  and  conglomerates,  red  shales,  and  clay  with  calca- 
reous nodules,  all  resting  on  a  very  coarse  conglomerate  of  great  thickness.  These 
strata  are  found  on  the  Spey,  and  the  base  of  the  Brown  Moor  and  Tiendland  is  com- 
posed of  the  lowest  conglomerate.  At  Dipple,  near  Fochabere,  the  nodular  beds  occur 


ROUTE  III.  BURGH-HEAD.  349 

Ramparts,  on  some  sides  still  pretty  entire,  encompassed  both 
the  upper  and  lower  terminal  areas  within  these  breastworks. 
The  houses  of  the  modern  town  occupy  the  inclined  surface  in 
regular  lines  of  low-sized  buildings.  About  thirty  years  ago, 
there  was  discovered,  within  the  rampart  of  the  upper  area,  a 
very  interesting  memorial  of  the  mighty  people  whose  grasping 
ambition  led  them  to  tenant  even  this  remote  comer  of  the 
world,  and  whose  soldiery,  in  all  probability,  ceased  to  be  its 
occupants  less  than  a  couple  of  centuries  after  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Christian  era.  It  consists  of  a  cubical-shaped 
covered  chamber  (the  sides  of  which  measure  14  feet  each)  cut 
in  the  solid  rock,  and  having  in  the  centre  a  cistern,  4  feet 
deep,  and  10  feet  9  inches  square,  in  which  springs  up  a  fountain 
of  clear  fresh  water.  A  projecting  cornice,  one  foot  broad,  runs 

They  are  of  the  same  age  as  those  of  Tynat,  in  Banffshire,  and  Lethenbar,  in  Nairn- 
shire,  and  also  contain  remains  of  fishes ;  hut  the  fossils  are  both  fewer  in  species, 
and  much  less  perfect,  than  those  of  the  adjoining  counties  just  mentioned.  The  fishes 
are  of  the  genera  Coccosteus,  Asterolepis,  Glvptolepis,  and  Osteolepis.  No  Silurian 
rocks  have  been  discovered  in  Morayshire.  The  interior  of  the  county  is  composed  of 
Hyppgene  masses,  but,  so  far  as  thes'e  have  been  examined,  they  present  little  worthy  of 
special  notice.  Neither  Volcanic  nor  Trappian  rocks  have  heen  met  with,  hut  the  dip 
of  the  Old  Red  Sandstone  strata  (sometimes  as  much  as  twelve  to  fifteen  degrees) 
shews  that  powerful  subterraneous  forces  at  one  time  prevailed  in  the  district. 

The  "  Sketch  of  the  Geology  of  Morayshire,"  by  P.  Duff,  Esq.  of  Elgin,  published 
some  years  ago,  contains  much  information  on  the  subject  to  which  it  refers,  and  is 
beautifully  illustrated  by  engravings  of  the  unique  specimens  in  the  author's  cabinet. 
There  are,  besides  the  collection  referred  to,  that  of  the  Elgin  Museum,  and  several 
others,  belonging  to  Mr.  Martin,  Mr.  Robertson,  and  other  gentlemen  in  the  town 
and  its  vicinity,  all  of  which  are,  doubtless,  open  to  the  inspection  of  the  geological 
wanderer. 

According  to  Mr.  Duff,  the  following  is  the 

Descending  Series  in  Morayshire. 

1.  Purbreck  beds  of  the  Wealden,  a  branch  of  the  Oolite. 
Localities. — Linksfield,  Pitgaveny,  Spynie,  Waulkmill,  and  Maryhill. 

2.  Inferior  Oolite. 

Inverugie,  Duffus-house,  and  Lhanbryde. 

3.  Cprnstone 

Linksfield,  Inverugie,  Glassgreen,  Cothall. 

4.  Old  red  sandstone,  or  Devonian  System.^ 
(a.)  Yellow,  or  Uppermost  Division. 

Bishopmill  and  Quarrywood. 
(}.)  Gray  or  Middle  Division. 

Newton,  Moor  of  Alves,  Burgh-head,  Hopeman,  Covesea,  Lossiemouth, 

and  sections  of  the  Findhom  above  Cothall  to  Sluie. 
(c.)  Lowest,  or  Red  Division. 

Dipple,  Burn  of  Tynet,  Clunie,  Lethan  Bar  (fossiliferous),  and  Lossiemouth 

and  Laurencetown  (unfossiliferous.) 

JV. — At  Lethan  Bar  and  Clunie,  the  fossil  fish  occur  in  crvstalized  fibro-caleareous 
nodules  of  an  elliptical  form,  embedded  in  a  bituminous  shale,  which  is  there  the 
representative  of  the  great  calcareo-bituminous  schists  of  Caithness  and  Ross  shires. 
The  same  strata  are  prolonged  westward,  and  are  found  to  be  fossiliferous  in  the 
ridge  of  the  Leys,  in  Strathnairn,  and  behind  Inverness.  The  height  of  Covesea 
hill  is  288  feet ;  "of  Quarrywood  hill,  280  feet ;  Pluscardine  hill,  776  feet;  and  the  hill 
of  Dallas,  850  feet. 


350  ULTIMA  FTOROTON.  SECT.  VI. 

round  the  chamber,  about  6  feet  from  the  top  of  the  walls,  and 
at  one  of  its  angles  is  a  pedestal  for  a  statue.  The  communi- 
cation from  without  is  through  an  excavated  passage  on  one  side, 
and  a  flight  of  stone  steps  ascending  to  the  surface  of  the 
ground.  The  chamber  is  coated  with  plaster,  which,  though 
now  faded,  was,  when  first  opened,  of  a  deep  red  colour,  and  its 
angles  are  rounded.  No  Roman  coins  have  been  dug  up  here, 
but  on  some  shapeless  slabs  of  freestone  met  with  in  the  well, 
the  figure  of  a  bull  is  outlined  in  coarse  basso-relievo,  believed 
to  have  been  sculptured  by  the  Roman  soldiers. 

There  can  hardly  be  a  doubt  that  Burgh-head  is  the  Ultima 
Ptoroton  of  the  Romans,  mentioned  in  the  monk  Richard  of 
Cirencester's  curious  but  questionable  journal,  said  to  have 
been  written  A.D.  1338.  The  position  assigned  by  him  to  that 
station  is  the  mouth  of  the  Varar,  which  is  generally  admitted 
to  mean  the  river  Beauly,  one  branch  of  which  is  still  named 
the  Farrar  ;  and  there  are  reasons  for  thinking  that  this  river 
then  flowed  through  the  open  strath  on  which  the  sea  has  since 
encroached,  forming  the  Beauly  Firth,  and  that  the  dry  land 
at  that  time  extended  as  far  eastward  as  the  promontory  on 
which  Fort-George  stands  ;  so  that  Burgh-head  and  Tarbetness, 
opposite  to  it,  would  have  really  composed  the  points  of  the 
Varar  jEstuarium.  General  Roy  in  his  "  Military  Antiquities," 
and  Chalmers  in  his  "Caledonia,"  concur  in  opinion  that  Tuesis, 
a  name  made  use  of  in  connexion  with  Ptoroton,  was  a  station 
near  the  mouth  of  the  river  Spey,  probably  at  Bellie,  north  of 
Gordon  Castle,  where  there  are  still  the  vestiges  of  an  encamp- 
ment believed  to  be  Roman.  A  place  called  Varis  is  stated  as 
eight  miles  distant  from  Ptoroton.  The  name  and  the  distance 
correspond  with  those  of  Forres  (in  Gaelic  Far-Uisge,  pronounced 
Famish)  ;  above  which,  midway,  round  the  highest  of  the  Clunie 
Hills,  are  traces  of  an  encampment ;  while  at  the  Doune  Hill  of 
Relugas,  and,  we  believe,  some  others  also  of  the  neighbouring 
vitrified  forts  and  ancient  British  strongholds,  remains  of 
Roman  pottery  and  arms  have  been  found,  seemingly  indicating 
that  they  were  occupied  for  a  short  time  by  that  people. 
Towards  the  south,  between  Forres  and  Cromdale,  near  Grantown, 
on  the  Spey,  there  are  traces  for  several  miles  through  the  hills 
of  what  appears  to  have  been  a  Roman  road.  In  two  different 
routes  to  Ptoroton,  Tuesis  or  the  Spey  is  noticed,  and  on  one 
is  set  down  as  the  stage  next  to  that  place,  and  on  the  other  to 


ROUTE  III.  COVES  OF  CAUSSIE.  351 

Varis,  and  Varis  to  Ptoroton  :  Bellie  and  Cromdale  seem  exactly 
to  answer  this  description  of  the  situation  of  Ptoroton.  It  is 
easy,  however,  to  deceive  one's  self,  like  Monkbarns,  on  Anti- 
quarian matters  :  and  Mr.  Arrowsmith  has  shown  many  reasons 
for  our  being  suspicious  of  the  old  English  monk  and  all  the 
modern  illustrations  of  his  supposed  journey  to  Scotland.  We 
may  add,  however,  as  matter  of  fact,  that  some  years  ago  Burgh- 
head  was  known  among  the  country  people  of  this  district  by 
the  name  of  Torrietown.  The  Norwegian  Earls  of  Orkney, 
who  were  in  constant  warfare  with  the  Scottish  Earls  of  Suther- 
land and  Caithness,  and  the  pirates  from  Denmark  and  Norway 
who  infested  our  seas  for  nearly  four  centuries,  are  known  to 
have  found  at  Ptoroton  a  commodious  harbour  for  their  fleets, 
and  an  impregnable  fortress  ;  and  after  their  occupation  of  it 
the  place  acquired  its  modern  Norse  appellation  of  Burgh-head. 
All  our  historians  are  silent  as  to  the  length  of  time  during 
which  it  was  either  permanently  held  or  occasionally  resorted 
to  by  these  Northmen. 

About  two  miles  east  of  Burgh-head,  a  range  of  high  rocky 
cliffs  commences,  containing  a  series  of  caves,  and  presenting 
some  fine  cliff  scenery  :  they  are  called  the  Coves  of  Caussie, 
and  are  celebrated  as  the  resort  of  bands  of  tinkers  or  Scottish 
gipsies  ;  and  close  by  them  is  the  house  of  Gordonstown,  built 
by  the  last  Sir  Robert  of  that  old  family,  a  cadet  of  the  House 
of  Sutherland,  and  who,  from  his  morose  disposition,  and  retired 
scientific  habits,  was  believed  to  have  dealt  in  the  "Black  Art" 
of  Diablerie,  and  to  have  had  no  shadow  like  other  men.  Sir 
William  Gordon  Gumming  of  Altyre  and  Gordonstown,  now  en- 
joys this  estate  and  baronetcy. 

22.  We  now  resume  the  route  along  the  main  post  road.  A 
beautiful  drive  through  the  woods,  and  past  the  freestone  quar- 
ries, of  Quarrywood  (belonging  to  the  Fife  property),  and  be- 
hind the  Knock  of  Alves,  brings  us  (four  miles  from  Elgin)  at 
Newton  (Forteath)  upon  a  high  moorish  table  land,  along  which, 
with  a  few  slight  undulations,  the  road  continues  to  Forres — 
overlooking  the  plain  or  "  laigh  of  Moray,"  an  immense  stretch 
of  cultivated  land,  scarcely  elevated  above  the  present  sea-level, 
and  on  the  further  side  .of  which  a  continuous  ridge  extends 
westwards  from  the  Stotfield  lighthouse  to  the  hill  of  Roseille 
— at  right  angles,  to  which  the  bold  promontory  of  Burgh-head 
juts  out  into  the  ocean.  Along  with  the  next  western  seaport 


352  SWENO'S  STONE ABBEY  OF  KINLOSS.      SECT.  VI. 

of  Findhorn,  it  will  be  descried  as  dotted  over  with  clusters  of 
houses  and  shipping.  The  ridge  alluded  to  was  at  one  time  an 
insular  one,  and  was  likely  elevated  by  a  granitic  upheaval, 
which  has  burst  out  among  the  sandstones  at  Stotfield  in  the 
form  of  pure  white  and  highly  crystallized  quartz  rock,  with 
small  veins  and  nests  of  galena  or  lead  ore.  On  the  farther  side 
of  the  firth  the  mountain  ranges  of  Caithness,  Sutherland,  and 
Ross,  come  distinctly  into  view ;  while  more  to  the  west  the 
bluff  Sutors  of  Cromarty  in  the  foreground  lead  off  the  eye  to 
the  Cromarty  or  Dingwall  firth,  backed  by  the  huge  and  im- 
posing form  of  Ben  Wy vis,  and  the  more  elegantly-formed  peaks 
of  Strath  Conon.  The  proprietors  along  this  stage  are  chiefly 
the  Earl  of  Moray,  Campbell  Brodie  of  Lethan,  and  Grant 
Peterkin  of  Grange ;  and  the  places  of  most  interest  along  the 
road  side  are  the  village  of  the  Crook,  and  old  kirk  of  Alves  on 
the  right ;  the  Free  Church  of  the  same  parish,  with  the  old 
towers  of  Burgie  and  Blervie  on  the  left. 

23.  Half  a  mile  from  Forres  the  celebrated  carved  cross  or 
obelisk,  called  Sweno's  Stone,  stands  on  the  right  hand,  on  the 
margin  of  a  field  close  to  the  toll-bar,  whence  a  road  strikes  off 
to  Findhorn.     Since  the  days  of  Pennant  it  has  given  rise  to 
many  puzzling  questions  among  archaeologists.     It  is  about 
twenty  feet  high  above  ground,  and  is  carved  over  with  figures 
of  warriors,  both  on  foot  and  horseback  (some  of  them  also  de- 
capitated), and  with  birds  and  animals,  together  with  very  beau- 
tiful Runic  knots  and  circles,  cut  in  alto-relievo.     By  whom,  or 
for  what  purpose,  this  very  costly  pillar  was  erected,  are  ques- 
tions as  yet  undetermined,  and  on  which  our  limits  forbid  us  to 
enter ;  except  to  remark,  that  the  general  belief  is,  that  it  was 
erected  to  celebrate  the  final  expulsion  of  the  Danes,  in  the  reign 
of  Malcolm  II.,  from  this  coast ;  and  that  an  expression  in  a 
charter  of  the  neighbouring  lands  of  Burgie  by  Alexander  II., 
and  which  bears,  among  other  signatures,  that  of  Freskinus  de 
Moravia,  stating  that  the  grant  extended  "  a  magno  quercu  in 
Malvin  usque  ad  Rune  Pictorum"  is  supposed  as  possibly  re- 
ferring to  Sweno's  stone,  and  to  be  the  earliest  written  document 
which  mentions  it. 

24.  Two  miles  north  of  this  obelisk  are  the  ruins  of  the  once 
extensive  and  beautiful  Abbey  of  Kinloss,  founded  in  1150  by 
the  pious  King  David  I.     The  monks  were  Cistertians,  and 
amply  endowed ;  and  they  appear  to  have  been  excellent  gar- 


ROUTE  III.  FORRES.  353 

deners.  The  abbots  were  mitred,  and  had  a  seat  in  Parliament. 
In  1650,  the  Laird  of  Lethen,  the  then  proprietor,  with  Gothic- 
barbarity,  consented  to  the  destruction  of  this  stately  edifice, 
and  converted  it  into  a  quarry  for  the  erection  of  Cromwell's 
citadel  at  Inverness.  It  stood  on  a  slightly  elevated  plain,  bor- 
dering the  wide  embouchure,  or  bay,  into  which  the  river  Earn 
or  Findhorn  empties  itself  below  Forres,  and  from  which  its 
waters  are  again  ushered  through  a  narrow  passage  into  the 
open  sea  at  the  port  of  Findhorn. 

This  village  is  beset  with  great  sand-banks,  on  which  a  heavy 
surf  is  generally  beating,  and  as  these  bars  frequently  shift  their 
position,  the  navigation  is  not  pleasant.  Findhorn,  it  is  be- 
lieved, has  changed  its  site  more  than  once,  owing  to  the  en- 
croachments of  the  sands  which  have  been  drifted  along  from 
the  westwards. 

The  extensive  and  beautiful  estate  of  Culbin,  or  Coubin,  on 
the  west  side  of  the  estuary,  anciently  called  "  the  granary  of 
Moray,"  having  been  possessed,  from  the  earliest  times,  by  a 
wealthy  family  of  the  name  of  Kinnaird,  who  derived  their  des- 
cent from  Freskinus,  first  Lord  of  Moray,  and  whose  last  curious 
monument  (dated  in  1613)  still  exists  in  the  adjoining  church- 
yard of  Dyke,  was  swallowed  up,  about  two  centuries  ago,  by 
these  moving  sands,  which  rise  on  it  in  long  shelving  hillocks 
and  ridges  to  the  height  of  more  than  100  feet  above  the  sea. 

25.  Forres  probably  stands  on  the  site  of  the  ancient  Varris 
of  Ptolemy,  one  of  the  stages  between  Ptoroton  (Burgh-head), 
the  farthest  Roman  station  on  this  coast,  and  their  permanent 
encampments  in  Strathspey,  and  on  their  road  across  the  cen- 
tral chain  of  the  Grampian  mountains.  At  the  west  end  of  the 
town,  a  high  projecting  bank,  level  on  the  surface,  but  steep  on 
three  sides,  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  site  of  the  Roman 
camp ;  and  on  the  same  foundation  the  Castle  of  Forres,  a  strong- 
hold of  the  Earls  of  Moray,  and  frequently  dignified,  both  before 
and  during  their  sway,  by  the  presence  of  royalty,  was  subse- 
quently built.  A  small  part  of  the  walls,  and  the  lower  dun- 
geons of  this  structure,  still  remain.  Forres  was  the  seat  of 
the  Archdean  of  Moray,  but  it  was  never  rich  in  ecclesiastical 
buildings. 

The  modern  town  of  Forres  contains  at  present  about  3701) 
inhabitants,  and  is  situated  on  a  dry  and  beautiful  terraced 
bank,  sloping  gently  towards  the  south  and  north,  having  one 

Q2 


354  CLDNIE  HILLS — TARNAWAY  CASTLE.       SECT.  VI. 

main  street,  with  numerous  lanes  of  houses  diverging  from  its 
sides,  which  are  separated  from  one  another  by  old  and  produc- 
tive gardens.  Forres  commands  the  advantages  of  cheap  living, 
and  a  good  seminary  of  education,  a  large  parish  church,  a  free 
church,  one  or  two  dissenting  meeting-houses,  and  an  Episcopal 
chapel,  a  new  jail  and  court-house,  a  decorated  cross,  handsome 
assembly  rooms,  two  excellent  inns,  and  the  Forres  Gazette; 
and  its  neighbourhood  has  always  possessed  a  polite  and  kind 
gentry.  None  of  the  buildings  in  the  town  require  particular 
notice ;  but  the  traveller  will  not  fail  to  perceive  strong  indica- 
tions of  the  Flemish  origin  of  the  people  in  their  fair  features, 
broad  dialect,  and  in  the  old-fashioned  style  of  having  their 
houses  generally  erected  with  their  gables  towards  the  street, 
and  in  the  low  Saxon  archways,  conducting  to  their  inner  courts 
and  small  dark  shops. 

The  very  beautiful  undulating  range  of  the  Clunie  Hills, 
which  are  crowned  with  pine  woods,  and  encircled  with  nume- 
rous walks,  press  in  upon  the  town  towards  the  south.  On  the 
nearest  of  them  an  ancient  hill  fort  stood — the  first  link,  also, 
it  is  probable,  of  the  chain  of  signal-posts  which  extended  from 
the  sea  to  the  interior  of  the  country,  and  by  means  of  which 
the  approach  of  hostile  fleets  was  announced  in  ancient  times 
to  the  inhabitants  of  the  inland  glens.  In  its  room  a  high  tower 
has  been  erected,  to  commemorate  the  victory  of  Trafalgar  under 
Lord  Nelson ;  from  the  summit  of  which  a  most  extensive  view 
is  obtained  of  all  the  very  varied  lands  and  mountain  screens 
bordering  the  Moray  Firth. 

We  have  in  a  separate  chapter  (Route  n.  D.)  described  the 
scenery  about  Altyre  and  the  upper  parts  of  the  Findhorn,  and 
we  have  here  only  to  remind  the  tourist,  that  he  ought,  on  no 
account,  to  quit  Forres  without  examining  the  course  of  the 
stream  upwards  from  Findhorn  bridge,  by  Cothall,  the  Rarn- 
phlet,  and  Sluie,  to  Logic  and  Relugas,  and  thence  to  Farness, 
with  the  glen  of  the  Divie,  than  which,  a  finer  or  more  varied 
walk  does  not  exist  in  all  Scotland. 

26.  Crossing  now  the  Findhorn,  along  the  handsome  sus- 
pension bridge  latterly  erected  over  it,  the  road  skirts,  for  the 
first  two  miles  on  the  left,  the  lower  fringes  of  the  Tamaway 
oak  and  pine  forest  which  extends  for  many  miles  inland,  con- 
cealing from  view,  though  not  far  distant,  Tarnaway  Castle, 
the  northern  seat  of  the  Earl  of  Moray.  The  grounds  them- 


ROUTE  III.  TARNAWAY  CASTLE.  355 

selves  are  well  worthy  of  being  examined ;  but  the  castle  hall, 
an  apartment  90  feet  long  by  35  feet  broad,  is  inferior  to  none 
in  Scotland,  and  resembles  much  the  Parliament  House  of 
Edinburgh.  The  walls  rise  to  the  height  of  30  feet,  and  a 
carved  roof  of  solid  black  oak,  divided  by  large  knobs  and 
compartments,  forms  the  arched  ceiling.  A  suitable  fire-place 
that  would  roast  a  stalled  ox,  an  enormous  oaken  table,  and 
some  carved  chairs,  still  garnish  this  hall,  though  the  modern 
apartments  in  front  of  it  but  ill  correspond  with  its  Gothic 
character.  It  was  erected  as  a  hunting-lodge,  in  the  fourteenth 
century,  by  Randolph,  first  Earl  of  Moray,  the  friend  and  com- 
panion of  Robert  the  Bruce,  and  Regent  of  Scotland  during  the 
minority  of  David  II. ;  but  it  was  not  the  Earl's  chief  country 
residence,  as,  in  the  charter  of  erection  of  the  earldom,  the 
Castle  of  Elgin,  "manerium  de  Elgyn,"  is  appointed  "pro  capi- 
tali  mansione  comitatus  Moravite."  It  appears  also,  from  a 
charter  of  Robert  III.  to  Thomas  le  Graunt,  son  of  John  le 
Grant,  dated  in  1390  (Regist.  No.  22,  p.  473),  that  there  was  an 
older  royal  castle  of  Tarnaway,  which  was  previously  in  the 
keeping  of  the  Cumings,  and  afterwards  of  the  Grants  ;  and  in 
fact,  the  Cuming  family,  Earls  of  March,  seem  to  have  been 
introduced  from  Forfarshire,  as  the  great  instruments  for  ex- 
terminating, or  at  least  suppressing,  the  early  insurrections  of 
the  clan  Chattan,  who  were  thus  in  all  probability  the  aboriginal 
Celtic  inhabitants  of  Moray. 

27.  The  road  now  rapidly  passes  along  the  estate  of  Brodie 
of  Brodie,  an  old  and  respectable  family,  whose  castle  (modern- 
ized) lies  on  the  north  side  surrounded  with  fine  old  trees,  and 
the  hall  of  which  is  a  small  but  beautiful  specimen  of  its  sort, 
with  a  finely  carved  pendant  roof  of  oak.     The  adjoining  church- 
yard of  Dyke  contains  one  of  the  strange  old  sculptured  obelisks 
which  abound  in  this  district ;  and  immediately  to  the  eastward 
is  the  beautiful  little  property  and  mansion-house  of  Dalvey 
(Norman  M'Leod),  distinguished  in  the  north  for  its  flower 
gardens  and  conservatories,  and  which  fully  justify  the  eulogium 
of  old,  passed  by  George  Buchanan  on  the  amenity  and  produc- 
tiveness of  this  district. 

28.  About  a  mile  beyond  Brodie,  we  quit  Elgin  or  Moray 
shire  and  enter  on  the  parish  of  Auldearn  and  county  of  Nairn ; 
and,  ascending  a  little  eminence,  we  see  beneath,  on  the  north, 
an  extensive  plain,  stretching  eastwards  from  an  old  tower  (the 


356  MVCBETR'S  WITCHES — AULDEARN.       SECT.  vi. 

Castle  of  Inchok)  for  several  miles,  but  partially  cultivated, 
and  exhibiting  many  ugly  dark  pools  and  quagmires.  Until 
a  recent  period  the  whole  neighbourhood,  to  the  banks  of  the 
Findhorn,  was  bleak  and  heathery,  and  passed  under  the  name 
of  the  "  hard  moor."  Tradition  assigns  to  it  a  highly  classic 
interest,  as  being  the  "blasted  heath,"  on  which  Macbeth, 
according  to  Shakespere,  met  the  "weird  sisters  ;"  and  a  little 
hillock  planted  with  fir  trees,  immediately  north  of  the  toll-bar 
west  of  Brodie,  is  shown  as  the  precise  spot  at  which  they 
vanished  from  the  sight  of  the  ambitious  usurper. 

•  "Say  from  whence 


You  owe  this  strange  intelligence ':  or  why 

Upon  this  blasted  heath  you  stop  our  way 

With  such  prophetic  greeting?    Speak,  1  charge  you." 

Well  might  a  traveller,  in  the  olden  time,  here  anxiously 
inquire,  "  How  far  is't  call'd  to  Forres  V  The  thanedom  of 
Cawdor  is  made,  in  the  dialogue  between  Macbeth  and  Banquo, 
an  object  only  second  to  the  crown : 

"Macbeth. — Your  children  shall  be  kings, 
Banguo. — You  shall  be  king. 

Macbeth. — And  Thane  of  Cawdor,  too;  went  it  not  so? 
Banquo. — To  the  self  same  tune  and  words." 

After  all,  these  same  thanedoms  could  not  have  been  such 
objects  of  ambition  as  the  dramatist  and  popular  belief  make 
them ;  for,  from  the  undoubted  evidence  of  the  Registrum  Mo- 
raviense,  or  Chartulary  of  Elgin  Cathedral  (page  471-2),  it 
appears  that  there  were  at  least  four  of  them  between  Nairn 
and  Forres — namely,  Cawdor,  Moyness,  Brothyn,  now  Brodie,  and 
Dyke ;  and  an  opinion  is  gaining  ground  among  antiquaries, 
that  the  term  Thane  is  a  Saxon  translation  of  a  Celtic  office  of 
no  great  dignity  and  importance;  and  that  latterly,  at  least, 
the  landed  territory  belonging  to  such  was  partially  cultivated, 
and  was  not  always  held  of  the  crown,  or  even  of  a  subject- 
superior,  for  the  usual  return  of  personal  military  service. 

29.  Auldearn,  two  miles  farther  on,  a  village  of  considerable 
antiquity,  at  which  the  river  Nairn  seems  at  one  time  to  have 
emptied  itself  into  the  sea,  and  where  the  district  road  from 
Inverness  and  Cawdor  joins  the  post  road,  is  noted  as  the  scene 
of  a  most  sanguinary  battle  (in  1645)  between  the  celebrated 
.Marquis  of  Montrose,  the  King's  Lieut.-General  in  Scotland, 
and  the  Parliamentary  army,  commanded  by  the  experienced 


ROUTE  HI.         BATTLE  OF  AULDEARN.  357 

Hurry,  and  the  Earls  of  Sutherland  and  Seaforth,  who  were 
accompanied  by  the  flower  of  the  covenanting  clans,  and  the 
gentry  of  Moray  and  Aberdeen.  A  sketch  of  the  order  of  battle 
and  onset  is  subjoined.* 

In  the  burying-ground  of  Auldearn,  there  are  several  inte- 
resting covenanting  monuments,  and  also  some  of  the  Hays  of 
Lochloy  and  Moyness,  whose  Castle  of  Inchok  stands  a  ruin  a 
little  to  the  eastward.  It  was  in  apology  of  an  injury  done  to 

*  The  battle  of  Auldearn  was  fought  on  the  9th  May  1645.  Montrose  seems  to 
have  calculated  for  success  almost  entirely  on  generalship  and  artifice ;  and  he  made 
an  exquisitely  skilful  arrangement  of  his  troops.  The  ground  he  selected  was  a  sort 
of  hollow,  behind,  or  to  the  east  of  the  ridge  on  which  stands  the  village  of  Auldearn, 
and  behind  various  other  heights  which  stretch  northward  from  that  village,  towards 
the  house  of  Boath.  He  arranged  his  army  in  two  wings  or  divisions :  one,  consisting 
of  the  Gordons  and  the  horse,  he  placed  on  the  left,  to  the  south  of  the  village;  the 
other,  comprehending  the  Irish  and  Highlanders,  he  arranged  on  the  right,  amidst 
the  gardens  and  enclosed  fields  to  the  north  of  Auldearn.  The  former  he  commanded 
in  person,  with  Lord  Gordon  under  him ;  the  latter  was  given  in  charge  to  Alaster 
MacCol.  The  entire  village  intervening  betwixt  the  two  bodies  was  only  occupied  by 
a  few  foot,  who  however  displayed  a  number  of  banners,  and  passed  off  for  a  main 
body.  He  gave  the  charge  of  the  royal  standard — a  large  yellow  banner — to  MacCol, 
in  the  expectation  that  it  would  induce  the  enemy  to  attack  him  with  their  best  regi- 
ments ;  in  which  case,  as  they  were  sure  to  be  difficulted  in  charging,  he  calculated 
upon  deciding  the  day  by  attacking  their  flank  obliquely  with  his  left  wing  at  the 
moment  of  distress,  when  the  whole  were  almost  sure  of  being  thrown  into  irreme- 
diable confusion. 

The  battle  turned  out  almost  exactly  as  he  had  calculated.  Hurry,  the  covenant- 
ing general,  on  approaching  him  from  Tuairn  (with  an  army  of  3500  foot  and  600  horse, 
to  whom  Montrose  could  only  oppose  1500  foot  and  200  horse),  found  it  totally  impos- 
sible to  comprehend  the  arrangements  of  an  enemy  who  had  taken  up  so  mysterious 
a  position ;  but  was  induced,  by  the  sight  of  the  royal  standard  on  the  right  wing,  to 
direct  his  strength  chiefly  upon  that  point.  His  men  not  only  met  there  with  a  warm 
reception  from  MacCol,  but  presently  became  confused  by  reason  of  the  enclosures 
and  ditches  through  which  they  had  to  make  their  charge.  When  Montrose  saw  them 
in  that  condition,  he  brought  forward  the  left  wing,  which,  by  an  arrangement  similar 
to  that  of  Epaminondas  at  Leuctra,  was  much  the  strongest,  and  made  a  furious 
flank  attack  upon  the  great  mass  of  the  covenanting  enemy.  This  being  chiefly  com- 
posed of  raw  Highland  foot  from  Ross  and  Sutherland,  probably  averse  to  the  cause, 
was  quite  unable  to  withstand  the  charge  of  the  Gordon  chivalry,  led,  as  it  was,  by 
such  men  as  Montrose,  Lord  Gordon,  and  the  brave  Sir  Nathaniel.  Hurry  saw  the 
advantage  his  opponent  had  gained,  and  endeavoured  to  neutralise  it,  by  ordering  his 
whole  horse  to  the  support  of  the  wavering  lines  on  his  right ;  but  the  commanding 
officer,  a  Captain  Drummoud,  either  through  treachery  or  stupidity,  misapprehended 
the  order,  and,  wheeling  to  the  left  instead  of  the  right,  only  tlirew  the  disciplined 
regiments  who  were  contending  with  MacCol  into  greater  confusion. 

It  was  at  this  battle  that  this  Hebridian  ally  MacCol,  commonly  called  Macdonald 
Colkitto,  performed  most  signal  prodigies  of  valour  almost  single-handed.  With  the 
impetuosity  of  a  Highlander,  he  had  permitted  himself  to  be  drawn  beyond  the 
enclosures,  which  Montrose  had  assigned  to  him  to  defend,  by  the  insulting  language 
of  the  enemy,  and,  in  consequence,  he  was  nearly  surrounded  and  cut  to  pieces.  At 
one  time  he  received  several  successive  pikes  on  his  target;  but  by  his  amazing 
strength  of  arm  he  cut  off  the  heads  of  those  weapons,  sometimes  more  than  one  at 
a  time,  and  by  one  particular  stroke,  no  fewer  than  five,  breaking  his  own  sword. 
The  enemy's  foot  fought  most  bravely;  and  this  was  one  of  the  most  sanguinary 
battles  ever  fought  by  Highlanders,  there  having  been  no  less  than  3000  of  the 
Covenanters  slain  (of  whom,  it  is  said,  87  left  widows  in  the  lordship  of  Lovat  alone) ; 
while  Montrose  only  lost  24  men,  and  captured  16  standards  and  the  whole  baggage 
and  provisions  of  his  opponents,  whose  general  officers  had  great  difficulty  in  escaping 
to  Inverness. 


358  NAIRN.  SECT.  VI. 

this  family  in  a  cattle-lifting  raid  that  Cameron  of  Lochiel 
wrote  to  the  Laird  of  Grant  on  the  18th  October  164o,  that  his 
men  went  not  to  his  "  worship's  bounds,  lot  to  Morray  land 
q"  all  men  take  yair  prey,  nor  knew  not  y*  Moyness  was  ane 
Graunt,  but  thocht  yl  he  was  ane  Morray  man ;"  and  adding, 
in  reference  to  the  conflict  that  had  occurred  at  the  " lifting" 
"that  who  got  the  greatest  loss  be  refearrit  to  the  sight  of 
friends  that  luveth  us  both  alyke ;  for  their  is  such  a  truble 
heir  [Glenlocharkeg  in  Lochaber]  we  cannot  luke  to  the  samin 
for  the  present  time,  for  we  have  aught  men  dead  alreadie,  and 
twelve  or  thirteen  under  cure,  qlk  I  know  not  quho  shall  die  or 
quho  shall  live  !  " 

30.  Nairn  is  a  clean,  healthy,  little  town,  on  a  dry  airy  bank, 
rising  from  the  river  of  that  name,  near  its  embouchure  into 
the  sea ;    having,  on  a  lower  beach,  a  cluster  of  fishermen's 
houses,  called  the  sea-town.     It  is  a  royal  burgh,  uniting  with 
Forres,  Fortrose,  and  Inverness,  in  sending  a  representative  to 
Parliament ;  and,  anciently,  it  had  a  royal  castle,  of  which  the 
neighbouring  Barons,  Roses  of  Kilravock,  were  constables.     A 
jail  and  court-house,  a  large  and  comfortable  hotel,  three  banks, 
and  five  churches  (one  of  them  intended  for  an  Episcopal  con- 
gregation), a  good  academy,  a  free  church  school,  and  an  in- 
firmary, constitute  its  principal  public  buildings ;  while  in  the 
neighbourhood,  are  several  pretty  villas  and  numerous  well- 
stocked  gardens.     The  soil  is  early  and  kindly ;  and  from  the 
cheapness  of  living,  purity  of  the  air,  and  especially  from  its 
having  an  extensive  sandy  sea-beach,  Nairn  is,  in  summer,  a 
resort  of  many  strangers  for  sea-bathing.     A  most  comfortable 
set  of  warm  and  cold  salt-water  baths  have  been  fitted  up  on 
the  shore,  which  are  let  out  on  very  moderate  terms.     Recently 
the  harbour  has  been  greatly  enlarged,  and  a  long  jetty  thrown 
out,  so  as  to  give  safe  access  to  sailing  vessels  and  steamers, 
which  now  touch  at  Nairn  as  one  of  their  regular  calling  ports. 
It  was  of  this  town  that  the  facetious  King  James  VI.  was  wont 
to  boast  to  his  English  courtiers,  that  he  had  a  town  in  Scot- 
land "  sae  lang,  that  the  folk  at  the  tae  end  couldna  understand 
the  tongue  spoken  at  the  tother" — alluding  to  its  being  inha- 
bited by  Gaelic  Celts  at  the  west  end,  and  by  Broad  Scotch 
fishermen  at  the  opposite  extremity. 

31.  One  mile  west  from  Nairn  the  house  of  Balblair  (to  the 
left),  on  the  summit  of  a  lofty  terrace,  marks  the  spot  where  the 


ROUTE  III.  CAMPBELLTOWN.  359 

Duke  of  Cumberland's  army  lay  encamped  in  April,  1746,  prior 
to  their  marching  to  fight  the  decisive  battle  on  Culloden  or 
Drumossie  Moor.  It  overlooks  the  whole  route  by  which  the 
Highlanders  had  to  approach  in  their  meditated  night  attack  ; 
and  the  spot  may  be  seen  from  it  (about  two  miles  off),  where 
the  rebels  faced  about,  in  the  early  dawn,  on  perceiving,  by  the 
watch-fires  and  the  noise  of  the  kettle-drums,  that  their  enemy 
was  aware  of  their  advance,  and  could  not  be  taken  by  surprise. 
West  of  the  encampment  a  great  extent  of  dark  and  very  deep 
peat  mosses,  with  quagmires  and  ugly  lakes,  may  be  seen,  filling 
hollows  in  the  gravel  beds,  which  here  overspread  the  district. 
These  peat  hags  are  continued  almost  uninterruptedly  west- 
wards to  the  great  moss  of  Petty,  which  is  nearly  on  a  level 
with  the  sea,  and  seems  at  one  time  to  have  been  overflown 
by  it. 

32.  A  little  way  beyond  the  second  mile-stone  the  road  forks 
into  two,  the  branch  inclining  to  the  left  being  the  newest  and 
shortest  route  to  Inverness,  while  that  which  proceeds  direct  on 
to  the  right  (and  along  which  the  mail  coach  still  travels)  leads 
to  the  village  of  Campbelltown  and  the  garrison  of  Fort-George, 
described  below.* 

The  undulating  gravel  plain  we  are  now  passing,  is  in  itself 
quite  uninteresting,  except  that  in  summer  and  autumn  it  is 
rendered  beautiful  by  the  rich  yellow  blossoms  of  the  furze,  or 
whins  and  broom,  succeeded  by  the  crimson  of  the  heather  bell, 
and  that  cultivation  and  improvement  increase  as  we  get  west- 
wards. On  the  road  side,  towards  Fort-George,  a  few  upright 

*  The  village  of  Camplelltmcn  (eleven  miles  and  a-half  from  Inverness)  is  a  burgh 
of  barony  on  Earl  Cawdor's  property.  It  is  a  poor  place;  but  on  the  high  bank 
behind  the  town  there  are  the  mounds  of  an  ancient  British  hill  fort,  called  Crorual 
(by  some  supposed  to  have  been  a  station  of  Oliver  Cromwell's  troops),  which  com- 
mands a  most  extensive  view.  It  is  likewise  a  locality  of  several  rare  plants,  espe- 
cially the  beautiful  mountain  pink  (Dianthus  deltoides),  which  also  occurs  on  the 
Ross-shire  coast,  especially  near  Craigton,  at  Kessock. 

Fort-George  is  situated  on  the  point  of  Ardersier  (one  mile  from  Campbelltown), 
which  projects  far  out  into  the  sea,  and  appears  from  a  di»tance  as  if  united  to  the 
opposite  point  of  Chanonry  in  Ross.  It  is  an  irregular  polygon,  with  six  bastions, 
mounting  18  twenty-four,  25  eighteen,  22  twelve,  and  4  six  pounders,  and  4  thirteen- 
inch  mortars.  It  was  built  soon  after  the  rebellion  of  1745,  for  the  purpose  of  keeping 
the  Highlanders  in  subjection.  The  land  front  is  defended  by  a  ditcn,  covert  way,  ana 
glacis,  two  lunettes  and  a  ravelin,  mounting  8  twelve-pounders.  The  north  and  south 
curtains  are  casemated,  each  containing  27  bomb-proof  apartments,  fifty-two  feet 
long  by  twelve  feet  wide.  The  grand  magazine  is  bomb-proof,  and  will  hold  2474 
barrels  of  gunpowder.  The  staff  buildings  lie  towards  the  land  front,  and  are  occu- 
pied by  the  governor's,  lieutenant-governor's,  and  officers'  quarters:  the  artillery 
barracks  are  also  in  these  buildings.  At  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  garrison  there 
are  two  small  casemated  magazines,  fifty  feet  long  by  thirty-four  broad,  with  ammu- 
nition made  up  for  immediate  use.  The  barracks  are  constructed  for  a  governor, 


.".(JO  CASTLE  STEWART.  SECT.  VI. 

stones  of  memorial,  circles  of  stones,  and  circular  enclosures  of 
earth  (like  the  pond  barrows  of  England),  seem  to  indicate  the 
sites  of  ancient  encampments  and  battle-fields.  The  other  road 
is  fringed  by  the  fine  woods  of  Kilravock  and  Cawdor  (as  to 
"•/tick  see  Branch  A.  to  this  Route),  and  every  step  as  we  advance, 
the  hills  of  the  Highlands,  to  whose  capital  —  Inverness  —  we  are 
now  advancing,  seem  to  approach  us  in  increasing  beauty,  pre- 
senting in  close  detail  and  relief  their  garniture  of  trees,  and 
fields,  and  wide  heaths,  with  summits  of  every  variety  of  out- 
line. 

33.  Conspicuous  on  the  ridge  to  the  left  is  the  old  Castle  of 
Dalcross  (see  Branch  A.  Route  in.),  where  Cumberland's  troops 
were  put  in  battle  array  by  his  officers,  ere  entering  on  their 
last  tough  conflict  with  Prince  Charlie's  clans  on  the  same  ridge 
a  little  to  the  westward  ;  and  on  the  plain  of  Pettie  below, 
Castle  Stewart  (six  miles  from  Inverness)  comes  in  sight,  near 
the  junction  of  the  upper  road  with  the  old  military  one  from 
Fort-George,  and  on  the  line  of  the  latter. 

34.  Castle  Stewart,  a  residence  of  Lord  Moray,  is  worthy  of 
a  visit,  as  a  fine  example  of  the  castellated  mansion,  interme- 
diate between  the  baronial  keep  and  the  plain  modern  house. 
It  consists  of  a  large  high-roofed  building  of  several  storeys, 
the  lower  having  a  row  of  cells  or  dungeons  ;  the  upper  contain- 
ing the  great  hall  and  principal  apartments.     In  front  it  is  pro- 
tected by  two  projecting  square  towers  thrown  out  from  either 
extremity  ;  and  behind  it  is  fretted  with  a  variety  of  long-stalked 
chimneys,  hanging  bedchambers,  pointed  windows,  and  round 
pepper-box  turrets.    The  western  tower  is  the  largest  and  hand- 
somest, and  contained  the  principal  entrance-gate  and  main 
staircase.     It  appears  to  be  of  greater  antiquity  than  the  rest 

lieutenant-governor,  fort-major,  chaplain,  8  field-officers,  22  captains,  56  subalterns, 
and  2090  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates.  The  fort  is  also  provided  with  a 
chapel,  brewliousc,  bakehouse,  and  inn,  and  is  supplied  with  water  from  eight  punip- 
welfs.  At  the  north  and  west  angles  the  sea  has  thrown  up  large  gravel  Uiuiks,  hut 
on  the  east  it  has  rather  been  encroaching  too  near  the  foundation  of  the  walls;  "and 
like  all  other  promontories  opposed  to  the  sea,  this  one  must  necessarily,  though 
very  gradually,  give  way  on  one  side,  while  the  debris  will  be  deposited  in  a  bay  or 
hollow  on  the  other.  The  drawbridges  and  main  approach  form  an  elegant  and 
imposing  piece  of  workmanship,  and  tne  whole  of  the  masonry  lias  been  executed  in 
the  handsomest  and  firmest  manner.  Fort-George,  in  short,  is  considered  a  model  of 

for  it  is  thought 


ew  ocers  wo  are  oge     o  rese  n       urng        e  ppng    mes  o    peace      n 
exceedingly  dull  ;  and,  certainly,  had  their  comfort,  and  the  interests  of  the  Highlands 
in  general,  been  thought  of  at  the  tune  of  its  erection,  it  would  have  been  ouilt  at 
Inverness,  not  on  the  remote  cold  promontory  on  which  the  garrison  now  stands. 


ROUTE  HI.  CASTLE  STEWART.  361 

of  the  building ;  and  may,  perhaps,  be  part  of  the  older  castle 
of  Hallhill,  often  mentioned  in  the  annals  of  this  parish,  and 
which  for  some  time  was  possessed  by  the  Ogilvies  of  Findlater. 
It  was  burnt  in  the  year  1513.  Till  very  lately,  this  castle  was 
celebrated  for  its  orchard,  especially  for  its  geans,  a  small  kind 
of  cherry ;  and  the  forest  trees  round  the  park  were  among  the 
finest  in  the  country.  The  apartments  inside  had  become  dis- 
figured, the  rafters  were  carried  away,  and  the  slates  had  fallen 
from  the  roof,  and  the  whole  fabric  was  fast  crumbling  into 
ruin,  had  not  the  proprietor,  the  late  Earl  of  Moray,  seasonably 
interfered,  and  given  orders  for  restoring  the  structure  as  much 
as  possible  to  its  ancient  beauty.  The  precise  period  at  which 
this  castle  was  erected  is  disputed.  By  some  it  is  said  to  have 
been  a  favourite  residence  of  James  IV.,  and  to  have  been  built 
as  a  hunting-seat.  Others  assert  that  the  Eegent  Moray  was 
its  founder,  and  that  Queen  Mary  occasionally  paid  it  a  visit. 
Its  style  of  architecture  rather  belies  the  antiquity  assigned  to 
it ;  and  the  date  on  the  building  (1625)  tallies  with  the  only 
authentic  notice  we  can  find  of  it,  which  is  in  Sir  Robert  Gor- 
don's Earldom  of  Sutherland,  p.  391.  Speaking  of  a  dissension 
between  the  Earl  of  Moray  and  the  clan  Chattan,  the  historian 
says,  "  This  year  (1624)  they  goe  (the  clan  Chattan)  to  ane  hous 
which  he  (the  earl)  hath  now  of  late  built  in  Pettie,  called  Cas- 
tell  Stuart ;  they  dryve  away  his  servants  from  thence,  and  doe 
possess  themselves  of  all  the  Earl  of  Moray  his  rents  in  Pettie. 
Thus  they  intend  to  stand  out  against  him."  The  whole  dis- 
trict, however,  originally,  we  suspect,  belonged  to  the  clan  Chat- 
tan,  and  they  were  only  trying  to  regain  what  the  "bonnie" 
Earls  of  Moray  had  gradually  squeezed  from  them.  The  estate 
of  Culloden,  on  which  we  now  enter,  was  the  last  holding  on 
the  plain  of  Pettie  which  belonged  to  the  Mackintosh,  chief  of 
clan  Chattan,  and  it  was  parted  with  in  James  VI.'s  time  to  the 
founder  of  the  Culloden  family  (Duncan  Forbes,  provost  of  In- 
verness, and  an  advocate  at  the  Scottish  bar),  for  good  service 
done,  in  protecting  the  laird  at  court  against  the  oppressions  of 
the  Earls  of  Moray  and  Huntly.  Four  miles  from  Inverness 
is  seen  on  the  left  the  House  of  Culloden,  a  stately  mansion, 
in  the  style  of  the  English  palaces  of  last  century,  beauti- 
fully embosomed  in  woods ;  and  in  which,  besides  some  relics 
of  the  "  forty-five,"  there  is  a  good  collection  of  paintings — one, 


362  MOAT  HILLS — INVERNESS.  SECT.  VI. 

in  particular,  by  Titian,  the  "  Flight  into  Egypt,"  being  highly 
valued. 

Behind  Castle  Stewart  are  previously  seen,  on  the  right,  the 
church  and  manse  of  Pettie,  with  the  bay  of  that  name  beneath. 
On  the  bank  above  are  two  of  the  largest  tumuli,  called  Moat 
Hills,  in  this  country.  The  circumference  of  each  is  at  the  base 
150  feet,  at  the  top  120  ;  and  the  height  42  feet.  On  the  south 
side  of  the  bay  an  immense  stone,  weighing  at  least  eight  tons, 
which  marked  the  boundaries  between  the  estates  of  Moray  and 
Culloden,  was,  on  the  night  of  Saturday,  the  20th  February 
1799,  removed  and  carried  forward  into  the  sea  about  260  yards. 
Some  believe  that  nothing  short  of  an  earthquake  could  have 
moved  such  a  mass ;  but  it  is  more  probable  that  a  large  sheet 
of  ice,  which  had  collected  to  the  thickness  of  eighteen  inches 
round  the  stone,  had  been  raised  by  the  tide,  lifting  the  stone 
with  it,  and  that  their  motion  forward  was  aided  by  a  tremen- 
dous hurricane  which  blew  from  the  land.* 

35.  At  length  (when  three  and  a-half  miles  off)  the  smoke, 
with  the  houses  and  shipping,  of  Inverness — the  low  lying  High- 
land capital — come  into  view  across  a  reach  of  the  Moray  Firth, 
the  waters  of  which,  pressed  in  at  Kessock  Ferry  (which  sepa- 
rates Inverness  from  Ross-shire),  again  expand  and  fill  the 
inner  basin  of  Loch  Beauly,  the  huge  lengthened  bulk  of  Ben 
Wy  vis  looming  high  above  the  skirting  eminences.  The  oppos- 
ing shores  are  lined  with  terraced  gravel  banks,  on  which  are 
seen  numerous  cottages  and  farm-steads ;  and  the  prospect  on 
all  hands,  and  particularly  to  the  south-west,  along  the  course 
of  the  great  Caledonian  valley — the  foreground  intersected  by 
rich  belts  of  hardwood — and  westwards,  in  the  direction  of  the 
Lovat  country,  called  the  Aird,  and  Strath  Glass — ranges  of  dis- 
tant mountains  rising  beyond  the  valley  of  the  firth — is  from 
this  point  as  varied  and  beautiful  as  can  well  be  imagined. 
The  mid-distance  of  the  picture,  also,  is  very  elegantly  set  off 
and  framed,  as  it  were,  between  the  opposite  hills  and  vitrified 
forts  of  Craig-Phadrick,  and  the  Ord  of  Kessock,  which  guard 
the  entrance  to  Loch  Beauly. 

*  On  the  plain  of  Pettie,  and  near  the  junction  of  the  roads  last  mentioned,  a 
number  of  small,  but  very  perfect,  Druidical  circles  are  to  be  seen.  They  vary  in 
form,  but  in  general  there  are  two  concentric  circles,  with  the  stones  set  close  toge- 
ther, and  havmg  an  outer  circle  of  larger  ones  several  feet  apart  from  each  other.  In 
one  instance,  two  circles  touch  one  another,  forming  the  figure  8. 


ROUTE  III.          MAOKMORS  OF  MORAY.  363 

36.  Our  readers  will  elsewhere  find  ample  details  as  to  the 
accommodations  and  sights  in  and  around  Inverness.  (See 
Section  iv.)  We  have  only  farther  to  inform  them,  that  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  present  route,  since  quitting  the  Spey,  they 
have  been  travelling  over  a  portion  of  the  old  Province  or  See 
of  Moray,  which,  both  as  to  physical  structure,  and  from  the 
history  and  prevailing  language  of  the  inhabitants,  rather  be- 
longs to  the  Lowlands  than  to  the  Highlands  of  Scotland. 
Anciently,  however,  the  whole  of  this  district  was  possessed  by 
Gaelic  tribes,  governed  by  one  of  the  most  powerful  families, 
the  great  Celtic  Maormors  of  Moray.  Continually  engaged 
with  hostile  Norsemen,  who  were  located  on  the  northern  shores 
of  their  firth,  and  who  seem  occasionally  to  have  established 
themselves  even  in  the  "  laigh  of  Moray,"  these  native  lords 
appear  also  to  have  had  some  pretensions  to  the  Scottish  crown, 
and  hence  to  have  drawn  their  followers  into  repeated  ruinous 
insurrections  against  the  ruling  sovereign,  which  ended  in  a 
most  extraordinary  exercise  of  power  (scarcely  to  be  credited, 
were  it  not  confirmed  by  undoubted  authorities) — the  almost 
total  expulsion  and  extermination  of  the  inhabitants  by  King 
Malcolm  IV.,  in  the  year  1161,  and  the  settling  of  a  colony  of 
strangers,  chiefly  Flemings,  in  their  stead  (See  Chambers'  Cale- 
donia, and  Preface  to  the  Registrum  Moravien).  Hence  the  cu- 
rious association  in  Moray,  and  partly  at  Inverness,  of  Gaelic 
names  of  places,  with  such  surnames  of  persons  as  Barbour, 
Brodie,  Cant,  Cowper,  Duff,  Dunbar,  Fleming,  Forsyth,  Hay, 
Innes,  Peterkyn,  Russell,  Reid,  Suter,  Wilson,  Wyat,  Wiseman  ; 
and  hence  the  reason  of  the  comparatively  modern  Highland 
maxim  regarding  Moray,  as  usurped  by  the  Sassanack,  and  as 
therefore  a  "  land  where  all  men  may  take  their  prey." 


ROUTE  THIRD.— BRANCH  A. 

INVERNESS  TO  THE  FIELD  OP  THE  BATTLE  OF  CULLODEN,  TO 
CLAVA,  CASTLES  DALCBOSS,  KILRAVOCK,  AND  CAWDOR,  TO  FORT 
OEOBGE,  AND  TO  THE  FINDHORN. 

Iloads ;  Castle  Stewart ;  Campbelltown ;  Tort-George ;  Cross  Road  to  Cawdor  Cast  le, 
paragraph  1.— Battle  of  Culloden,  or  Drummossie  Moor;  Nature  of  the  Ground,  2. 


364  INVERNESS — ITINERARY.  SECT.  VI. 

Disposition  of  the  Forces,  and  Battle,  3. — Charge  of  the  Highlanders,  and  their 
final  overthrow,  4. — Stone  Monuments  on  the  Plain  of  Clava,  5. — Great  Boulder 
Stone  or  Tomriach,  6. — Dalcross  Castle,  7.— Kilravock  Castle,  8. — Holme  and 
Cantray,  9. — Cawdor  or  Calder  Castle,  10. — Thanes  of  Cawdor,  History  of,  11. — 
Historv  of  the  Castle,  and  Clan  Conflict,  12.— Family  Traditions,  13.— Scenery ; 
Oak  Wood  of  Cawdor,  14. — Roads  to  Dulsie,  and  the  Banks  of  the  Findhorn  and 
Strathspey,  15.— Raits  Castle,  16. 

Miles. 

Inverness  to  Fort-George 13 

Fort-George  to  Cawdor  Inn 9 

Cawdor,  by  Cantray  and  the  Moor  of  Culloden,  to  Inverness 15 

37 

1.  A  VERT  interesting  day's  excursion  from  Inverness  may  be 
enjoyed,  by  going  to  breakfast  at  Campbell  town  (12  miles)  or 
Fort-George  (13  miles),  examining  Castle  Stewart  (described 
page  360)  by  the  way,  and  then  proceeding  to  Cawdor  Castle 
(7  miles)  by  the  military  way  from  the  garrison,  which  runs 
nearly  due  south,  to  a  bridge  over  the  river  Nairn,  from  which 
Cawdor  inn  is  distant  2  miles  to  the  eastward,  and  returning  in 
the  evening  to  Inverness  by  Cantray  and  the  Moor  of  Culloden, 
or  Dalcross-  Castle  ;  or  by  reversing  this  order,  and  returning 
by  Fort-George. 

The  stage  to  Campbelltown  and  Fort- George,  and  the  char- 
acter of  the  country  backwards  to  the  woods  of  Cawdor,  have 
already  been  described  (Route  in.  p.  360)  ;  and  if  the  tourist  does 
not  mean  to  visit  Fort-George,  but  to  proceed  direct  to  Cawdor 
without  returning  to  Inverness,  his  best  course  is  either  to  pro- 
ceed along  the  Nairn  post-road,  beyond  the  point  where  it 
severs  from  the  Fort-George  road,*  for  2  miles,  when  a  good 
cross-road  will  be  found  leading  directly  south-east  over  the 
ridge  of  the  Leys,  past  Dalcross  Castle  to  Cantray,  where  it 
crosses  the  river  Nairn  ;  or  if  he  keep  the  north  side — the 
better  road  of  the  two — at  the  intersection  of  the  Culloden  Moor 
road,  the  route  lies  along  the  latter  north-eastwards  by  Croy 
Church  and  Kilravock,  and  joins  the  military  way  at  Clephan- 
ton  ;  or  he  may  keep  the  Nairn  post-road  all  the  way  till  it 
meets  the  military  one  at  Breachley,  9£  miles  from  Inverness, 
and  then  turn  south  alongst  it.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
tourist  is  inclined  to  proceed  by  the  Moor  of  Culloden,  he  takes 
the  great  Perth  road  for  the  first  3  miles,  and  immediately  be- 
hind the  house  of  Castlehill,  and  past  Inshes  Porter's  Lodge,  he 
will  find  a  district  road  proceeding  eastward,  which  passes 
*  Four  and  a-half  miles  from  Inverness. 


ROUTE  III.  A.     BATTLE  OF  CULLODEN.  365 

through  the  field  of  battle,  and  proceeds  thence  along  the  ridge 
between  Dalcross  Castle  and  Cantray.  Cawdor,  by  this  route, 
is  15  miles  from  Inverness.  Between  Cawdor  and  Craggy  Inn 
a  pretty  good  road  leads  along  the  south  bank  of  the  river 
Nairn,  which  the  pedestrian  or  horseman  can  attain  by  pro- 
ceeding due  south  from  the  spot  where  the  battle  of  Culloden 
was  fought,  whereby  he  will  come  across  the  stone  monuments 
of  Clava  by  the  way  ;  but  wheeled  carriages  will  find  it  diffi- 
cult to  reach  the  road  on  the  south  bank,  through  the  rough 
fords  of  the  Nairn.  The  pedestrian  can  cross  it  at  the  wooden 
bridge  of  Culdoich  above  Clava,  and  by  thus  gaming  the  south 
bank,  he  will  not  only  considerably  shorten  the  distance  from 
Inverness,  but  command  the  best  views  of  Cantray,  Holme,  and 
Kilravock  Castle,  which  are  passed  2  or  3  miles  lower  down. 

BATTLE  OF  00LLODEN  OB  DRUMMOSSIE  MOOR. 

2.  So  much  has  been  written  on  the  battle  of  Culloden, 
where  closed  the  rebellion  of  1745-6,  that  we  shall  trouble  our 
readers  only  with  a  very  short  notice  of  it.  It  is  quite  evident 
that  no  Highland  troops  should  have  fought  there,  even  though 
their  object  was  to  protect  and  cover  Inverness,  especially  when 
opposed  by  horse  and  artillery  :  and  it  seems  equally  certain 
that  there  was  something  worse  than  foolishness  among  the 
leaders  when  they  perilled  their  cause  on  an  open  heath,  while 
a  rough  and  hilly  country  lay  so  near  them.  Had  the  rebel 
army  also  fallen  on  the  Duke  of  Cumberland's  camp  at  Nairn, 
the  previous  night,  as  was  attempted,  they  would  have  found 
him  prepared ;  for  the  Duke's  Highlanders  had  mixed  in  the 
ranks  of  their  adversaries  during  the  march,  and  sent  intelli- 
gence every  half  hour  of  their  approach. 

A  monumental  tumulus  or  obelisk  on  the  heath,  lately  be- 
gun, marks  the  spot  where  the  contest  was  fiercest  ;  and  the 
public  road  passes  through  the  graves  of  the  slain,  which  con- 
sist of  two  or  three  grass-covered  mounds,  rising  slightly  above 
the  adjoining  heath,  at  the  distance  of  about  200  or  300  yards 
from  some  corn  land  and  a  cluster  of  cottages,  where  the  Eng- 
lish artillery  took  up  its  position,  a  slight  marshy  hollow  in- 
tervening between  them  and  the  Highland  army.  The  spot  is 
about  six  miles  distant  from  Inverness.  On  all  sides  the  near 
prospect  is  bleak  and  dreary  ;  while  the  general  smoothness  of 


366  BATTLE  OF  CULLODEK.         SECT.  VI. 

the  ground  points  it  out  as  favourable  for  the  movements  of 
cavalry  and  artillery,  but  proportionably  ill  adapted  for  the 
protection  or  defence  of  the  foot  soldier.  Such  is  the  nature  of 
the  ground  on  which  Prince  Charles  Edward  ventured  to  peril 
his  cause  against  the  disciplined  troops  of  England.  His  army 
was  drawn  up  a  little  to  the  west  of  the  graves,  in  a  line  from 
south  to  north,  right  across  the  moor  inclining  towards  the 
parks  of  Culloden  House. 

3.  Exhausted  with  hunger  and  fatigue,  dispersed,  and  buried 
in  sleep  in  the  neighbouring  hamlets  and  enclosures,  very  many 
of  the  Highland  army  could  not  possibly  be  present  at  this 
battle.  Some  had  gone  to  Inverness  for  food  ;  others  had  not 
joined,  as  many  had  been  permitted  to  retire  to  their  homes 
during  the  winter  season  ;  and,  of  those  who  had  just  taken  up 
arms,  the  Macphersons  of  Badenoch  were  but  that  day  (16th  of 
April  1746)  on  their  march  from  the  interior  to  the  camp  at 
Inverness.  The  right  of  the  Prince's  front  line  was  composed 
of  the  Athole  men  and  Camerons  ;  in  the  centre  stood  the 
Frasers,  Mackintoshes,  Maclachlans,  and  Macleans  ;  on  the 
left,  the  Stewarts,  Farquharsons,  and  the  three  Macdonald  regi- 
ments, commanded  by  the  chiefs,  Clanranald,  Keppoch,  and 
Glengarry.  Behind,  and  towards  the  right  of  the  second  line 
were  Lord  Ogilvie's,  Lord  Lewis  Gordon's  and  the  Duke  of 
Perth's  regiments,  diminished  to  very  small  companies,  but 
supported  on  the  left  by  the  Irish  pickets.  A  few  horse  were 
stationed  in  rear  of  the  right  wing,  and  on  the  gradually  as- 
cending ground  behind  these  stood  Prince  Charles  and  his 
French  and  Irish  counsellors.  The  declivity  of  the  moor  to- 
wards the  house  of  Culloden,  being  soft  and  marshy,  rendered 
it  somewhat  unfit  for  the  movements  of  cavalry  ;  while  the 
right  of  the  rebel  position  was  slightly  defended  by  a  stone 
wall  enclosing  a  young  plantation.  The  Duke  of  Cumberland 
advanced  from  the  north-east  along  the  hill  in  a  line  from  Dai- 
cross  Castle,  his  object  being  to  force  his  way  to  Inverness. 
After  remaining  patiently  in  their  ranks  for  some  time,  and 
being  galled  most  dreadfully  by  the  enemy's  artillery,  the  cen- 
tre of  the  rebel  troops  rushed  forward  to  the  attack,  and  re- 
pulsed Munro's  and  Birrel's  regiments,  which  were  opposed  to 
them.  The  right  wing  at  the  same  moment  advanced,  but 
were  almost  immediately  turned  by  the  English  cavalry,  who 
attacked  them  in  flank  through  openings  made  by  their  infantry 


ROUTE  III.  A.     CONDUCT  OF  HIGHLAND  LEFT  WING.  367 

(especially  the  Argyleshire  Highlanders)  in  the  stone  dyke. 
This  last  manoeuvre  was  observed  by  the  Prince,  who,  instead 
of  placing  himself  at  the  head  of  the  reserve,  and  charging  in 
person,  to  counteract  its  effect,  contented  himself  with  sending 
repeated  orders  to  Lord  George  Murray,  which  that  accom- 
plished general  either  never  received  or  could  not  at  the  mo- 
ment execute.  A  body  of  100  Highlanders,  stationed  within 
the  enclosure  above  alluded  to,  was  cut  to  pieces  without  offer- 
ing any  resistance,  and  the  right  wing  being  thus  in  conse- 
quence broken,  the  fate  of  the  day  was  determined.  The  Clan 
Chattan,  or  M'Intosh  regiment,  stood  the  firmest,  and  were 
almost  totally  annihilated. 

The  left  wing,  formed  of  the  Macdonalds,  did  not  behave 
with  their  accustomed  bravery,  as  they  had  taken  umbrage 
at  not  having  the  post  of  honour  on  the  right  assigned  them, 
to  which  they  conceived  themselves  entitled.  In  truth,  the 
main  body  of  the  army  was  routed  without  firing  a  shot,  and 
they  had  little  else  to  do  than  to  keep  in  a  body  and  make  good 
their  way  unmolested  to  the  hills.  The  Frasers  retired  in  their 
ranks  with  pipes  playing :  one  great  body  of  the  rebels  moved 
off  in  a  southern  direction  towards  Badenoch,  but  those  who 
fled  towards  the  plains  about  Inverness  were  hotly  pursued  by 
the  dragoons,  and  the  carnage  ceased  not  till  within  half  a  mile 
of  the  town.  Prince  Charles,  acting  early  on  the  memorable 
sentiment,  "  Sauve  qui  peut,"  rode  off  toward  Stratherrick,  and 
slept  that  night  at  Gortuleg.  The  ash-tree  whence  he  beheld 
the  battle  still  stands,  and  the  less  perishable  boulder-stone, 
from  which,  it  is  said,  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  issued  his 
orders,  is  shewn  by  the  road-side,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
east  from  the  principal  heap  of  graves. 

4.  Never  was  the  peculiar  and  irresistible  power  of  a  charge 
of  Highlanders  more  fearlessly  displayed  than  in  this  their  last 
feudal  engagement  on  their  native  hills.  "  It  was  the  emphatic 
custom,"  says  Mr.  Chambers,  in  his  History  of  the  Rebellion 
of  1745,  "before  an  onset,  to  scrug  their  bonnets,  that  is,  to 
pull  their  little  blue  caps  down  over  their  brows,  so  as  to  ensure 
them  against  falling  off  in  the  ensuing  melee.  Never,  perhaps, 
was  this  motion  performed  with  so  much  emphasis  as  on  the 
present  occasion,  when  every  man's  forehead  burned  with  the 
desire  to  revenge  some  dear  friend  who  had  fallen  a  victim  to 
the  murderous  artillery.  A  Lowland  gentleman,  who  was  in 


368  CHARGE  OF  THE  HIGHLANDERS.  SECT.  VI. 

the  line,  and  who  survived  till  a  late  period,  used  always,  in 
relating  the  events  of  Culloden,  to  comment  with  a  feeling  of 
something  like  awe  upon  the  terrific  and  more  than  natural 
expression  of  rage  which  glowed  on  every  face,  and  gleamed 
in  every  eye,  as  he  surveyed  the  extended  line  at  this  moment. 
It  was  an  exhibition  of  mighty  and  all-engrossing  passion, 
never  to  be  forgotten  by  the  beholder. 

"  The  action  and  event  of  the  onset  were  throughout  quite 
as  dreadful  as  the  mental  emotion  which  urged  it.  Notwith- 
standing that  the  three  files  of  the  front  line  of  English  poured 
forth  their  incessant  fire  of  musketry — notwithstanding  that 
the  cannon,  now  loaded  with  grape-shot,  swept  the  field  as  with 
a  hail-storm — notwithstanding  the  flank  fire  of  Wolfe's  regi- 
ment— onward,  onward  went  the  headlong  Highlanders,  fling- 
ing themselves  into,  rather  than  rushing  upon,  the  lines  of 
the  enemy,  which,  indeed,  they  did  not  see  for  smoke  till  in- 
volved among  their  weapons.  All  that  courage,  all  that  despair 
could  do,  was  done.  They  did  not  fight  like  living  or  reasoning 
creatures,  but  like  machines  under  the  influence  of  some  uncon- 
trollable principle  of  action.  The  howl  of  the  advance,  the 
scream  of  the  onset,  the  thunders  of  the  musketry,  and  the  din 
of  the  trumpets  and  drums,  confounded  one  sense ;  while  the 
flash  of  the  fire-arms  and  the  glitter  of  the  brandished  broad- 
swords dazzled  and  bewildered  another.  It  was  a  moment  of 
dreadful  and  agonising  suspense — but  only  a  moment ;  for  the 
whirlwind  does  not  reap  the  forest  with  greater  rapidity  than 
the  Highlanders  cleared  the  line.  They  swept  through  and 
over  that  frail  barrier,  almost  as  easily  and  instantaneously  as 
the  bounding  cavalcade  brushes  through  the  morning  labours  of 
the  gossamer  which  stretch  across  its  path.  Not,  however,  with 
the  same  unconsciousness  of  the  event.  Almost  every  man  in 
their  front  rank,  chief  and  gentleman,  fell  before  the  deadly 
weapons  which  they  had  braved ;  and  although  the  enemy 
gave  way,  it  was  not  till  every  bayonet  was  bent  and  bloody 
with  the  strife. 

"  When  the  first  line  had  been  completely  swept  aside,  the 
assailants  continued  their  impetuous  advance,  till  they  came 
near  the  second,  when,  being  almost  annihilated  by  a  profuse 
and  well-directed  fire,  the  shattered  remains  of  what  had  been 
but  an  hour  before  a  numerous  and  confident  force,  at  last  sub- 
mitted to  destiny,  by  giving  way  and  flying.  Still  a  few  rushed 


ROUTE  III.  A.       CLAVA  ANCIENT  STONE  MONUMENTS.          369 

on,  resolved  rather  to  die  than  thus  forfeit  their  well-acquired 
and  dearly-estimated  honour.  They  rushed  on ;  but  not  a 
man  ever  came  in  contact  with  the  enemy.  The  last  survivor 
perished  as  he  reached  the  points  of  the  bayonets." 

According  to  the  general  accounts,  there  were  but  1200 
men  killed  in  this  engagement,  and  as  many  on  the  English  as 
on  their  opponents'  side.  The  wounded  were  left  three  days 
on  the  field,  and  such  as  then  survived  were  shot  by  the  order 
of  the  Duke  of  Cumberland.  He  set  fire  to  a  barn,  to  which 
many  of  them  had  retired.  In  the  town  of  Inverness  he  insti- 
tuted a  complete  military  government ;  treated  the  inhabitants 
and  magistrates  with  contempt ;  and  he  was  afterwards  obliged 
to  sue  out  an  act  of  indemnity  from  the  British  Parliament 
for  these  and  other  atrocities,  of  which  it  is  notoriously  known 
he  was  guilty.  Prince  Charles'  resources,  notwithstanding 
the  loss  of  this  battle,  were  by  no  means  desperate.  Eight 
thousand  men  were  ready  to  meet  him  at  Ruthven,  in  Badenoch, 
had  he  signified  his  desire  to  attempt  the  battle-strife  over 
again ;  but,  after  some  days'  deliberation,  his  only  answer  to 
the  chiefs  who  awaited  him  there  was,  "  Let  every  man  seek 
his  safety  in  the  best  way  he  can." 

ANCIENT    STONE   MONUMENTS   AT   CLAVA. 

5.  The  most  splendid  series  of  circles  and  cairns,  existing 
together  in  one  place  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  island,  occurs 
on  a  meadow  plain  on  the  south  bank  of  the  river  Nairn,  about 
one  mile  south-east  of  the  field  where  the  battle  of  Culloden 
was  fought ;  and  no  tourist  should  omit  a  visit  to  them,  which 
will  cost  but  a  short  walk  while  his  horse  rests.  A  rustic 
bridge  crosses  the  river,  immediately  below  the  graves.  The 
surface  of  the  plain  is  in  one  part  rough,  and  strewed  over  with 
boulder-stones ;  but  in  general  it  forms  a  portion  of  a  soft  pas- 
toral valley ;  and  the  view  at  either  end  is  terminated  by  two 
prominent  hills,  one  of  which  (Dun-Evan)  has  on  its  summit  a 
structure  strongly  vitrified ;  and  on  the  other  (Dun-Daviot)  is 
a  similar  fortified  site,  but  which,  however,  has  not  been  affected 
by  fire.  Even  at  the  first  sight  of  this  plain,  one  is  prompted 
to  exclaim — "  Here  is  a  city  of  the  dead ! "  Its  whole  extent 
is  covered  with  cairns,  encompassed  by  circles  of  large  upright 
stones,  or  slabs  of  sandstone. 


:'.7ll  CLAVA  ANCIENT  STONE  MONUMENTS.        SECT.  VI. 

Among  these  are  several  circles  of  large  dimensions  uncon- 
nected with  cairns,  and  others  of  a  smaller  size,  scarcely  elevated 
a  foot  above  the  ground,  occur  in  the  intervals  between  the 
greater  ones.  Stones  of  memorial,  or  single  columns,  are  per- 
ceived in  several  parts  of  the  field,  apparently  in  a  line  with 
one  another,  and  uniting  the  other  structures  into  one  general 
design ;  and  what  is  also  remarkable,  near  the  west  end  of  the 
plain  is  seen  an  oblong  square,  which  is  called  the  "  Clachan '" 
or  church,  and  which  is  believed  to  be  the  foundations  of  an 
ancient  Christian  chapel.  Perhaps  it  may  have  been  one 
of  the  earliest  in  the  country ;  and  it  thus  appears  most 
strikingly  and  appropriately  placed  in  the  midst  of  pagan 
structures,  the  dark  superstitious  rites  of  which  its  founders 
were  anxious  to  expose  and  abolish.  Within  this  enclosure, 
children,  who  die  in  the  neighbourhood  before  baptism,  are 
still  buried. 

But  the  most  remarkable  of  these  antiquities  on  the  plain 
of  Clava  are  three  great  cairns,  consisting  of  loose  stones  piled 
up  in  one  of  them  to  the  height  of  fifteen  feet,  and  having  each 
a  ring  of  upright  stones  hemming  in  and  supporting  their 
bases ;  another  circle  of  large  masses  of  sandstone  (ten  or 
twelve  stones  in  each),  at  the  distances  of  several  paces  from 
the  inner  structure,  is  attached  to  each  cairn.  Two  of  these 
cemeteries  appear  to  have  been  much  injured  by  the  partial 
removal  of  the  stones ;  but  the  principal  one  was  opened  some 
years  ago  under  the  directions  of  a  lady  in  the  neighbourhood, 
and  it  displayed  beneath  the  exterior  pile  a  circular  chamber, 
about  five  yards  in  diameter,  lined  at  the  base  with  a  ring  of 
fourteen  large  stones  in  an  upright  position,  and  surmounted 
by  courses  of  uncemented  masonry,  the  stones  of  which  incline 
inwards,  and  overlap  one  another,  so  as  to  have  met  at  the  top 
in  a  rude  dome.  This  apartment  has  an  entrance  looking  to- 
wards the  south,  with  a  passage  two  feet  wide,  and  flanked  by 
great  stones,  conducting  from  it  through  the  body  of  the  cairn, 
to  its  exterior  circumference.  Eighteen  inches  below  the  floor 
of  the  cell,  were  discovered  two  small  earthen  vases  or  urns  of 
the  coarsest  workmanship,  but  containing  calcined  bones.  The 
urns  were  unfortunately  broken,  and  the  ashes  scattered  about 
in  a  small  bed  of  prepared  clay  on  which  they  lay.  This  struc- 
ture is  precisely  similar,  though  on  a  smaller  scale,  to  that  at 
New  Grange,  near  Drogheda,  in  the  county  of  Meath,  Ireland, 


ROUTE  III.  A.  DALCROSS  OR  DACUS  CASTLE.  371 

figured  in  Mr.  Higgins'   Celtic   Druids,   plates   20,  21  ;  and 
Arehael.  Soc.  Antiq.  London,  vol.  ii.  p.  254. 

6.  About  a  mile  east  of  Clava,  is  an  enormous  boulder  mass 
of  conglomerate,  called    Tomriach,  which  rests  on  a  bed  of 
gravel,  in  which,  at  one  time,  it  was  likely  embedded.     It  is 
about  thirty  feet  long,  and  fourteen  high,  and  at  a  little  dis- 
tance may  be  mistaken  for  a  Highland  cottage,  which  it  re- 
sembles in  size  and  form.     It  is  well  worthy  of  a  visit,  especially 
by  the  geologist. 

DALCROSS  OR  DACUS  CASTLE. 

7.  This  building,  which  lies  two  miles  north-east  of  the 
field  of  Culloden,  consists  of  two  towers,  joined  at  right  angles; 
the  inner  corner,  where  they  meet,  being  covered  with  a  pro- 
jecting turret  and  large  entrance  gate.     Many  of  the  appur- 
tenances of  an  old  baronial  residence  are  here  still  entire,  and 
therefore  to  the  antiquary  the  place  is  of  considerable  interest. 
Water  is  still  raised  from  a  deep  draw-well  in  the  front  court. 
The  windows  are  all  stancheoned  with  iron.     The  huge  oaken 
door,  studded  with  large  nails,  and  the  inner  iron  gratings,  still 
turn  on  their  rusty  hinges.     The  kitchen,  with  its  enormous 
vaulted  chimney,  like  the  arch  of  a  bridge  ;  the  dungeons,  and 
the  hall,  are  quite  entire.     The  ceiling  of  the  latter  is  of  fine 
carved  oak,  in  part  rudely  painted ;  but  its  most  interesting 
feature  is  the  dais,  or  portion  of  the  floor  raised  above  the  rest, 
for  the  special  use  of  the  lord  of  the  manor,  his  family,  and 
principal  guests.     The  roof  of  one  of  the  bed-rooms  was  painted 
all  over  with  the  coats  of  arms  of  the  principal  families  in  the 
country,  and  those  of  Robert  Bruce,  of  the  Earls  of  Huntly, 
Marischal,  and  Stuart,  are  still  quite  distinct.     This  castle  was 
built  in  1620,  by  Simon,  eighth  Lord  Lovat.     The  property 
had  long  been  in  the  family,  but  previously,  we  believe,  was  a 
portion  of  the  M'Intosh  estates.     It  afterwards  came  to  Sir 
James  Fraser  of  Brea,  third  son  of  the  founder,  who  gave  it  as 
a  marriage  portion  with  his  daughter  Jean  to  a  Major  Bate- 
man.     The  Major  sold  it  to  James  Roy  Dunbar,  bailie  of  In- 
verness, from  whom  Mackintosh  of  Mackintosh  purchased  it  in 
1702,  and  with  his  descendants  it  still  remains.     Dalcross  was 
a  vicarage  depending  on  the  Priory  of  Urquhart,  and  in  the 
year  1343  there  was  an  agreement  between  the  prior  and  the 


372  KILRAVOCK  CASTLE.  SECT.  VI. 

Baron  of  Kilravock,  that  the  Vicar  of  Dean-an-Ross,  now  Dai- 
cross,  should  officiate  in  the  private  chapel  of  Kilravock.  The 
minister  of  the  parish  of  Croy  has  still  part  of  his  glebe  near 
the  castle.  Sir  Lauchlan  Mackintosh  of  that  Ilk  died  here  in 
1 7<  >4 ;  and  the  last  additions  to  the  building  appear  to  have 
been  made  about  that  period.  The  present  chief  has  begun  to 
restore  the  edifice. 

KILRAVOCK    CASTLE. 

8.  The  family  of  the  Roses  of  Kilravock,  anciently  one  of 
the  most  powerful  in  the  north,  have  still  to  boast  of  an  old 
tower,  the  next  in  our  course,  and  a  range  of  castellated  build- 
ings in  an  imposing  situation  overhanging  the  Nairn.  The 
series  of  old  paintings,  armour,  and  writings,  in  the  house  is 
considerable ;  and  one  of  the  manuscripts,  a  curious  old  diary 
by  the  successive  tutors  or  chaplains  of  the  family,  has  lately 
been  published  by  the  Spalding  Club.  The  Roses  came  into 
possession  of  Kilravock  about  1280.  They  owed  it  to  an  alliance 
with  the  powerful  family  of  the  Bissets,  once  pre-eminent  in 
the  north.  Sir  John  Bisset  left  three  daughters,  heirs-por- 
tioners.  The  first  brought  the  estate  of  Lovat  to  the  Frasers, 
the  second  (designed  the  lady  of  Beaufort)  married  William  de 
Fenton,  whose  posterity  continued  for  several  descents ;  and 
the  third  daughter,  Elizabeth,  was  married  to  Sir  Andrew  di 
Bosco,  an  English  or  Norman  knight.  This  Elizabeth  Bisset, 
or  de  Bosco,  had  a  daughter,  Marie,  who  was  married  to  Hugh 
de  Rose,  then  owner  of  Easter  Geddes.  Hugh  Rose,  the  seventh 
baron  of  the  name,  built  the  tower  of  Kilravock,  having  ob- 
tained license  by  patent  to  do  so  from  John,  Lord  of  the  Isles, 
18th  February  1460,  which  was  confirmed  in  1475  by  King 
James  III.  It  is  handed  down  by  tradition,  that  the  towers  of 
Calder,  Ironside,  Dallas,  and  Spynie,  were  built  about  the  same 
time ;  and  that  the  architect  was  Cochrane,  the  minion  of 
James  III.,  whom  that  monarch  created  Earl  of  Mar,  and  who 
was  afterwards  hanged  over  Lauder  Bridge  in  July  1482.  The 
iron  gate  of  Kilravock  tower  was  made  in  the  time  of  the  tenth 
laird,  named  Hugh,  the  "  Black  Baron,"  who  died  in  1597  at 
the  extreme  age  of  90  years.  He  entertained  Queen  Mary  in 
his  tower,  her  Majesty's  bed-room,  which  is  still  in  its  original 
state,  having  no  fire-place  in  it,  nor  was  it  lathed  or  plastered, 
while  the  floor  consisted  of  great  coarse  boards  roughly  sawn 


ROUTE  III.  A.  CAWDOR  CASTLE.  373 

and  nailed  together.  The  gate  weighed  34  stone  3  Ibs.,  and 
cost  £34  :  3  :  9  Scots  !  For  this  sum  the  maker  of  it,  George 
Robertson,  smith  in  Elgin,  granted  receipt  5th  February  1568, 
receiving,  also,  three  bolls  of  meal,  one  stone  of  butter,  and  one 
of  cheese.  This  gate  was  removed  by  the  English  in  the  wars 
of  Cromwell. 

The  representative  of  this  ancient  race  did  effectual  service 
to  the  cause  of  Government  in  the  rebellion  of  1715  ;  and  their 
history  presents  the  singular  aspect  of  an  unbroken  male  de- 
scent retaining  their  baronial  state,  without  the  support  of  any 
clan  of  their  name,  in  the  midst  of  jealous  and  ferocious  neigh- 
bours. Their  residence  is  one  of  the  most  picturesque  in  the 
country ;  a  square  old  keep,  with  a  long  range  of  high -roofed 
additions  to  it,  perched  on  a  rocky  bank  overlooking  the  river 
Nairn,  and  surrounded  with  dense  woods  and  tall  "  ancestral 
trees."  The  principal  additions  are  said  to  have  been  designed 
by  Inigo  Jones,  and  the  elegant  proportions  of  the  public  rooms 
are  not  unworthy  of  his  name.  The  gardens  and  pleasure- 
grounds  are  laid  out  with  very  great  taste,  and  the  lady  (Mrs. 
Campbell),  who  at  present  occupies  the  castle,  has  spared  no 
expense  in  supplying  the  finest  and  rarest  shrubs  and  flowers, 
and  adding  in  every  way  to  the  comforts  and  elegance  of  the 
place. 

9.  Immediately  above  Kilravock,  is  the  property  of  Holme 
(General  Sir  John  Rose),  which  is  also  distinguished  for  its 
woods  and  fine  gardens ;  and  next,  up  the  river's  course,  is  the 

property  of  Can  tray  ( Davidson),  formerly  belonging  to  a 

family  of  the  name  of  Dallas,  where  a  fine  old  French  chateau 
has  lately  been  supplanted  by  a  modern  residence,  and  which 
estate  marches  with  the  properties  of  Culloden  and  M'Intosh  of 
M'Intosh. 

CAWDOR  (ANCIENTLY  CALDER)  CASTLE. 

10.  If  the  name  of  this  castle  be  not  sufficient  to  excite 
curiosity,  the  beauties  of  its  situation,  the  freshness  in  which 
all  its  appurtenances  of  ancient  feudal  gloom  and  grandeur  and 
means  of  defence  remain,  will  amply  recompense  the  tourist  for 
the  trouble  he  may  be  put  to  in  visiting  it. 

Perched  upon  a  low  rock,  overhanging  the  bed  of  a  High- 
land torrent,  and  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  the  largest-sized 
forest-trees,  which  partly  conceal  the  extent  of  its  park,  it 


374  CAWDOR  CASTLE.  SECT.  VI. 

stands  a  relic  of  the  work  of  several  ages,  a  weather-beaten 
tower,  encircled  by  comparatively  newer  and  less  elevated 
dwellings,  the  whole  being  enclosed  within  a  moat,  and  ap- 
proachable only  by  a  drawbridge,  which  rattles  on  its  chains 
just  as  in  the  years  long  gone  by.  This  castle  is  still  inhabited ; 
the  staircase,  the  iron-grated  doors  and  wickets,  the  large  baro- 
nial kitchen,  partly  formed  out  of  the  native  rock,  the  hall,  the 
old  furniture,  the  carved  mantel-pieces,  the  quantity  of  figured 
tapestry,  and  even  the  grotesque  family  mirrors,  in  use  200 
years  ago,  are  still  cherished  and  preserved  by  the  family.  The 
drawbridge  and  gateway  are  particularly  worthy  of  notice. 

11.  Tradition  in  this  quarter  asserts  that  good  King  Dun- 
can was  murdered  in  this  castle  by  his  relative  Macbeth,  who 
was  his  sister's  son.  Some  of  the  old  Scottish  chronicles,  as 
interpreted  by  Lord  Hailes,  refer  to  a  smith's  hut  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Elgin  as  the  place  where  the  mortal  blow  was  given, 
and  render  it  probable  that  the  unfortunate  monarch  breathed 
his  last  within  some  of  the  religious  houses  then  already  built 
there  ;  while  Shakspere  and  his  commentators,  following  the 
authority  of  Buchanan,  assign  Macbeth's  castle  at  Inverness  as 
the  scene  of  the  murder.  It  is,  at  least,  undoubted,  that  Mac- 
beth may  have  had  strongholds  in  all  the  places  mentioned,  as, 
on  his  marriage,  he  became,  in  right  of  his  wife  Gruoch,  Maor- 
mor  or  great  Celtic  lord  of  Moray,  having  by  birth  the  same 
power  attached  to  that  name  in  the  adjoining  county  of  Ross ; 
and  that  King  Duncan  was  betrayed  and  slain  while  residing  at 
one  of  his  nephew's  castles,  on  his  way  to  reduce  Torfin,  the 
Scandinavian  Jarl  of  Caithness,  to  submission,  he  having 
refused  to  surrender  the  customary  tribute  to  the  Scottish 
crown. 

Malcolm  (Duncan's  eldest  son,  and  afterwards  called  Caen- 
more,  or  the  large-headed)  fled,  on  his  father's  death,  to  Eng- 
land, where  he  was  courteously  received  by  the  reigning  prince, 
Edward  the  Confessor ;  and  waiting  there  till  the  dissensions 
betwixt  the  usurper  Macbeth  and  the  Scottish  nobles  presented 
him  with  a  favourable  opportunity  for  recovering  his  inherit- 
ance, he  at  length  sallied  forth  across  the  border,  supported  by 
an  English  army  of  ten  thousand  men,  under  the  command  of 
his  own  maternal  grandfather,  Siward,  Earl  of  Northumberland. 
Macbeth's  inveterate  foe,  the  Thane  of  Fife,  raising  the  stan- 
dard at  the  same  time  for  the  lawful  monarch,  entered  Angus- 


ROUTE  III.  A.  THANEAGE  OF  CAWDOR.  375 

shire,  and  encountered  and  defeated  his  great  enemy  near  his 
own  castle  of  Dunsinane. 

Such  is  the  bare  outline  of  facts  on  which  the  deeply  excit- 
ing tragedy  of  Macbeth  was  reared  by  Shakspere.  No  such 
title  or  person  existed  at  that  period  as  the  "  Thane  of  Cawdor ;" 
but  there  is  no  question  as  to  Malcolm  Caenmore  having  allotted 
large  estates  to  the  English  and  Flemish  knights  who  assisted 
him  in  recovering  his  native  possessions,  and  that  they  thence- 
forward surnamed  themselves  after  the  appellations  of  the  lands 
thus  acquired.  Among  others,  some  of  the  powerful  family  of 
Ostiarii,  or  hereditary  door-wards  of  the  king,  who  held  large 
possessions  in  Mar,  seem  to  have  obtained  Macbeth's  estates  in 
Nairnshire,  and,  perhaps,  by  assuming  the  name  of  Calder,  one 
of  them  has  since  been  regarded  as  the  first  Thane  ;  the  thane- 
age  of  Calder,  or  Cawdor,  including  (at  least  in  subsequent  char- 
ters) not  only  the  principal  messuage  lands,  but  also  the  barony 
of  Ferintosh,  in  Ross,  and  several  parts  of  Stratherrick,  Strath- 
nairn,  and  Strathdearn,  and  a  large  portion  of  the  lands  of 
Glammis  in  the  Meams,  all  of  which  were  hence  politically, 
and  for  several  other  purposes,  considered  as  pertinents  of  the 
sheriffdom  of  Nairn.  The  original  family  name  of  Hostiariws 
or  Osliarius  (anglice  door-ward,  and  afterwards  corrupted  to 
the  common  surname  of  Dur-ward)  is  mentioned  in  charters 
still  extant  in  this  castle,  and  in  one  especially  dated  at  Forres 
the  22d  July,  of  the  twenty-second  year  of  King  Alexander  II. 
(1236),  in  which  his  majesty  grants  the  lands  of  Both  and  Ban- 
chory,  in  thebailliary  of  Invernarn  "  Gilberto  Hostiario,"  which 
words,  by  a  stupid  misreading,  are  marked  by  a  modern  scribe 
on  the  back  as  "  Gilberto  Horstrat."  Upon  this  mistake,  which 
was  unfortunately  copied  by  Shaw  in  his  valuable  History  of 
Moray,  a  most  ridiculous  theory  has  prevailed  that  the  family 
name  at  first  was  Horstrot.  For  many  generations,  however, 
the  only  surname  by  which  the  family  was  known  was  that  of 
Calder  of  Calder,  now  pronounced  Cawdor. 

At  whatever  time  the  title  of  Thane  became  common,  men- 
tion is  found  of  the  Thanes  of  Calder  in  the  records  of  Nairn- 
shire  so  early  as  the  year  1295 ;  although,  from  what  has  been 
said,  they  undoubtedly  had  possessions  there  long  prior  to  that 
date.  They  were  constables  of  the  royal  fortress  of  Nairn,  where 
they  chiefly  resided  ;  and  to  this  day  the  constabulary  garden 
in  Nairn,  partly  surrounded  with  the  old  castle  wall,  is  the 


376  SKIRMISH  FOR  THE  HEIRESS  OF  CAWDOR.    SECT.  VI. 

property  of  the  family.  Hence,  Calder  must  have  been  a  resi- 
dence of  minor  importance  ;  and,  indeed,  the  oldest  part  of  the 
present  tower  was  only  built,  according  to  Shaw's  History  of 
Moray,  in  the  year  1454.  The  royal  license  by  James  II.  is  to 
"  William,  Thane  of  Calder,  to  build  and  fortify  the  castle  of 
Calder,"  with  a  proviso,  that  "  the  said  castle  shall  be  always 
ready  and  open  to  his  majesty  and  his  successors,  and  that  they 
should  always  have  free  entrance  and  egress  to  and  from  the  same." 
12.  This  Thane  William,  who  completed  the  keep,  lived  till 
about  the  year  1500 ;  his  son  John  married  Isobel  Rose,  daugh- 
ter of  Kilravock,  and,  dying  in  1494,  left  one  posthumous  child, 
a  daughter,  named  Muiriel,  or  Marion.  "  Kilravock  intended 
this  heiress  for  his  own  grandson,  her  first  cousin ;  but  Kilra- 
vock being  pursued  in  a  criminal  process  for  robbery,  in  joining 
Mackintosh  in  spoiling  the  lands  of  Urquhart  of  Cromarty, 
Argyle,  the  Justice-general,  made  the  process'  easy  to  him,  got 
the  award  of  Muiriel's  marriage  of  the  king,  A.D.  1495,  and  she 
was  sent  to  Inverary  in  the  year  1499.  In  autumn  of  that  year, 
Campbell  of  Inverliver,  with  sixty  men,  came  to  receive  the 
child,  on  pretence  of  sending  her  south  to  school.  The  lady 
Kilravock,  her  grandmother,  that  she  might  not  be  changed, 
seared  and  marked  her  hip  with  the  key  of  her  coffer.  As  In- 
verliver came  with  little  Muiriel  to  Daltulich,  in  Strathnairn, 
he  was  closely  pursued  by  Alexander  and  Hugh  Calder,  her 
uncles,  with  a  superior  party.  He  sent  off  the  child  with  an 
escort  of  six  men,  faced  about  to  receive  the  Calders ;  and,  to 
deceive  them,  a  sheaf  of  corn,  dressed  in  some  of  the  child's 
clothes,  was  kept  by  one  in  the  rear.  The  conflict  was  sharp, 
and  several  were  killed,  among  whom  were  six  of  Inverliver's 
son's.  When  Inverliver  thought  the  child  was  out  of  reach,  he 
retreated,  leaving  the  fictitious  child  to  the  Calders.  And  In- 
verliver was  rewarded  with  a  grant  of  the  £20  land  of  Inver- 
liver. It  is  said,  that  in  the  heat  of  the  skirmish,  Inverliver 
cried,  \3fada  glaodh  o'  Lochow,  'Sfada  cabhair  <?  Man  Dhume, 
i.  e.  "  'Tis  a  far  cry  to  Loch  Awe,  and  a  distant  help  to  the 
Campbells : " — now  a  proverb,  signifying  "  Imminent  danger, 
and  distant  relief."  Subsequently  (in  1510),  this  heiress  was 
married  to  Sir  John  Campbell,  third  son  of  Argyle ;  and  thus 
the  family  name  of  Calder  was  lost,  and  the  after  additions  to 
the  castle  were  reared  by  the  Campbells,  whose  coats  of  arms 
are  inserted  of  the  several  dates  in  the  walls. 


ROUTE  III.  A.         TRADITIONARY  ANECDOTE.  377 

13.  An  ancient  hawthorn  tree  stood,  some  years  ago,  in  the  old 
garden  towards  the  inn  (on  the  site  of  the  ancient  hostelrie  of  the 
demesne) ;  a  second  stood  on  the  edge  of  the  moat,  and  fell  about 
ten  years  ago,  when  in  full  leaf,  from  the  weight  of  a  drizzling 
fall  of  rain,  but  from  its  root  a  vigorous  shoot  has  sprung  up ; 
and  a  third,  still  rooted  in  the  earth,  is  shown  in  the  dungeon 
of  the  tower,  extending  its  stem  to  the  ceiling.     Tradition  re- 
lates that  the  founder  was  led,  either  by  a  dream,  or  the  advice 
of  a  wizard,  to  build  this  castle  at  the  third  hawthorn  tree, 
where  an  ass  laden  with  a  chest  of  gold  should  stop :  and  pros- 
perity to  the  house  of  Cawdor  is  still  expressed  in  the  wish, 
"  Freshness  to  its  hawthorn  tree." 

The  bed  and  chamber  in  which,  according  to  family  legends, 
Macbeth  murdered  King  Duncan,  were  till  lately  shown  to 
strangers ;  but  a  fire  which  broke  out  some  years  ago  in  the 
great  tower  destroyed  every  vestige  of  them,  and  nothing  but 
the  stone-vaulted  roof  could  have  saved  the  whole  building  from 
destruction. 

Between  the  ceiling  and  the  roof  of  another  part  of  this 
castle,  Lord  Lovat  was  concealed  for  a  short  time  after  the  battle 
of  Culloden.  When  he  found  it  becoming  the  abode  of  too  many 
of  his  enemies,  he  let  himself  down  from  the  battlements  by  a 
rope,  and  escaped  to  Morar,  on  the  west  coast,  where  he  was 
ultimately  seized. 

Since  their  union  with  the  family  of  Argyle,  prosperity 
seems  to  have  attended  constantly  on  the  proprietors  of  Caw- 
dor  ;  and  by  marriage  they  have  acquired  the  estates  of  Stack- 
pole  Court,  Gogirthen,  and  Golden  Grove,  in  South  Wales,  and, 
under  the  title  of  Earl  Cawdor,  they  have  recently  been  elevated 
to  the  peerage. 

14.  The  scenery  about  Cawdor  Castle,  as  already  stated,  is 
of  the  richest  and  most  picturesque  description.     In  the  park 
are  several  of  the  largest  oaks,  sycamores,  limes,  elms,  walnuts, 
ash,  and  pine  trees  in  the  north  of  Scotland  ;  one  magnificent 
stem  of  ash  measuring  twenty-three  feet  in  circumference  at 
a  foot  from  the  ground,  and  seventeen  feet  in  girth  at  the 
distance  of  six  feet  from  the  root.     The  garden  also  presents  a 
fine  specimen  of  an  ancient  yew  tree,  and  the  adjoining  woods 
and  rocks  abound  in  many  interesting  plants,  deserving   the 
search  of  the  botanist. 

About  two  miles  and  a  half  south  of  the  castle,  and  not  far 
R  2 


378  SCENERY  AT  CAWDOR.  SECT.  VI. 

above  the  junction  of  the  primitive  gneiss  with  the  secondary 
conglomerate  rocks  of  the  district,  an  ancient  lake  seems  at  one 
time  to  have  covered  an  elevated  piece  of  flat  or  boggy  ground. 
It  appears  to  have  burst  its  barrier  suddenly,  when  the  mass 
of  rushing  waters  instantly  plunged  into  the  soft  sandstone 
strata,  and  scooped  out  for  themselves  a  deep  narrow  tortuous 
channel,  now  the  course  of  the  gentle  burn  which  ripples  past 
the  castle  wall.  Another  stream  joins  it  from  the  westward, 
called  the  Burn  of  Auchindown,  the  sides  of  which  are  more 
open,  but  scarcely  less  rocky  than  the  other,  which  is  styled  the 
Hermitage  Burn,  from  an  old  rustic  bower,  built  on  the  top  of 
one  of  its  projecting  cliffs,  the  site  perhaps,  in  truth,  of  some 
ancient  hermit's  cell.  Nowhere  is  the  tendency  of  conglomerate 
rocks  to  crumble  into  pyramidal  detached  masses,  or  alternate 
semicircular  protuberances  and  hollows,  more  beautifully  dis- 
played than  in  the  channel  of  this  burn  ;  and  hence  the  walks 
cut  along  its  sides  wind  about  in  many  beautiful  curves,  ex- 
hibiting most  picturesque  combinations  of  rock  and  foliage, 
with  occasional  glimpses  of  the  distant  plains  of  Moray  and 
Nairnshire,  backed  by  the  bluff  Sutors  of  Cromarty,  and  the 
varied  outlines  of  the  mountains  of  Ross  and  Sutherland. 
Light  airy  wooden  bridges  have  also  in  several  places  been 
thrown  across,  connecting  the  opposite  sides  together.  The 
triangular  space  between  the  two  burns,  extending  nearly  to 
520  acres,  has  also  been  traversed  by  walks,  which  in  the  whole 
exceed  twelve  miles  in  length,  and  here  they  pass  through  an 
old  oak  and  beech  wood,  seldom  surpassed  in  the  size,  variety, 
and  beauty  of  its  single  trees  and  forest  glades.  Birch,  alder, 
and  hazel,  form  an  outer  fringe  to  the  forest,  while  immense 
quantities  of  woodbine,  sloe  tree,  and  bushes  of  juniper,  broom, 
and  holly,  were  entwined  together,  composing  an  almost  im- 
penetrable brake,  till  lately  opened  up  by  the  axe,  and  judi- 
ciously thinned  and  lined  off  as  native  evergreens.  They  now 
form  ornamental  shrubs  along  the  new  made  walks. 

15.  We  have  only  to  add,  that  the  parish  church  (formerly 
the  private  chapel  belonging  to  the  castle)  is  also  worth  seeing, 
on  account  chiefly  of  the  old  inscriptions  and  curious  entrance 
gate  which  it  contains.  The  ride  to  the  bridge  of  Dulsie,  on 
the  Findhorn,  about  eight  miles,  likewise  conducts  to  some 
beautifully  wooded  scenery  and  waterfalls ;  and,  in  the  same 
direction,  the  traveller  will  find  the  military  road  leading  to 


ROUTE  III.  A.         FINDHORN — RAITS  CASTLE.  379 

Strathspey,  which  passes  by  the  very  ancient  and  curious  castle 
of  the  Cumings,  built  on  an  island  called  Lochindorbh.  The 
old  military  road  to  Dulsie  Bridge  and  Strathspey  is,  however, 
now  impassable  for  vehicles  ;  and  the  traveller,  wishing  to 
reach  this  part  of  the  Findhorn  or  Strathspey,  must  either  follow 
the  Nairn  road  for  four  miles,  where  a  district  road  branches 
off,  conducting  across  the  hill  straight  to  Parness  Bridge 
(twelve  miles  from  Cawdor),  on  the  Findhorn,  below  Dulsie 
Bridge,  and  to  the  New  Inn,  fifteen  miles  from  Forres,  and 
thence  by  a  parliamentary  road  to  Grantown ;  or  he  may  reach 
the  Streens,  distant  nine  miles  (as  to  which  see  page  305),  by  a 
new  road  from  the  castle,  lately  made  by  Earl  Cawdor  for  the 
use  of  his  tenants.  From  Dulsie,  roads  will  be  found  along 
both  banks  of  the  river — that  on  the  north  side  proceeding 
through  a  fine  sweep  of  the  old  natural  pine  forest  to  Ardlach 
church,  whence  it  passes  behind  Coulmony,  and  crosses  the 
Findhorn  some  four  or  five  miles  lower  down  than  Farness,  by 
the  bridge  of  Daltulich,  a  mile  or  so  above  Relugas  on  the 
Divie.  A  district  road  has  also  been  formed  from  Cawdor  by 
Keppernoch,  connecting  with  the  Farness  road,  and  which 
shortens  the  distance  by  three  miles. 

16.  Two  miles  east  of  Cawdor,  and  near  the  House  of  Geddes. 
are  the  ruins  of  Raits  Castle,  anciently  the  seat  of  the  Macin- 
toshes of  Raits.  According  to  Shaw's  History  of  Moray,  this 
castle  also  at  one  time  belonged  to  a  Rait  of  that  Ilk,  who 
having  killed  Andrew,  Thane  of  Calder,  about  the  year  1404, 
was  banished  from  the  district,  but  afterwards  founded  the 
family  of  Rait  of  Halgreen  in  the  Mearns.  The  castellated 
part  is  gone,  but  a  religious  edifice,  apparently  of  a  more 
modem  date  than  it  could  have  been,  remains.  At  the  south 
corner  it  is  terminated  by  a  round  tower  (lately  formed  into  a 
dovecot)  resembling  those  attached  to  the  bishop's  palace  at 
Kirkwall  in  Orkney,  and  Spynie  in  Morayshire.  The  arches 
and  windows  in  other  parts  of  this  building  are  pointed,  light, 
and  elegantly  finished. 


380  INVERNESS   TO   THURSO.  SECT.  VII. 


SECTION  VII. 

ROUTE  IV. 

INVERNESS  TO  TAIN,  GOLSPIE,  WICK,  THURSO,  AND 
JOHN-O'-GROAT'S. 


The  Aird  ;  Clachnaharry  ;  Geological  Note,  1.—  Loch  Beauly  ;  Bunchrew,  2.  —  Pho- 
pachy  ;  Kirkhill;  Moniack,  3.  —  Valley  of  the  Beauly,  4.  —  Priory,  6.  —  Muir  of  Ord; 
Jstone  Pillars  ;  Cilie  Christ  ;  Brahan  ;  Conon  House,  6.  —  Dingwall,  7.  —  Evantown 
Balcony  ;  Novar  ;  Clan  Munro,  8.  —  Ferrindonald  and  Easter  Ross,  9.—  Short  road 
from  Alness  ;  Ardross,  10.  —  Upper  road  to  Tain  ;  Invergordon  Castle  ;  Kincraig, 
&c.  ;  Poor's  House,  11.—  Invergordon;  Coast  Villages;  Tarbat  House,  12.  —  Balna- 
gown  Castle,  13.—  Aultgraat;  Tain;  St.  Duthus"  Chapel  and  Church;  Monastery  of 
ream  ;  Tain  Academy  ;  Excursion  to  Tarbet  Ness  and  Fearn  ;  Agricultural  Im- 
provements, foot-note,  14.  —  Meikle  Ferry  ;  Bonar  Bridge;  Ardross,  15.  —  Enter  on 
Sutherland;  Dun  Creich;  Spinniugdale  ;  Ospisdale;  Skibo;  Clashmore,  16.  — 
Dornoch  ;  Geyzen  Briggs  ;  Palace  and  Cathedral  ;  Burning  for  Witchcraft  ;  Links, 
17.—  Tumuli;  Stone  Coffins  and  Cairns,  18.—  Little  Ferry  ;  Mound;  Loch  Fleet; 
Skelbo  Castle,  19.—  Improvements,  20.—  Golspie;  Dunrobin  Castle,  21.—  The  Catti; 
History  of  the  Earls  of  Sutherland,  footnote  ;  Brora  Quarries;  Coal  Basin;  Geology, 
22.—  Strath  and  Loch  Kilcalmkill;  Cole's  Castle,  23.—  Loth;  Port  Gower;  Heliusdale, 
24.—  The  Ord  of  Caithness  ;  Duubeath,  25.—  General  Features  of  Caithness  ;  Im- 
provements, 26.  —  Braal  Castle  ;  Oldwick  Castle,  27.—  "Wick  and  Thurso  ;  Herring 
Fishery,  Account  of;  Wick  and  Pultneytown,  28.  —  History  of  Caithness,  foot-note  ; 
District  Road  to  Houna  and  John-o'-Groat's  House  ;  Old  Castles,  Horrible  Stories 
of;  Battle  of  Alt-a-Mhairlich,  29.  —  Houna;  John-o'-Groat's  House;  Duncansby, 
30.  —  Pentland  Firth,  Detention  of  Vessels,  and  Dangers  of,  31,  and  foot-note.— 
Houna  to  Thurso  ;  Improvements;  Peasantry;  Pavement  Quarries,  32.  —  Tliurso 
Bay  ;  Holburn  Head;  The  Clett,  33. 

MUes.        Miles. 

Bogroy  .........................................................  7 

Beauly  ..........  .  ..............................................       5^         12£ 

Dingwall  .....................................................       9~        2l| 

Dingwall  by  Kessock  Ferry  13  miles,  difference 

8J  ;  see  next  Branch. 
Evantown   .............................................      7 

Allness  ...................................................      4 

Invergordon    ..........................................     2f    13f        35^ 

Tain  ............................................................     Ill        47 

Bonar  Bridge  ................................................     13|        60J 

Bonar  Bridge  from  Dingwall  across  the  hill  behind 

Allness,  25  miles,  difference  14,  viz.,  from  All- 

ness  to  Stittenham  Inn  ...........................    5 

Bonar  Bridge  .......................................  10 

Clashmore  .  ..................................................     10£        71J 

Clashmore  from  Tain,  by  Meikle  Ferry,  9J,  dif- 
ference 15. 

Meikle  Ferrv  to  Dornoch  ........................     5 


ROUTE  IV.  CLACHXAHARRY.  381 

Miles.  Miles. 

Golspie    14          85} 

Port  Gower 14|  100 

Berridale Ill  Hlf 

Swiney    12|  124J 

Wick    15  139i 

(District  road  to  Houna  and  John-o'-Groat's 

21  miles.) 

Thurso 20£  160 


Conveyances. 

Mail,  a  four-horse  coach  to  Tain,  and  a  two-horse  coach  hence  to 
Thurso,  starts  from  Caledonian  Hotel,  Inverness,  every  morning. 

Duke  of  Wellington,  by  Beauly,  to  Dingwall  and  Strathpeffer  (two- 
horse  coach),  runs  daily  in  summer  from  Caledonian  Hotel,  Inverness? 
and  back  the  same  day  (hours  vary). 

Mail  Gig  from  Dingwall  to  Loch  Carron  and  Skye  (see  Branch  c.  to 
this  route). 

Carriers  every  Tuesday  and  Friday  from  Inverness  to  Beauly,  and 
to  Dingwall  by  Kessock ;  and  on  the  same  days  another  carrier  goes  be- 
tween Dingwall  and  Tain. 

The  London  and  Leith  Steamers  from  Inverness  call  at  Invergordon ; 
and  the  Rothesay  Castle  leaves  Kessock  Ferry  every  Monday  and  Thurs- 
day morning,  for  the  ports  on  the  Moray  Firth  and  the  Little  Ferry  in 
Sutherlandshire,  returning  every  succeeding  day  (see  page  203). 


1.  ONE  mile  from  Inverness,  the  road,  after  crossing  the  Cale- 
donian Canal,  (as  to  which  see  pp.  133  to  147,)  leads  suddenly 
westward  :  and  quitting  the  valley  of  the  Ness,  instantly  pre- 
sents to  our  view  the  expanse  of  Loch  Beauly,  with  a  great 
portion  of  the  Aird,  the  richest  and  most  beautiful  district  in 
the  county,  and  the  land  of  the  clan  Fraser.  Between  the  road 
and  the  sea  is  the  straggling  village  of  Clachnaharry,  which  is 
inhabited  by  fishermen  and  boat-builders,  and  derives  its  name 
from  the  rough  impending  rocks  to  the  westward,  (Clach-na 
herrie,  or  the  Watchman's  seat  or  stone,)  where,  in  days  of  yore, 
the  burghers  of  Inverness  found  it  necessary  to  station  a  senti- 
nel to  give  notice  of  the  approach  of  the  Reivers  of  Ross,  or 
the  marauding  clans  of  the  west  coast. 

Mr.  Duff,  the  late  proprietor  of  Muirtown,  erected,  on  the 
highest  pinnacle  of  the  rock,  a  neat  column,  visible  all  over  the 
surrounding  country,  commemorative  of  a  battle  fought  at  this 
place  in  the  year  1378  (according  to  the  Historic  of  the  Earl- 
dom of  Sutherland,  1333),  between  the  Munroes  of  Foulis  and 
the  Clan  Chattan.  It  is  thus  described  by  a  late  writer  : — "The 


382  CLAN   BATTLE.  SECT.  VII. 

Munroes,  a  distinguished  tribe  of  Ross,  returning  from  an 
inroad  they  had  made  in  the  south  of  Scotland,  passed  by  Moy- 
hall,  the  seat  of  Macintosh,  leader  of  the  clan  Chattan  ;  a  share 
of  the  booty,  or  road-collop,  payable  to  a  chief  for  traversing 
his  dominions,  was  demanded  and  acceded  to  ;  but  Macintosh's 
avaricious  spirit  coveting  the  whole,  his  proposal  met  with  con- 
tempt, and  Macintosh  summoned  his  vassals  to  extort  compli- 
ance. The  Munroes,  pursuing  their  journey,  forded  the  river 
Ness,  a  little  above  the  island,  and  despatched  the  cattle  they 
had  plundered  across  the  hill  of  Kinmylies,  to  Lovat's  province. 
Their  enemy  came  up  to  them  at  the  point  of  Clachnahayre, 
and  immediately  joined  battle  :  the  conflict  was  such  as  might 
have  been  expected  from  men  excited  to  revenge  by  a  long  and 
inveterate  enmity.  Quarter  was  neither  sought  nor  granted  : 
after  an  obstinate  struggle,  Macintosh  was  killed.  The  survi- 
vors of  his  band  retraced  their  steps  to  their  own  country.  John 
Munro,  tutor  of  Fowlis,  was  left  for  dead  upon  the  field  ;  his 
kinsmen  were  not  long  of  retaliating.  -  Having  collected  a  suffi- 
cient force,  they  marched  in  the  dead  of  the  night  for  the  Isle 
of  Moy,  where  the  chief  of  the  Macintoshes  resided.  By  the 
aid  of  some  planks  which  they  had  carried  with  them,  and  now 
put  together,  they  crossed  to  the  isle,  and  glutted  their  thirst 
for  revenge,  by  the  murder  or  captivity  of  all  the  inmates." — 
(Anderson's  Historical  Account  of  the  Family  of  Fraser,  p.  54.)* 

*  The  geologist  could  not  begin  an  examination  of  the  rocks  of  this  district 
better  than  at  this  point  of  Clachnaharry.  He  there,  immediately  to  the  westward 
of  the  little  monument  above  mentioned,  finds  an  anticlinal  axis,  caused  by  an  out- 
burst of  granite  among  the  old  red  sandstone  strata,  and  its  coarse  conglomerate, 
which  are  thrown  in  opposite  directions,  at  a  high  angle,  dipping  east  and  vest. 
About  half-a-mile  farther  on,  where  a  quarry  was  opened  for  the  Caledonian  Canal, 
the  sandstone  will  be  found  tilted  up  almost  vertically,  and  waved  and  contorted  in 
the  most  intricate  manner,  like  curved  gneiss.  In  some  places  it  is  hardened  and 
shattered  into  small  tabular  masses,  the  layers  being  occasionally  separated  by  thin 
seams  of  foliated  celestine  The  granite  here  does  not  crop  out,  but  the  altered  cha- 
racter of  the  sandstone  indicates  its  vicinity,  as  does  its  upheaved  and  shattered  con- 
dition in  the  adjoining  hills  of  Craig  Phadrick  (about  500  feet)  and  Dnnean  (about  1000 
feet) ;  and  in  the  high  rough  ridge,  immediately  to  the  westwards,  which  subsides  into 
the  sea  at  Phopachy,  the  granite  comes  out  in  mass,  being  united  without  any  interrup- 
tion with  the  great'central  deposits  of  that  rock,  which  compose  almost  all  the  moun- 
tains on  the  west  side  of  Loch  Ness,  between  Urquhart  Bay  and  Dochfour.  The  Great 
Glen  itself,  indeed,  is  most  likely  a  valley  of  depression  caused  by  the  uprising  of  the 
enormous  granitic  walls  which  line  it  on  both  sides,  the  extent  of  the  upheaval 
being  still  in  some  degree  measurable  by  the  height  of  the  great  sandstone  top  or 
dome  of  Mealfourvouuie,  which  is  a  mass  of  sandstone  conglomerate,  about  1500  feet 
deep,  resting  on  a  granitic  precipice  of  about  the  same  depth,  which  is  beautifully  ex- 
hibited at  Aultsigh,  on  Loch  Ness  side.  Between  the  lower  end  of  this  lake  and  the 
sea,  the  granite  nencleus  is  crusted  over  with  the  old  red  sandstone,  but  so  thin  that 
the  crystaline  rock  is  frequently  exposed  as  at  Clachnaharry,  Kirkhill,  and  other 
places  along  the  Beauly  Firth ;  but  pursuing  the  general  bearing  of  the  granite  axis 
towards  the  north-east  across  the  firth,  we  find  it  again  cropping  out  in  mass  at 


KOUTE  IV.  GEOLOGICAL  NOTE.  383 

2.  Although  it  has  received  a  separate  name,  the  quiet  and 
sequestered  basin  of  Loch  Beauly  is  but  the  inner  portion  of 
the  Moray  Firth,  from  the  western  corner  of  which  it  branches 
off ;  the  ferry  of  Kessock  forming  the  connecting  strait.  Tra- 

Avoch,  and  thence  forming  the  greater  portion  of  the  high  ridge  running  behind 
Fortrose  and  Rosemarkie,  to  the  Sutors  of  Cromarty,  where  extensive  sections  of  it 
(as  a  granitic  gneiss)  are  again  displayed  in  the  sea  cliffs.  Again,  at  the  point  of 
Clachnaharry,  the  observer  Las  beautifully  presented  to  him  the  terraces  of  the  drift, 
gravel,  which  are  here  seen  encompassing  both  sides  of  the  Beauly  and  Moray  Firths, 
and  extending  up  the  valley  of  the  Ness.  At  the  lower  end  of  the  canal  basin,  the 
gravel  bed  was  cut  (near  the  engineer's  houses)  to  a  considerable  depth,  and  reaching  to 
the  boulder-clay  beneath  it,  and  on  the  top  of  the  bank  just  above  this  opening,  some 
of  the  largest  erratic  blocks  in  the  neighbourhood  may  be  seen.  Those  mocks, 
though  in  this  place  conglomerates  of  the  adjoining  hill,  in  general,  around  Inver- 
ness, belonged  originally  to  the  crystalline  masses  of  the  Great  Glen ;  and  in  Ross- 
shire,  as  far  eastwards  as  Tain  and  Tarbat  Ness,  a  peculiar  coarse  yellowish  gneiss 
is  abundantly  strewn  over  the  surface,  while  to  the  east  of  Inverness,  the  beauti- 
ful porphorytic  flesh-coloured  granite  of  Cawdor  and  Ardclach,  is  scattered  still  farther 
east  over  all  Morayshire. 

We  refer  to  Chambers'  "Sea  Margins"  for  minute  descriptions  and  sections  of 
the  gravel  beds  about  Inverness,  and  cannot  sum  up  this  sketch  better  than  in  the 
words  of  the  Rev.  J.  G.  Gumming,  Vice-Principal  of  King  William's  College,  Isle  of 
Man,  in  the  Report  of  his  Paper  in  the  Geological  Society's  Transactions  for  April 
1849,  on  the  "  Tertiary  Deposits  of  the  Moray  Firth  and  the  Great  Caledonian  Valley," 
to  which  we  shall  afterwards  refer  in  connexion  with  the  deposits  of  Moray  and 
Sutherland  shires.  (See  also  p.  344.) 

"  The  conclusions  to  which  my  examination  hitherto  (says  Mr.  C.)  of  the  pheno- 
mena connected  with  the  newer  pleiocene  gravels,  sands,  and  clays,  has  led  me,  may 
be  thus  briefly  summed  up,  viz. : — 

"  That  at  the  commencement  of  the  period  of  the  boulder-clay,  the  relative  level 
of  the  sea  and  land  in  the  British  Isles  was  not  greatly  different  from  what  it  now  is, 
and  that  the  main  features  of  the  country  had  been  already  assumed. 

"  That  a  great  current,  originating  probably  in  the  union  of  a  north-polar  current, 
with  a  modihcation  of  the  present  gulf-stream,  was  constantly  setting  in  upon  the 
northern  and  western  shores  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  with  a  climate  of  an  arctic 
or  subarctic  character. 

"  That  a  gradual  submergence  of  the  area  of  the  British  Isles  took  place  to  the 
extent,  in  some  parts,  of  at  least  1600  feet,  and  subsequently  a  gradual  emergence  of 
the  same  extent. 

"  That  the  former  event  is  chronicled  by  the  scratched  rocks  and  boulders  of  the 
true  boulder-clay  series ;  the  latter  is  marked  by  the  more  elevated  terraces  or  lower 
extended  platforms  of  rolled  boulders  and  gravel,  which  are  in  many  instances  a 
redistribution  in  great  part  of  the  materials  of  the  boulder-clay,  sometimes  regularly 
stratified. 

"  That  during  the  uprising  the  more  rigorous  conditions  of  the  climate  were  mo- 
dified, and  erratics  from  more  distant  localities  were  dropped,  upon  the  grounding  and 
deliquescence  of  icebergs,  whilst  the  scratching  and  grooving  action  of  littoral  ice  in 
a  great  measure  ceased. 

"  That  the  upheaval  of  the  great  terrace,  which  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Inverness 
rises  from  90  to  120  feet  above  the  sea,  and  from  30  to  130  feet  on  the  east  and  west 
coasts  of  Great  Britain  and  the  Isle  of  Man,  marks  the  period  of  the  last  great  change 
in  thephysical  conditions  of  the  country  during  the  glacial  epoch. 

"  That  after  this  upheaval,  and  the  consequent  union  of  the  British  isles  with  each 
other  and  with  the  continent  of  Europe,  the  sea  has,  through  a  vastly  lengthened 
period,  quietly  eaten  back  its  way  into  the  drift-gravel  platform,  and  again  separated 
these  countries. 

"  This  might  be  accompanied  with  a  gradual  depression  again  to  a  certain  extent, 
so  that  the  forests  which  had  grown  upon  the  lower  alluvial  grounds  and  valleys,  cut 
out  of  the  drift-gravel,  were  submerged. 

"  This  depression,  as  indicated  by  inland  cliffs  and  water-worn  caves,  was  probably 
to  the  extent  of  from  fifteen  to  twenty  feet,  compared  with  the  present  liigh-water 


384         LOCH  BEAULY PHOPACHY.        SECT.  VII. 

veiling  along  its  low  swelling  shores,  the  stranger,  though  in  a 
country  truly  Highland,  meets  with  an  unexpected  source  of 
pleasure  in  the  freshness  of  the  sea  breeze,  and  in  finding  the 
signs  of  maritime  life  so  far  inland,  where  he  looked  only  for  the 
repose  of  alpine  heaths  and  valleys.  Local  tradition  indeed 
maintains  that  the  whole  basin  was  a  pastoral  strath  as  far  down 
as  Fort-George,  till  about  the  period  of  the  upheaval  on  the  Eng- 
lish coast  of  the  Goodwin  Sands.  The  daily  increasing  breadth  of 
the  sloping  cultivated  grounds,  the  frequent  masses  of  wood,  the 
number  of  gentlemen's  seats  and  farm-houses  with  which  the 
margin  of  the  firth  is  studded,  the  flocks  of  waterfowl,  the  fishing- 
boats,  and  the  occasional  appearance  of  vessels  holding  up  their 
course  towards  the  mountains,  give  to  this  hill-encircled  sheet  of 
water,  and  the  drive  on  either  side  of  it,  a  cheerfulness  and  air  of 
active  life  not  usually  attendant  on  Highland  scenery.  The 
more  distant  mountains  at  the  same  time  are  truly  alpine  ;  the 
huge  form  of  Ben  Wyvis  occupying  the  northern  background, 
while,  to  the  west,  the  lofty,  massive,  but  sharper  outlined 
Benevachart  and  the  heights  of  Strathglass  and  Strathconon 
uprear  a  continuous  serrated  mountain  screen  along  the  horizon. 

Three  miles  from  Inverness  we  reach  the  wooded  promon- 
tory of  Bunchrew  (John  Fraser,  Esq.),  formerly  an  old  and 
favourite  retreat  of  the  family  of  Culloden,  especially  of  the 
celebrated  Lord  President  Forbes. 

3.  The  traveller  now  enters  upon  the  possessions  of  Lord 
Lovat ;  and  on  the  next  promontory,  jutting  out  into  the  sea, 
he  will  perceive  the  house  of  Phopachy,  the  former  residence  of 
an  old  branch  of  his  clan — ancestors  of  the  Frasers  of  Torbreck. 

Here  a  new  section  of  the  district,  called  the  Aird,*  presents 
itself;  the  firth  at  the  same  time  contracting,  and  exposing 
more  distinctly  to  our  view  the  sandy  beach  and  low  Carse 
lands  at  its  head,  with  the  Castles  of  Kilcoy  and  Redcastle, 
the  manse  of  Killearnan,  and  the  house  of  Tarradale  on  the 
Ross-shire  coast.  The  country  more  near  is  of  the  richest  de- 
scription. Corn  fields  occupy  the  sides  and  middle  of  an  open 
strath  extending  from  a  line  of  hills  on  the  south  to  the  mar- 
gin of  the  sea,  and  bounded  on  the  north-west  by  a  gentle 

level,  so  that  a  subsequent  elevation  has  left  in  sheltered  situations  a  low  line  of  beach 
rising  from  the  present  sea  level  to  the  base  of  the  pleistocene  cliffs  inland,  often  form- 
ing nch  alluvial  tracts  on  what  were  formerly  the  sands  of  wider  estuaries." 

*  There  are  three  distinguished  airds  or  heights  in  this  quarter,  Ardross,  between 
the  Cromarty  and  Dornoch  firths ;  Ardmeanach,  or  the  Priest's  Aid,  the  Black  Isle, 
in  Ross ;  and  Ard  MacShemie,  or  Lovat's  Aird. 


ROUTE  IV.        VALLEY  OF  THE  BEAULY.  385 

sloping  ridge  which  rises  from  the  bank  of  the  river  Beauly. 
This  ridge  is  crowned  with  luxuriant  woods  ;  among  which  are 
the  mansion-houses  and  policies  of  several  proprietors,  most  of 
them  heads  of  the  different  branches  of  the  clan  Fraser. 

From  Bogroy  a  cross-road  conducts  to  the  gates  of  the 
several  seats  just  alluded  to,  and  to  the  church  and  manse  of 
Kirkhill ;  and  a  branch  of  the  same  line  is  continued  over  the 
hill  to  Beauly.  On  the  summit  of  the  hill,  behind  the  manse, 
stood  the  old  church  of  Wardlaw,  or  the  watching-hill  of  the 
district.  "  The  Chapel,"  as  it  is  called,  which  occupies  the 
locale  of  that  building,  has  long  been  the  burying-place  of  the 
Lovat  family,  and  of  the  cadets  nearest  to  them  in  blood  ;  the 
walls  are  hung  round  with  escutcheons  and  tablets  of  many 
generations,  and  the  monuments  of  the  Lords  Thomas  and  Simon 
Fraser  of  Lovat  are  particularly  worthy  of  notice.  Around  the 
chapel  the  poorer  vassals  of  the  clan,  and  the  other  inhabitants 
of  the  parish,  inter  their  dead.  Resuming  our  course  along  the 
post  road,  in  less  than  a  mile's  distance  from  Bogroy,  we  pass 
the  houses  of  Easter  and  Wester  Moniack — the  former  belong- 
ing to  J.  B.  Fraser,  Esq.  of  Relig,  the  accomplished  author  and 
Eastern  traveller,  and  the  latter  to  Lord  Lovat.  The  hills  above 
the  first  residence,  and  along  the  deeply  channelled  and  roman- 
tic burn  of  Moniack,  are  clothed  with  magnificent  woods,  both 
planted  and  natural,  and  nourished  under  the  eye  of  the  pro- 
prietor, whose  garden  contains  the  finest  groups  of  cedars  in 
this  country.  The  road  thence  leads  us  for  a  mile  and  a  half 
along  the  Moss  of  Conan,  recently  a  deep  quagmire,  the  haunt 
of  the  snipe  and  bittern,  but  now  rapidly  changing,  under  the 
influence  of  drainage  and  the  plough,  into  a  beautiful  cultivated 
valley :  beyond  it,  on  the  left,  rises  a  semicircular  range  of  pine- 
clad  hills,  which  conducts  the  eye  to  the  oak  and  larch  planta- 
tions of  Phoinas  and  Belladrum,  but  of  which  one  bare  and  rocky 
peak  rising  above  the  rest  is  called  Castle  Spynie  ;  which  is  sur- 
mounted by  a  walled  structure  partly  vitrified. 

4.  Another  bend  of  the  road,  and  the  magnificent  valley  of 
the  Beauly  bursts  on  the  sight ;  here  a  plain  nearly  circular, 
and  almost  two  miles  wide,  traversed  by  a  broad  sweeping  river, 
encompassed  by  a  ring  of  high-terraced  banks,  which,  as  they 
approach  near  one  another  towards  the  west,  lead  the  eye  to  the 
gorge  of  a  rocky  opening,  down  which  the  waters  pour,  which 
form  the  picturesque  Falls  of  Kilmorack.  The  surface  of  the 


386  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.  SECT.  VII. 

plain,  and  of  the  terraced  ground  by  which  it  is  encircled,  and 
the  sides  of  the  hills  which  slope  down  to  both,  are  elegantly 
chequered  with  cultivated  fields,  and  dense  woods  of  birch  and 
fir ;  and  above  them,  the  brown  and  rugged  heights  of  Strath- 
glass  and  Glenstrathfarar  rise  in  the  western  sky,  the  peaked 
and  snow-clad  summit  of  Benevachart  on  the  estate  of  Struy 
being  the  most  prominent ;  and  towards  the  north,  the  huge 
shoulders  of  Ben  Wyvis,  the  king  of  Ross-shire  mountains, 
whose  bulky  form  towers  majestic  for  several  miles  after  leaving 
Inverness,  again  present  themselves.  The  valley  below  is  fur- 
ther adorned  with  the  steep,  but  handsome  Lovat  Bridge,  built 
in  1810,  across  the  river  Beauly ;  and  the  top  of  the  opposite 
hill  is  diversified  with  small  patches  of  corn  land,  allotted  by 
General  Simon  Eraser  of  Lovat,  towards  the  close  of  last  cen- 
tury, to  the  veteran  soldiers  of  his  clan  who  had  served  under 
him  in  the  American  war.  The  valley  towards  the  mouth  of 
the  river  becomes  a  fertile  carse,  and  the  expanse  of  rich  culti- 
vated ground  stretching  along  the  sloping  sides  of  the  firth  is 
extensive.  On  the  summit  of  the  ridge,  before  descending  to 
the  plain,  a  road  is  observed  striking  off  to  the  left,  which  pro- 
ceeds through  the  parish  of  Kiltarlity  to  the  higher  regions  of 
the  country  afterwards  described ;  and  to  the  right  of  it,  again, 
are  seen  the  walls  and  dense  woods  of  Beaufort  Castle,  the  seat 
of  the  Right  Honourable  Thomas  Alexander  Fraser,  Lord  Lovat, 
the  present  chief  of  the  clan  Fraser.  The  road  from  the  Lovat 
Bridge  leads  directly  westwards  to  the  Falls  of  Kilmorack  and 
the  districts  afterwards  noticed :  that  turning  eastward  from  it 
conducts  a  mile  onwards  to  the  inn  and  village  of  Beauly,  where 
the  tourist  will  find  pretty  comfortable  quarters,  and  a  posting 
establishment. 

5.  The  ancient  Priory  of  Beauly,  which  rears  its  venerable 
walls  above  the  aged  trees  which  surround  it,  stands  not  fifty 
yards  distant  from  the  brink  of  the  river,  on  a  rich  loamy  soil. 
Its  name  is  significant  of  the  beauty  of  its  situation ;  and  the 
remains  of  its  orchard  attest  the  fertility  of  the  ground,  and  the 
attention  which  the  old  French  monks  paid  to  horticulture. 
They  belonged  to  the  order  of  Valliscaulium,  a  reform  of  the 
Cistertians,  following  the  rule  of  St.  Bennet,  who  were  brought 
into  Scotland,  about  the  year  1230,  by  Malvoisin,  bishop  of  St. 
Andrews,  and  established  at  the  same  period  at  Pluscardine  in 
Elginshire,  at  Beauly,  and  Ardchattan  in  Argyle.  They  led  an 


ROUTE  IV.  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY.  387 

austere  and  solitary  life,  and  afforded  education  to  the  youth, 
and  an  asylum  to  many  gentlemen  of  the  Highlands,  whom 
either  bodily  infirmity,  or  a  distaste  for  the  coarse  manners  of 
their  countrymen,  disqualified  for  more  active  occupations. 

This  priory  was  founded  by  John  Bisset  of  Lovat,  A.  D.  1230 ; 
but  various  additions  were  afterwards  made  to  it  by  the  several 
Lords  Fraser  of  Lovat ;  and  at  the  Reformation,  when  the  last 
prior  gave  it,  along  with  his  lands,  by  reason  of  the  "  present 
troubles,"  in  trust  to  Hugh  Lord  Lovat,  its  revenues  were  con- 
siderable. It  is  now  a  mere  shell :  the  roof  is  fallen ;  and  the 
area  within  is  occupied  only  with  the  rubbish  of  the  walls,  and 
the  closely-set  graves  of  the  clan  Fraser,  and  their  allies.  Be- 
side the  high  altar  repose  the  ashes  of  the  old  chiefs ;  and  near 
them  those  of  the  principal  branches  of  the  clan  Fraser,  of  the 
Chisholms,  and  other  tribes  in  Strathglass. 

The  north  transept,  which  was  also  the  chapter  house,  has 
been  appropriated  as  a  burying-place  exclusively  by  the  Mac- 
kenzies  of  Gairloch,  and  the  fine  effigy  of  a  recumbent  knight 
in  full  panoply  of  mail,  under  an  arched  canopy,  marks  the  rest- 
ing place  of  Sir  Kenneth  Mackenzie,  eighth  Laird  of  Kintail, 
who  died  in  1493,  and  who  was  the  first  interred  here ;  all  his 
predecessors  having  been  buried  in  lona.  The  south  transept 
contains  a  great  many  sepulchres,  some  surmounted  with  carved 
niches  and  stone  sarcophagi ;  but  it  is  not  known  to  what  fami- 
lies they  belong,  and  tradition  says  that  the  priors  and  monks 
were  buried  there. 

The  variety  of  figures  on  the  more  ancient  tombstones  and 
fallen  crosses  is  considerable ;  some  are  elegantly  carved,  and 
the  inscriptions  on  many  of  them  are  in  the  ancient  Saxon  cha- 
racter. The  architecture  of  the  chapel  was  in  the  simple,  but 
beautiful  early  pointed  style ;  a  few  of  the  windows  on  the  south 
side  being  also  formed  into  very  large  trefoils.  This  priory  was 
first  despoiled  by  Oliver  Cromwell. 

Beauly,  or  Beaulieu,  is  said  to  have  been  so  named  by  Queen 
Mary,  though  we  rather  suspect  the  name  is  a  play  upon  the 
Celtic  word  Bal-aa,  or  town  of  the  ford,  significant  of  its  posi- 
tion with  reference  to  the  adjoining  well-known  ford  on  the 
river.  Beauly  was  the  market-town  of  the  old  Barons  of  Lovat ; 
and  the  great  fairs,  or  stated  markets,  used  to  be  proclaimed  in 
it  by  the  chief  in  person,  with  much  pomp  and  ceremony.  It 
is  called,  by  the  Gaelic  population,  "  Balmanach,"  or  "  Bana- 


388  MUIR  OF  OKD CASTLE  BKAIIAN.          SECT.  VII. 

chan,"  the  Monk's  Town,  and  the  neighbouring  district,  "  Leor- 
namanach,"  or  the  "  Monk's  Land."  At  the  adjoining  farm  of 
Wellhouse,  there  is  a  consecrated  spring  of  water  where  a  lofty 
cross  stood,  the  shaft  of  which  still  exists ;  but  it  has  been  re- 
moved to  the  eastward  of  the  modern  village,  which,  under  the 
patronage  of  the  present  noble  chief,  is  now  neat  and  clean,  and 
increasing  in  size  and  importance  as  a  shipping  port. 

Opposite  to  Beauly,  a  little  to  the  eastward,  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  river,  stood  the  old  castle  of  Lovat,  where  the  agri- 
culturist will  now  find  the  most  ample  proofs  of  the  modern 
spirit  of  improvement,  the  present  tenant  (Mr.  France)  having 
himself  embanked  the  river,  and  reclaimed  upwards  of  eighty 
acres  of  fertile  carse  land.  The  grounds  on  both  sides  are  under- 
going similar  improvements  and  thorough  drainage. 

6.  On  quitting  the  boundaries  of  Inverness-shire  at  the  first 
rivulet,  half  a  mile  beyond  Beauly,  the  road  enters  Ross-shire 
by  the  flat  and  sandy  Muir  of  Ord ;  *  a  plain  well  adapted  for 
the  great  cattle  markets,  which,  at  stated  periods  of  the  year, 
are  held  here.  On  its  surface  we  perceive  two  upright  stone 
pillars,  commemorative  of  a  feat  of  ancient  warfare,  and  con- 
nected, it  is  said,  with  a  prophecy  regarding  the  extinction  of 
the  clan  Mackenzie ;  and  to  the  eastward  of  it  exists  an  aston- 
ishing number  of  stone  circles  and  cairns.  A  little  way  north 
may  also  be  seen  the  ruined  walls  of  Cilie-Christ  (Christ's 
Church)  chapel,  as  to  the  raid  and  destruction  of  which,  see 
page  149.  Losing  sight  of  the  fair  country  about  Loch  Beauly, 
the  road  soon  brings  us  to  the  banks  of  the  Conon,  a  broad 
stream,  flowing  through  a  spacious  open  valley,  beautifully  laid 
out  with  gentlemen's  policies,  woods,  and  large  farms.  The 
Conon  drains  all  the  inland  lakes  and  mountains  to  Lochs  Rosk 
and  Fannich,  within  ten  miles  of  the  western  sea.  In  front  an 
amphitheatre  of  high  rocky  cliffs,  half  concealed  by  woods,  en- 
compasses a  sloping  plain,  in  the  centre  of  which  appears  Castle 
Brahan,  an  imposing  building,  formerly  castellated,  the  seat  on 
this  side  the  island  of  the  Mackenzies  of  Seaforth.  Their  more 
ancient  stronghold  was  the  castle  of  Eilandonan,  in  Kintail  (as 
to  which  see  page  196).  Earl  Colin,  Lord  Kintail,  who  was 
chancellor,  and  a  distinguished  statesman  in  the  reign  of  James 

*  At  the  north  end  of  the  Muir  of  Ord  the  road  is  intersected  by  that  from  Kes- 
sock  and  Kedcastle,  which  crosses  the  plain  of  Urray,  and  proceeds  by  the  bridge  of 
Muv  to  Contin,  on  the  Lochcarron  road.  (See  Branch  B.  to  this  Route.) 


ROUTE  IV.  CASTLE  BRAHAN DINGWALL.  389 

VI.  and  Charles  I.,  and  who  made  occasional  progresses  through 
his  domains,  and  held  "  solemn  hunting  days,"  as  an  old  MS. 
before  us  states,  little  less  imposing  than  those  of  royalty  itself, 
built  the  castle  of  Brahan,  and  the  castle  of  Chanonry  or  For- 
trose — his  uncle  and  tutor,  Sir  Rorie  Mackenzie,  having  about 
the  same  time  erected  Castle  Leod  in  Strathpeffer.  If  the  sight 
of  the  Tay  recalled  to  the  Roman  soldiers  the  thoughts  of  their 
own  Tiber,  the  old  avenues  of  trees,  the  extended  lawns  and  rich 
pastures  of  Brahan  appear,  in  the  beginning  of  last  century,  and 
during  the  previous  era  of  the  Commonwealth,  to  have  fasci- 
nated the  English  officers,  then  garrisoned  in  the  Highlands ; 
who,  in  their  letters,  talk  of  their  visits  here,  as  of  a  joyous  re- 
turn from  warfare  to  the  rich  sylvan  scenes  of  their  boyhoods. 
The  amateur  in  paintings  will  find  several  good  pictures  in 
Brahan,  three  in  particular — of  Queen  Mary,  Darnley,  and 
Rizzio ;  and  one  very  large  family-piece  by  West,  which,  it  is 
said,  cost  ,£3000.  The  road  now  passes  by  Conon  House  (Sir 
Kenneth  Mackenzie  of  Gairloch,  Bart.),  and  thence  across  the 
river  to  Dingwall,  distant  about  three  miles.  At  the  bridge  of 
Scuddel  the  roa4  from  Kessock  by  the  Black  Isle  joins  the 
post-road,  and  another  here  strikes  westward,  by  Brahan,  to 
Contin  Inn  (five  miles  off),  where  it  joins  the  main  line  to  Loch 
Carron. 

7.  The  town  of  Dingwall  (a  name  of  Scandinavian  import, 
and  therefore  not  altogether  familiar  to  the  Gaelic  inhabitants, 
who  call  the  place  Inverphaeron)  lies  in  a  low  and  rather  damp 
situation  at  the  opening  of  Strathpeffer.  It  contains  about  2000 
inhabitants  ;  the  houses  are  neat,  and  the  town  is  supplied  with 
gas  and  water.  The  richness  of  the  adjoining  country,  the 
hedge-rows  and  clumps  of  trees  about  the  town,  over  which  the 
marsh-loving  poplars  rear  their  long  columnar  stems,  bestow  on 
Dingwall  not  a  little  of  the  aspect  of  one  of  the  sweet  villages 
in  the  south  of  England.  The  powerful  Earls  of  Ross  had  once 
a  castle,  their  chief  residence,  here,  the  fosse  and  foundations 
of  which  are  still  visible :  and  here  also  they  held  their  courts. 
Though  incorporated  as  a  royal  burgh  so  early  as  1227,  by  Alex- 
ander II.,  the  town  can  boast  of  no  antiquities  but  its  cross,  and 
the  pyramidal  monument  of  the  Earls  of  Cromarty.  The  waters 
of  the  Cromarty  Firth  come  close  to  the  town,  but,  from  their 
shallowness,  the  mouth  of  an  adjoining  streamlet  had  to  be 
deepened  and  formed  into  a  canal  for  the  admission  of  small 


390  DINGWALL EVANTOWN.  SECT.  VII. 

vessels.  Dingwall  must  have  been  long  a  sort  of  terra  incog- 
nita to  all  the  world  except  its  own  worthy  neighbours ;  for  we 
find  in  the  Council  records  of  Inverness,  so  late  as  the  year 
1733,  that  an  embassage  was  projected  by  the  magistrates  to 
ascertain  the  condition  of  this  burgh.  The  enterprising  and 
intelligent  bailie,  who  conducted  it,  reported  that  there  was  no 
prison,  but  there  was  "  a  lake  close  to  the  town,  which  kept 
people  from  kirk  and  market  for  want  of  a  bridge ;  that  there 
was  no  trade  in  the  town,  but  that  there  were  one  or  two  in- 
clined to  carry  on  trade  if  they  had  a  harbour."  The  Council 
of  Inverness  treasured  up  this  information  in  their  minutes,  and 
directed  their  cashier  to  pay  to  the  bailie  £8  Scots  for  his  ex- 
penses. Like  all  the  northern  towns  and  villages  (with  the 
exception  of  Cromarty  and  Wick),  the  prosperity  of  Dingwall 
depends  entirely  on  the  agricultural  population  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood ;  but  from  whom  also  it  receives  their  poor  ejected 
tenantry.  Dingwall  has  the  following  signs  of  modern  civili- 
zation and  improvement  about  it :  two  comfortable  hotels,  the 
Caledonian  and  National ;  excellent  roads  and  streets ;  a  good 
Parish  and  Free  Church  schools  ;  two  churches  and  an  Episco- 
pal chapel ;  a  printing  establishment,  and  weekly  newspaper ; 
a  prison  (forming,  with  the  court-house  and  county  rooms,  a 
fine  castellated  building,  conspicuous  on  the  plain  as  we  enter 
from  the  south,  and  much  finer  and  more  comfortable  as  a  resi- 
dence than  almost  any  of  its  inmates  were  before  accustomed 
to),  and  two  bank  offices.  It  has  the  honour  also  of  being  one 
of  the  northern  burghs  entitled  to  send  a  representative  to  par- 
liament. 

8.  The  first  stage  to  Invergordon,  along  the  northern  shore 
of  the  Cromarty  Firth,  is  fifteen  miles  long,  divided  nearly  in 
the  middle  by  the  neat  village  of  Evantown,  intermediate  be- 
tween which  and  Invergordon  the  road  passes  through  Allness, 
another  considerable  village.  Having  the  sea  on  the  right,  the 
road  passes  on  the  left  Tulloch  Castle  and  grounds  (Davidson), 
Mountgerald  (Mackenzie),  and  thence  to  the  Aultgraat  river, 
the  fine  estate  and  large  mansion  of  Foulis  (Sir  C.  Munro,  chief 
of  his  clan),  which,  from  the  long  and  continued  absence  of  the 
proprietors,  shew  sad  tokens  of  degeneracy  and  decay.  At 
Evantown  we  enter  the  beautiful  and  highly  cultivated  domains 
of  Novar  (Munro),  and  the  tourist  should  rest  a  day  at  the  hotel 
there,  in  order  to  examine  the  valuable  collection  of  paintings  in 


ROUTE  IV.      AULTGRAAT — CLAN  MUNRO.  391 

Novar  House,  and  the  Aultgraat,  or  the  "  ugly  or  terrific  burn," 
which  flows  out  of  Loch  Glass,  at  the  northern  base  of  Ben 
Wyvis,  and  which,  along  its  whole  course,  displays  an  extraor- 
dinary succession  of  cliffs  and  waterfalls  of  uncommon  cha- 
racter. The  stream  pours  down  a  slip  or  shift  in  the  sandstone 
strata,  nearly  two  miles  in  length,  about  a  hundred  feet  in 
depth,  but  not  above  a  yard  in  width  at  the  bottom,  and  five  or 
six  at  the  top.  The  opening  is,  in  fact,  at  top,  in  many  places, 
quite  overgrown  and  concealed  by  bushes ;  while  along  the 
rocky  channel  below,  a  rumbling  torrent  is  heard  rushing  on 
with  violence,  although  invisible  from  the  bank  above.  At  the 
mouth  of  the  little  river  just  named,  is  the  castellated  mansion 
of  Balcony,  anciently  a  residence  of  the  Earls  of  Ross  ;  and 
Kiltearn  Church,  hard  by,  which  still  exhibits  traces  of  a  fine 
altar  window,  was  their  chapel.  Castle  Craig,  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  Firth,  built  by  one  of  the  old  iron-handed  Barons  of 
Cromarty,  was  subsequently  altered  into  a  palace,  and  formed 
the  summer  residence  of  the  Bishops  of  Ross.  Novar  House, 
a  short  way  east  of  Evantown,  a  splendid  modern  mansion,  filled 
with  the  choicest  works  of  art,  and  attached  to  a  magnificent 
estate,  which  was  much  improved  and  adorned  by  the  late  Sir 
Hector  Munro  of  Novar,  is  associated  with  some  of  the  brightest 
achievements  of  British  valour  in  India.  It  is  backed  by  the 
fine  mountain  of  Fyrish,  surmounted  by  a  set  of  high  upright 
stones,  arranged  as  an  Indian  temple.  The  district  here  is 
the  locale  of  the  clan  Munro,  and  is  called  Ferindonald,  from 
Donald,  one  of  the  earliest  chiefs,  who  accepted  a  feu  of  it  from 
Malcolm  II.  in  the  eleventh  century.  The  history  of  the  clan 
Munro  is  so  far  peculiar,  that  it  was  always  a  strongly  WTiig- 
ffish  and  covenanting  clan.  In  close  alliance  with  Lord  Reay 
and  the  Mackays  of  Sutherland,  the  chiefs  early  embraced  the 
principles  of  the  Reformation,  and  were  as  distinguished  for 
piety  and  virtue  in  private,  as  for  boldness  and  enterprise  in 
public,  and  for  being  in  advance  of  their  age  in  promoting  all 
kinds  of  improvement.  In  the  armies  of  Gustavus  Adolphus, 
for  continental  Protestantism,  there  were  at  one  time  no  less  than 
3  Generals,  8  Colonels,  5  Lieutenant- Colonels,  11  Majors,  and 
above  30  Captains,  all  of  the  clan  Munro  ;  besides  a  very  large 
body  of  subalterns,  whose  descendants  are  still  resident  in  Sweden 
and  Germany.  The  chiefs  alive  at  the  Rebellions  of  1715  and 
1 745,  did  much  to  suppress  those  risings,  and  to  prove  the  extra- 


392  WESTER  ROSS.  SECT.  VII. 

ordinary  aptitude  of  the  Scottish  Highlanders  for  the  most 
arduous  und  daring  military  services.  Sir  Robert  Munro  of 
Foulis,  who  mainly  contributed  to  the  victory  over  the  French 
at  Fontenoy,  soon  after  shared  the  same  fate  as  his  friend  and 
companion,  the  celebrated  Colonel  Gardiner,  having,  with  his 
brother  Dr.  Munro,  and  many  of  his  friends,  perished  at  the 
battle  of  Falkirk.  In  the  same  year  (1746)  his  other  brother, 
Captain  George  Munro  of  Culcairn,  fell  in  ambuscade  at  Loch 
Arkaig,  in  Lochaber. 

9.  Ferindonald  and  the  district  of  Easter  Ross  which 
succeeds  it,  and  comprehends  all  the  rest  of  the  county  to 
Tain,  and  Tarbat  Ness,  are  remarkably  rich  and  well  wooded, 
and  may  be  considered  the  great  granary  of  the  north,  more 
grain  (wheat  in  particular)  being  annually  exported  from  these 
districts  than  from  all  the  other  northern  counties,  excepting 
Caithness,  put  together.  The  soil  is  either  a  deep  clay,  or 
sharp  sandy  mould,  and  all  the  best  farms  and  estates  lie  over 
sandstone  and  argillaceous  ridges  which  slope  gently  towards 
the  firth.  The  country  is  further  distinguished  by  the  num- 
ber of  handsome  seats,  belonging  to  a  wealthy  proprietary  of 
from  ,£1000  to  £  12,000  of  yearly  landed  income,  and  who  can 
boast  of  a  most  intelligent  and  highly  respectable  tenantry, 
who,  until  the  recent  corn-law  changes,  generally  enjoyed  a 
more  than  ordinary  degree  of  comfort,  and  moderately-rented 
farms.  They  all  farm  as  "  high"  as  their  means  permit  ;  their 
lands  are  being  thoroughly  drained,  and  the  finest  varieties  of 
live  stock  are  everywhere  reared.  No  person  with  an  agricul- 
tural eye  can  fail  to  be  struck  with  the  immense  extent,  and 
uninterrupted  cultivation  and  high  order  of  the  rich  coast  of 
Ferindonald  and  Easter  Ross  ;  although  even  yet  not  half  the 
breadth  of  land  has  been  reclaimed  that  could  be  brought  into 
cultivation,  were  it,  as  times  presently  go,  a  profitable  object  to 
do  so.  The  small  proprietors  are  beginning  to  cry  out  that 
their  grounds  are  being  thrown  on  their  hands — as  with  present 
prices  tenants  won't  engage  in  long  stringent  leases  ;  and  they 
themselves  have  not  capital  enough  to  carry  on  improvements 
and  pay  burdens.  The  greater  landholders  may  stand  out 
better  for  a  while  ;  but  as  they  are  almost  all  absentees,  and 
look  only  to  the  returns  on  their  investments — not  the  minute 
embellishment  and  improvement  of  their  estates — there  is  some 
danger  that  the  advancement  made  by  the  country  will  stop. 


ROPTE  IV.  IMPROVEMENTS — CHURCHES.  393 

In  fact,  if  care  be  not  taken,  the  Highlands  of  Scotland  may 
soon  become  like  Ireland — a  pauperized  excrescence  on  the 
empire.  And  if  education  be  not  promoted  as  a  national  safe- 
guard and  outlet  to  the  unemployed  energies  of  the  people, 
even  Celtic  endurance  may  have  an  end.  Government  was  so 
miserably  misinformed  as  to  the  state  of  feeling  on  religious 
matters,  and  so  little  credited  the  sincerity  of  the  people's  high 
resolves,  that  the  Disruption  of  the  Establishment  was  permitted, 
and  the  sacrifices  and  exertions  thereby  caused  have  greatly 
paralyzed  social  comfort  and  improvement.  In  the  more  northern 
counties  a  small  fraction  only  of  the  population  has  adhered 
to  the  Established  Church — Presbyterianism  having,  for  a  con- 
siderable time,  subsisted  there  in  its  most  rigidly  Calvinistic 
and  democratic  form.  The  pastors,  almost  to  a  man,  gave  in 
their  adherence  to  the  Free  Church;  and  the  people,  over 
whom  they  were  wont  to  exercise  a  discipline  so  strict  as  to 
be  little  short  of  that  of  Rome,  followed  them  en  masse. 
While  the  services  of  the  Establishment  are  avoided,  only  two 
or  three  parishes  in  Ross  are  able  to  support  the  Free  ministers 
and  their  various  schemes ;  and  unmistakeable  signs  are  now 
being  shewn  that  the  Free  Church,  as  a  body,  cannot  afford  to 
maintain  all  its  parishes,  and  that  several  must  soon  be  united 
together — many  of  the  churches  thus  becoming  only  occasional 
preaching  stations.  If  ordinances  are  not  administered  to  the 
poor  Highlanders  by  those  whom  they  respect  and  love,  their 
minds  will  become  sluggish  and  indifferent ;  and  should 
society  thus  retrograde,  government  may  rue,  when  too  late, 
their  having  trusted  so  much  to  the  forbearance  and  intelligence 
of  moral  Scotland. 

10.  Two  miles  west  from  Allness,  a  road  seventeen  miles 
long,  of  easy  ascent,  proceeds  through  the  interior  of  the 
country  to  the  eastward  of  Bonar  Bridge,  thus  saving  to  the 
traveller  the  fatigue  of  tracing  the  long  round  by  Tain  and  the 
Dornoch  Firth.  It  passes  over  the  great  district  of  Ardross, 
the  earliest  duchus  of  the  Earls  of  Ross,  and  of  the  Celtic  clan 
Anrias  or  Ross ;  and  after  forming  for  a  time  part  of  the 
Ducal  possessions  of  Sutherland,  the  property  now  belongs  to 
Alexander  Matheson,  Esq.,  M.  P.  for  the  Inverness  district  of 
burghs,  who  has  begun  to  improve  it  with  the  zeal  of  a  High- 
lander, and  with  oriental  munificence.  On  a  high  bank  over- 
looking the  wooded  Allness  water,  and  yet  in  the  close  vicinity 


394  SEATS — POOR'S  HOUSE.  SECT.  vu. 

of  the  wild  alpine  scenes  around  Lochs  Moir  (St.  Mary's  Lake) 
whence  this  river  issues,  and  Loch  Glass,  at  the  base  of  Ben 
Wyvis,  he  has  erected  a  large  castellated  mansion,  and  all 
around  it  planted  out  grounds  with  forest  trees,  raised  fences 
of  imperishable  granite,  and  brought  into  culture  thousands  of 
acres — all,  till  lately,  mere  marsh  and  moor,  and  extending  to 
600  feet  above  the  sea.  Mr.  Matheson  has  seldom  less  than  500 
men  employed,  at  an  annual  outlay  of  many  thousand  pounds  ! 
The  comfortable  inn  of  Stittengham  divides  the  public  road 
between  the  firths  nearly  midway,  and  soon  after  passing  it,  a 
most  magnificent  view  bursts  in  sight  of  the  Dornoch  Firth, 
with  all  its  bays  and  promontories,  and  the  beautiful  terraces 
which  line  it  and  stretch  up  from  it  into  the  Highland  glens.* 

11.  From  Allness  village  and  from  Roskeen  kirk,  two  miles 
farther  on  (where  the  shell  of  a  very  small  and  ancient  chapel, 
with  pretty  triple  lancet  windows,  under  one  headstone,  will 
be  seen  among  a  mass  of  hideous  modern  tombs),  branch  or 
district  roads  strike  off  from  the  post  road  and  extend  along 
the  country  side  over  a  series  of  higher  gravel  ridges  and 
terraces,  considerably  shortening   the   distance  to   Tain,  and 
commanding  most  extensive  views.     On  this  route  we  pass  the 
beautiful  seats  of  Invergordon  Castle  (Macleod  of  Cadboll), 
Kincraig  (Major  Mackenzie),  Kindeace  (Major  Robertson),  New- 
more  (F.  Gillanders,  Esq.),  Scotsburn,  and  Balnagown  Castle, 
and  enter  Tain  above  the  woods  of  Culrossie  (Rose  Ross),  and 
past  the  new  Poor's  House — a  spacious  high  roofed  building, 
with  governor's  house,  hospital,  and  airing  courts,  recently 
erected  by  the  parishes  of  Easter  Ross,  for  the  accommodation 
of  their  paupers,  who  never  were  so  elegantly  or  comfortably 
housed  before,  but  who  rather  shrewdly  regard  the  place  as  a 
sort  of  state  prison. 

12.  At  Invergordon  there  is  an  excellent  inn,  harbour,  and 
a  ferry  across  the  firth,  which  connects  the  post  road  with  that 
proceeding  through  the  Black  Isle  to  Kessock.      It  is  a  place 
of  considerable  size,  the  houses  substantial,  and  it  is  of  growing 
importance  as  a  shipping  port  for  the  fertile  districts  adjacent, 
and  possesses  two  branch  banks.      From  this  village  Tain  is 
distant  about  twelve  miles,  the  post-house  of  Parkhill  being 

*  Below  Ardross  House,  a  very  promising  vein  of  hematetic  iron  ore  has  been 
discovered ;  and  in  turning  up  gome  of  the  adjoining  grounds,  two  very  curious  stone 
moulds  have  been  found,  in  which  were  cast  the  ancient  bronze  battle  axes,  generally 
called  Celts,  but  which  have  all  the  elegance  of  shape  and  finish  of  Human  workmanship. 


ROUTE  IV.  BALNAGOWN    CASTLE.  395 

about  half  way,  before  reaching  which  we  pass  the  small  coast 
villages  of  Saltburn,  Barbaraville,  and  Balintrade,  all  abound- 
ing with  a  poor  population  of  agricultural  labourers  and  country 
artizans.  Beyond  these  we  enter  on  the  Cromertie  domains, 
belonging  to  the  Marchioness  of  Stafford,  whose  residence 
(Tarbat  House)  lies  to  the  right,  close  by  the  sea,  and  which 
was  erected  by  the  late  Lord  Macleod  on  the  restoration  of  the 
family  estates,  nearly  on  the  site  of  one  of  the  castles  of  the 
old  Mackenzies,  Earls  of  Cromarty,  whose  representative  was 
attainted  in  1715.  A  dungeon  of  the  old  keep  still  remains 
with  a  few  large  and  old  yew-trees  about  it,  and  the  adjoining 
gardens  and  avenues  of  large  and  aged  elms  and  beech  trees  are 
worthy  of  notice. 

13.  A  short  way  to  the  east,  and  above  Tarbat  House  on 
the  banks  of  a  romantic  Highland  stream,  and  with  a  magnifi- 
cent lawn  in  front  of  it,  stands  the  castle  of  Balnagown  (Sir 
Charles  Ross,  Bart.,  the  representative  of  an  ancient  branch  of 
the  clan),  one  of  the  most  imposing  edifices  in  the  north.  It 
consists  of  an  old  western  tower,  having  a  very  high-pointed 
roof  and  numerous  chimneys  and  turrets,  with  additions  of  va- 
rious dates,  so  characteristic  of  the  old  Scottish  architecture, 
and  which,  with  a  slight  admixture  from  the  French,  has  been 
shewn  by  Mr.  Billings  (Scottish  Baronial  Antiquities)  to  be  of 
a  peculiarly  stately  and  national  style.  An  eastern  tower,  con- 
taining the  modern  public  rooms,  more  in  the  abbey  or  ecclesi- 
astical form,  was  joined  on  not  long  ago,  but  in  complete  harmony 
with  the  older  buildings,  and  the  whole  has  been  encircled 
round  the  base  by  the  arches  of  a  continuous  verandha  covered 
with  creepers,  and  which,  in  front,  has  been  closed  in  as  a  con- 
servatory. All  the  appurtenances  of  feudal  greatness  and 
modern  comfort  are  to  be  found  within  the  walls,  and  the  taste 
of  Lady  Ross  has  reclaimed  the  adjoining  dell,  which,  by  nature, 
was  plentifully  adorned  by  forest  trees  (including  some  large 
native  oaks  and  pines),  and  connected  it  with  a  flower  garden 
laid  out  on  a  scale  of  magnificence  and  size  unequalled  in  the 
north.  Sandstone  cliffs  overhung  with  ivy,  gushing  fountains, 
a  large  sheet  of  water  with  swans  and  other  aquatic  fowl  swim- 
ming about  in  it,  and  the  banks  of  the  neighbouring  rapid 
river  have  all  been  made  to  harmonize  as  parts  of  a  great  and 
beautiful  design  ;  and  finally,  cottages,  arbours,  islands,  bridges, 
and  rustic  grottos  have  here  been  introduced  with  a  profusion 


396  TAIN.  SECT.    VII. 

and  variety,  and  on  so  large  a  scale,  as  entirely  to  do  away  with 
the  stiffness  and  petite  character  so  frequently  observable  in  such 
ornamental  work. 

Shortly  to  the  eastward  of  the  Balnagown  river,  the  fine  fields 
and  fir  woods  of  Calrossie  (Rose  Ross)  succeed  ;  and,  emerging 
from  them,  the  Dornoch  Firth,  the  far  extending  point  of  Tarbat 
Ness,  and  the  blue  hills  of  Sutherlandshire,  greet  the  view. 

14.  Tain*  (Ting,  a  court  place,  Gaelice,  Bailed  Dhuich,  St. 
Duthus'  Town)  is  an  irregularly  built  burgh,  containing  nearly 
2000  inhabitants,  with  several  new  and  handsome  houses.  It 
is  situated  on  the  margin  of  the  Dornoch  Firth,  the  extensive 
shoals  and  sandbanks  of  which  prevent  it  from  having  a  har- 
bour. The  fields  about  the  town  are  rich  and  cheerful ;  and 
along  the  sea-beach  the  inhabitants  possess  a  beautiful  prome- 
nade of  links  ground,  which,  some  years  ago,  was  occasionally 
used  as  a  race  course.  It  extends  over  a  vast  flat  called 
the  Fendom,  or  Morich  more,  which  is  partially  cultivated, 
but  on  which  blown  sands  are  yearly  encroaching.  From  the 
eastern  margin  of  this  plain,  a  low  terrace  bank  (Mr.  Chalmers' 
90  feet  terrace,  though  here  not  quite  so  high)  may  be  seen 
skirting  the  whole  shore,  and  attaining  its  greatest  altitude  just 
below  the  free  manse  of  Tain,  where  the  sea  had  cut  deep  into 
the  boulder  clay,  and  left  the  drift  gravel  terrace  on  retiring  as 
its  last  margin.  This  terrace  again  falls  a  little  to  the  north 
of  the  town,  which  mainly  stands  upon  it,  and  at  about  a  mile's 
distance  may  be  seen,  a  little  back  from  it,  an  enormous  gra- 
nite boulder,  weighing  many  tons,  on  which  the  name  of  "  the 
immortal  Walter  Scott"  and  the  year  of  his  death  "1832," 
have  been  carved.  Both  sides  of  the  Dornoch  Firth  are  beau- 
tifully fringed  with  this  general  terrace,  and  directly  under- 
neath it,  throughout  the  whole  district  from  Dingwall  eastwards, 
the  boulder  clay  is  strewn  over  the  inferior  rocks  to  a  great 
depth,  and  is  no  doubt  the  cause  of  the  country's  fertility. 
Everywhere  on  the  surface  may  be  seen  water-worn  boulders  of 
crystalline  rocks  (chiefly  granites),  strongly  indicative  of  the 
last  glacial  action  to  which  the  island  was  subjected  after  its 
ridges  and  estuaries  had  received  their  present  forms. 

The  ancient  church  of  Tain  was  collegiate,  and  dedicated  to 
St.  Duthus,  who  was  the  "  godly  Bishop  of  Ross,"  between  1209 

*  Inns  in  Tain.— St.  George  and  Dragon,  Ellison's;  Balnagown  Arms,  ROM; 
Crown  and  Anchor,  Mackay.  Posting  U  chiefly  carried  on  by  double-seated  gigs,  for 
which  10s.  6d  is  usually  cliarged  per  day. 


RODTE  IV.  TAIN HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  397 

and  1253.  His  chapel,  a  small  but  very  simple  and  cyclopean 
like  structure  (having  no  altar  window,  no  lights  on  the  north 
side,  and  but  one  small  round-headed  window  in  the  west,  and  the 
southern  front  being  almost  entirely  obliterated),  exists  still  in 
ruins  on  the  plain  below  the  town,  and  it  is  noted  for  three 
great  and  well-known  historical  events  connected  with  it.  The 
first  was,  that  King  Robert  the  Bruce  (anno  1306),  when  his 
fortunes  were  at  the  lowest,  sent  his  queen  and  daughter  for 
safety  to  the  stronghold  of  Kildrummy  in  Mar  ;  but  they, 
dreading  a  siege  by  Edward  I.,  fled  to  St.  Duthus'  sanctuary, 
whence  the  all-powerful  Earl  of  Ross,  deterred  by  no  feelings 
of  honour  or  religion,  seized  their  persons,  and  delivered  them 
to  the  English.  The  second  event  is  detailed  more  minutely 
by  Sir  Robert  Gordon,  hi  his  Earldom  of  Sutherland,  where  it 
is  stated,  that  M'Neill,  laird  of  Criech,  and  some  caterans,  hav- 
ing been  defeated  about  the  year  1429,  by  Mowatt,  laird  of 
Freswick,  in  Caithness,  also  fled  to  St.  Duthus'  sanctuary  at 
Tain  ;  and  that  their  pursuers,  to  avoid  a  direct  violation  of  the 
fane  by  dragging  them  from  it,  set  fire  to  the  heather  roof  of  the 
building  and  destroyed  them  in  it,  and  along  with  them  an  an- 
cient and  very  valuable  set  of  records  belonging  to  the  burgh.  For 
forty  years  afterwards  the  parish  seems  to  have  had  no  permanent 
place  of  worship ;  but  in  1471,  St.  Duthus'  church,  which  is  still 
standing,  was  erected  on  the  brink  of  an  escarpment  in  the  middle 
of  the  town,  being  founded  by  Thomas,  bishop  of  the  diocese, 
for  a  provost,  eleven  prebendaries,  and  three  singing  boys.  The 
third  event  we  have  alluded  to,  was  the  pilgrimage  of  King 
James  V.  to  St.  Duthus'  shrine  in  1527,  when  he  entered  the 
town  barefooted,  by  the  only  road  about  it,  and  said  to  have 
been  made  for  the  occasion,  and  since  called  the  King's  Cause- 
way ;  but  which,  from  the  extent  to  which  it  proceeds  south- 
wards, we  suspect  was  part  of  a  more  ancient  and  general  high- 
way, noticed  in  old  charters  which  we  have  seen,  as  the  "  via 
Scoticana.'"  "  This  church,  now  a  shocking  place  from  neglect 
and  decay,  has  been  (as  has  been  remarked  by  J.  M.  N.  in  his 
Ecclesiological  Notes  on  the  Isle  of  Man,  Ross,  &c.)  a  fine  spe- 
cimen of  middle-pointed  Gothic,  probably  the  work  of  the  same 
architect  as  Fortrose.  The  east  window  is  on  a  very  grand 
scale.  Of  five  lights,  it  has  three  divisions,  the  central  one  being 
more  acutely  pointed.  The  tracery  consists  of  a  large  six-foiled 
circle  in  the  apex,  supported  on  two  trefoiled  circles  smaller 


398  TAIN HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  SECT.  VII. 

than  itself.  In  the  north  of  the  choir  the  windows  have  been 
either  blocked,  or  they  never  existed ;  on  the  south  there  are 
two,  the  first  of  three  lights,  its  tracery  a  trefoiled  circle  and 
double  quatrefoil ;  the  second  of  four  lights,  simply  intersecting 
— an  arrangement  which,  however  disagreeable  to  us,  seems  to 
have  found  great  favour  in  this  diocese  of  Ross."  The  nave  has 
but  one  window,  with  three  plain  intersecting  lights ;  the  pis- 
cina is  west  of  the  sedile,  and  blockaded  with  a  barricade  of 
broken  pews.  The  western  facade  had  a  window  of  four  simple 
intersecting  lights ;  the  door,  if  ever  there  was  one,  has  been 
displaced  by  a  huge  heavy  porch,  in  the  front  of  which  a  small 
recumbent  figure  of  a  priest,  in  eucharistic  vestment,  has  been 
built  upright ;  and  on  each  side  of  the  window  is  a  small  niche, 
that  on  the  north  containing  the  effigy  of  a  bishop,  probably 
St.  Duthus,  who  seems  to  have  been  titular  over  the  whole  shire, 
Loch  Duich,  on  the  Kintail  coast,  as  well  as  this  town,  being 
named  after  him.  There  is  a  small  detached  chapel  to  the  south, 
probably  the  original  shrine,  which  seems  of  earlier  work  than 
the  church.  On  the  east  it  has  a  first  pointed  triplet  under  one 
head ;  one  lancet  on  the  north,  and  two  couplets,  under  one 
arch,  and  a  small  door  on  the  south.  The  roof-  of  the  church 
is  entire,  and  the  building  could  still  be  used  if  cleaned  out,  and 
burying  in  the  vaults  prohibited.  Even  in  its  ruins  how  chaste 
and  beautiful  is  this  temple,  when  compared  with  the  modern 
parish  church — a  huge  square  battlemented  building,  with 
frowning  towers  at  the  four  corners !  Hard  by  St.  Duthus' 
Church,  in  old  times,  stood  a  castle  of  the  Earls  of  Ross,  whose 
crest  (a  lion  rampant)  till  lately  surmounted  the  town's  cross, 
which  stood  at  the  base  of  the  grand  massive  tower  which  leads 
up  to  the  new  and  elegant  court-house  and  county  buildings. 
The  tower  is  old — a  fine  stately  erection,  with  a  completely 
foreign  air.  It  has  a  central  conical  spire,  and  a  smaller  one  at 
each  angle,  with  small  oblong  apertures  under  the  eaves  of  each 
cone,  instead  of  windows,  and  the  whole  is  encased  within  slabs 
of  polished  freestone.  The  present  prison  lies  farther  west,  an 
unpretending  but  secure  and  sufficiently  comfortable  building. 
The  earliest  charter  extant  in  favour  of  the  burgh,  is  one  by 
James  VI.  in  1587,  followed  by  another  in  1612,  and  by  a  third 
from  Charles  II.  On  the  20th  April,  1439,  however,  a  jury  of 
the  highest  names  in  the  country  investigated  the  antiquity  and 
privileges  of  this  burgh,  with  the  view  of  ascertaining  the  con- 


ROUTE  IV.  TAIN  —  HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  .  399 

tents  of  the  documents  which  had  been  burnt  ten  years  before, 
and  they  found  that  Tain  had  been  enfranchised  by  Malcolm 
Caenmore,  and  confirmed  in  its  rights  by  several  of  his  succes- 
sors. The  retour  or  verdict  of  this  jury  is  still  extant  at  Inver- 
ness. The  neighbouring  abbacy  of  Fearn  (six  miles  from  Tain 
on  the  way  to  Nigg  and  Cromarty),  founded  by  the  first  Earl 
of  Ross  in  1230,  is  of  still  greater  celebrity  than  any  of  the 
buildings  in  Tain.*  The  monks  of  it  were  of  the  Candidus 
Ordo,  of  the  rule  of  St.  Augustine.  Patrick  Hamilton,  an  abbot 
of  this  place,  was  among  the  first  who  suffered  in  this  country 
for  favouring  the  reformed  religion;  and  his  writings  rank 
among  the  purest  and  most  touching  of  those  of  the  Scottish 
martyrs.  He  was  burnt  at  St.  Andrews  in  1527.  The  abbacy 
was  annexed  to  the  bishopric  of  Ross  in  the  reign  of  James  VI. 
Near  it  is  one  of  those  interesting  sculptured  pillars,  of  which 
there  are  so  many  in  this  quarter,  as  at  Nigg,  Hilton,  and 
Shandwick. 

Tain,  of  most  of  which  the  Duke  of  Sutherland  is  feudal 
superior,  possesses  an  excellent  academy,  situated  in  an  airy  and 
healthy  part  of  the  town,  and  commanding  a  beautiful  view  of 
the  Dornoch  Firth  and  coast  of  Sutherland.  This  seminary  is 
provided  with  two  masters  and  a  rector ;  and  its  directors  have 
enriched  it  with  a  choice  but  valuable  assortment  of  chemical 
and  philosophical  apparatus.t 

*  The  Abbey  Church  of  Fearn  has  been  converted  into  the  modern  parish  church, 
but  has  been  horribly  mutilated,  and  both  it  and  the  adjoining  chapels,  now  used  as 
tombs,  are  fast  crumbling  into  dust.  It  consisted  of  chancel,  nave,  two  chapels  to 


and  on  the  south  two;  and,  as  in  Tain,  the  piscina  is  west  of  the  sedilia.  It  is  im- 
possible to  say  how  the  conventual  buildings  were  arranged,  and  the  south  side  of  the 
nave,  which  has  been  rebuilt,  may  have  had  an  aisle,  as  a  little  out  from  it,  enclosed 


from  the  chancel  by  a  middle  pointed  door,  close  to  which  is  a  very  small  altar  in  the 
recess  of  the  east  window.  The  north  side  has  a  middle  pointed  window  of  three 
lights,  simply  intersecting,  but  very  beautiful;  the  west  one  was  of  two  lights,  both 
without  foliations.  The  chapel  had  five  ribs  of  stone  parallel  with  the  axis  of  the 
church,  and  was  waggon  vaulted.  A  large  portion  of  this  roof  has  lately  fallen  in. 
The  south  chapel  much  resembled  the  other,  and  had  a  round  headed  canopied  tomb, 
or  altar,  on  the  south  side.  The  west  window,  which  is  remarkably  pretty,  is  middle 
pointed,  of  two  lights,  and  the  east  is  the  same.  (See  Eccl.  Notes,  p.  59.) 

t  While  at  Tain,  we  would  strongly  advise  the  tourist,  if  an  agriculturist  or  an 
antiquary,  to  procure  from  a  bookseller's  shop,  or  from  the  Kirk  Session's  library,  a 
perusal  of  Nos.  21  and  29  of  the  New  Statistical  Account  of  Scotland,  which  contain 
very  minute  and  excellent  descriptions  of  the  parishes  in  this  neighbourhood,  exhibit- 
ing their  ancient  historical  and  ecclesiastical  condition,  and  the  recent  most  wonder- 
ful improvements  in  the  cultivation  of  the  soil.  A  short  excursion  to  Fearn  Abbey 


400  MEIKLE  FERRT.  SECT.  VII. 

15.  The  strait  of  the  firth  called  the  Meikle  Ferry  lies  three 
miles  west  from  Tain.  A  natural  mole  projecting  into  the  gulf 
reduces  its  breadth  to  less  than  two  miles ;  but  from  the  shoals 
in  the  channel,  and  its  exposure  to  sudden  gusts  of  wind  from 
the  mountains,  this  ferry  is  considered  as  one  of  the  most  dan- 
gerous and  inconvenient  in  the  north.  A  melancholy  and  me- 
morable accident  occurred  here  in  the  autumn  of  the  year  1709, 
when  ninety-nine  persons  were  drowned  from  the  overloaded 
state  of  the  ferry-boat. — A  fair  was  to  have  been  held  on  the 
Ross-shire  coast,  to  which  numbers  crowded  from  the  opposite 
shore  of  Sutherland.  A  rush  for  seats  in  the  boat  took  place  ; 
it  put  off,  and  was  overset  in  the  rapid  and  agitated  current 
which  flows  through  the  middle  of  the  strait.  To  avoid  this 
ferry,  the  Parliamentary  Commissioners  for  Highland  Roads 
(assisted  by  the  heritors  of  Sutherlandshire),  in  the  year  1812, 
built  an  iron  bridge  at  Bonar,  across  a  narrow  part  of  the  firth, 
fourteen  miles  above  Tain,  at  an  expense  of  ,£14,000.  The  road, 
therefore,  from  this  town  to  Dornoch  takes  a  prodigious  circuit, 
passing  on  the  Ross-shire  side  through  a  country  of  little  in- 
terest, excepting  such  as  it  derives  from  the  view  of  the  distant 
Sutherland  mountains ;  and  its  historical  associations  as  having 
been,  from  the  earliest  times,  the  residence  of  the  great  clan 
Ross  (and  hence  called  Ardross,  or  the  Ross'  height  or  district), 
by  whose  first  Earl  the  Abbey  of  Fearn  was  founded — the  field 
of  many  sanguinary  clan  battles,  and,  prior  to  these,  of  en- 
counters with  the  Danes.  Mr.  Ross  of  Pitcalnie,  one  of  the 
heritors  in  Kincardine  parish,  claims  to  be  the  representative 
of  the  ancient  title,  and  of  the  chieftainship  of  his  clan.  The 
abbey  was  first  built  near  the  western  extremity  of  Eddertoun, 
but,  owing  to  the  frequent  interruptions  occasioned  by  the  fero- 
city of  the  neighbouring  clans,  it  was  removed  about  twelve 
miles  south-east  of  that  situation,  whence  it  was  afterwards 
styled  Abbacie  de  nova  Farina,  and  the  founder  was  buried 

and  Tarbat  Ness  lighthouse  will  be  gratifying,  not  only  as  they  are  well  worth  seeing, 
but  as  the  latter  is  near  the  site  of  an  old  Roman  monument  or  land-mark,  and  a 
Roman  encampment,  as  well  as  being  close  to  the  ruins  of  Loch  Slin  castle,  and  to 
the  old  and  very  large  castle  of  Balone,  successively  possessed  by  the  Earls  of  Ross 
and  of  Cromarty.  The  churchyards  of  Tarbat  and  other  parishes  abound  in  curious 
sculptured  tombs  and  crosses ;  while  the  parishes  of  Eddertoun  and  Kincardine  con- 
tain numerous  cairns,  stones  of  memorial,  and  dunes  or  burghs,  those  very  ancient 
fortresses  of  a  circular  form,  having  stairs  and  chambers  in  the  openings  of  the  wall, 
on  all  of  which  much  light  has  yet  to  be  thrown  by  the  intelligent  antiquary.  On  the 
way  to  and  from  Tarbat  Ness,  too,  the  splendid  system  of  farming  is  exhibited,  so 
minutely  and  graphically  described  in  his  Statistical  Report  of  1840,  by  the  learned 
schoolmaster  of  that  parish. 


ROUTE  IV.  BONAR  BRIDGE.  401 

there  under  a  tomb,  surmounted  by  a  warrior's  effigy,  which  is 
still  pointed  out  as  his.  Bonar  Bridge  consists  of  an  iron  arch 
150  feet  in  span,  and  two  stone  arches  of  fifty  and  sixty  feet  re- 
spectively. The  fabric  is  as  strong  as  it  is  beautiful,  for  the 
pillars  have  repeatedly  withstood  uninjured  the  shocks  of 
united  masses  of  ice  and  timber,  and  the  collision  of  small 
vessels  driven  against  them  by  the  tide.  The  mail  coach,  which, 
north  of  Tain,  is  drawn  only  by  two  horses,  till  lately  used  to 
cross  the  firth  at  Meikle  Ferry,  but  it  now  goes  round  by  Bonar 
Bridge.  There  is  a  good  inn  at  Ardgay,  a  mile  south  of  the 
bridge,  and  another  inn  on  the  further  side  of  the  strait,  where 
a  line  of  houses,  overlooking  the  water,  form  the  village  of 
Bonar.* 

16.  The  coast  road  from  Bonar  Bridge  to  Helmsdale  passes 
through  the  most  beautiful  and  interesting,  or  at  least  the  most 
fertile,  portions  of  the  county  of  Sutherland.  Two  miles  and  a 
half  on  from  Bonar  are  the  church  and  manse  of  Creich  ;  and  on 
the  summit  of  a  hill  which  juts  out  into  the  firth,  a  noted  vitri- 
fied fort,  Dun  Creich.  Spinningdale,  two  miles  farther  on,  once 

*  At  Ardgay  gigs  and  post-horses  may  be  had,  and  the  tourist,  if  not  a  pedestrian, 
should  here  make  up  his  mind  how  he  is  to  proceed,  as  he  must  recollect  that,  except 
at  Dornoch  and  Golspie,  no  conveyances  are  to  be  had  on  hire  throughout  the  county, 
and,  after  quitting  the  latter  place,  a  post-chaise  cannot  be  got  nearer  than  Wick  in 
Caithness.  Mr.  Sunn's  good  hotel  at  Dornoch,  and  Mr.  Hill's  excellent  one  at  Gol- 
spie, can  supply  either  chaises,  gigs,  droskies,  dog-carts,  or  saddle  horses,  on  reason- 
able terms;  but  besides  these  the  traveller  can  only  reckon  upon  the  mail  coach  on 
the  Great  North  Road,  and  the  mail  cars  or  gigs  (each  of  which  now  carries  five  pas- 
sengers besides  the  post-boy)  on  the  cross  or  midland  roads.  At  present  the  mail 
car  leaves  Golspie  for  Tongue  at  5  A.M.  every  Monday  and  Thursday,  and  arrives  at 
Lairg  Inn  (Mackay,  an  excellent  house),  19  miles,  at  8 ;  20  minutes  'is  there  allowed 
for  breakfast.  Arrives  at  Altnaharrow,  21  miles  (small  inn,  Munro),  at  12  o'clock 
noon;  and  at  Tongue  Inn  (pretty  good,  Munro),  17  miles,  at  3  P.  M. — total  distance 
57  miles,  fare  9s.  6d.  The  car  returns  from  Tongue  on  Wednesday  and  Saturday, 
starting  at  7  A.  M.  and  reaching  Golspie  at  5  p.  M. 

A  branch  mail  car  leaves  Lairg  for  Loch  Inver  on  Monday  and  Thursday  at  halt- 
past  8  A.  M.,  reaches  Oykill,  5  miles  (Anderson's  inn,  good),  at  11 ;  reaches  Assvnt  or 
Imiisindamff,  17  miles  (M'Gregor,  a  good  inn),  at  1  :  50  p.  M.,  and  arrives  at  Locli  Inver, 
14  miles  (Dunbar's,  good  inn),  at  3:  50  P.  M.— the  total  distance  being  46  miles,  and 
fare  10s.  This  vehicle  returns  on  Wednesday  and  Saturday,  starting  at  7  A.  M. 

N.B. — A  fair  public  house  will  be  found  at  Aultancealgach,  and  good  inns  at  Kyle- 
scou  and  Scourie,  to  which  latter  place  a  mail  car  starts  on  the  arrival  of  the  post  at 
Assynt.  There  is  also  a  pretty  good  inn  (Mrs.  Munro)  at  Durinish. 

A  mail  car  also  runs  between  Tongue  and  Thurso,  dependant  on  the  post's  hour 
of  arrival  at  the  latter  place,  and  as  the  arrangements  are  expected  to  be  changed 
soon,  we  need  not  here  insert  those  presently  observed.  To  the  west  of  Tongue  the 
bags  are  carried  by  a  foot  runner;  and  as  yet  no  post  goes  up  Strath  Brora,  nor  from 
Helmsdale,  by  the  new  road  through  Kildonan  to  Port  Skerry  on  the  northern  coast. 

Heavy  goods  and  parcels  from  Leith  and  London,  for  the  interior  of  Ross  and 
Sutherland,  are  generally  landed  at  Invergordon,  and  brought  on  by  the  Tain  carrier 
(Alexander  Munro),  whose  carts  pass  regularly  between  these  places  every  Monday, 
Wednesday,  and  Friday.  He  also  sends  a  cart  once  a-week  to  Bonar  Bridge,  and  oc- 
casionally to  Golspie,  and  if  he  finds  goods  at  Invergordon  for  Dingwall  lie  sees  them 
forwarded. 

S2 


402  CLASHMORE DORNOCH.  SECT.  VII. 

a  prosperous  village,  is  now  a  complete  ruin.  It  is  beautifully 
situated  on  the  banks  of  the  Kyle,  or  Firth  of  Dornoch.  There 
was  a  cotton  manufactory  erected  here  about  fifty  years  ago, 
which  employed  a  hundred  hands,  but  the  building  was  acci- 
dentally destroyed  by  fire  in  1806.  Three  miles  from  the  village, 
the  house  of  Ospisdale  (D.  Gilchrist,  Esq.)  is  passed  on  the  left. 
At  the  road  side  will  be  observed  a  huge  erect  pillar  of  stone, 
fully  nine  feet  high,  which,  according  to  tradition,  is  commemo- 
rative of  the  death,  in  battle,  of  a  Danish  chief  called  Hospis, 
whence  the  name  of  the  place.  Approaching  Clashmore  inn, 
two  miles  and  a  half  further  on,  the  traveller  passes  Skibo,  the 
delightful  residence  of  George  Dempster,  Esq. — the  abode  during 
Episcopal  times,  of  the  Bishops  of  Sutherland  and  Caithness, 
and  which  was  remarkable  for  its  excellent  gardens  and  orchards, 
which  are  still  kept  in  high  order.  Clashmore  inn  is  two  miles 
and  a  half  from  the  Meikle  Ferry  ;  and  at  a  little  distance  on 
the  north  road,  a  branch,  one  mile  long,  communicates  with  the 
town  of  Dornoch,  which,  by  a  lower  road,  is  five  miles  from  the 
ferry. 

17.  From  the  windows  of  Mr.  Gunn's  comfortable  hotel,  in 
the  centre  of  a  square  at  the  farther  end  of  the  cathedral  town 
of  Dornoch,  the  Sutherland  capital,  and  looking  westward,  the 
traveller  at  once  surveys  the  most  interesting  objects  of  the 
place,  and  has  a  commanding  view  of  all  the  streets  and  houses, 
which  have  a  comfortable  substantial  aspect — as  being  built  of 
a  cheerful  yellow  freestone,  and  all  supplied  with  ample  garden 
ground.  The  town  is  situated  immediately  in  front  of  a  high 
gravel  terrace  on  a  light  sandy  soil,  amid  arid  hillocks  of  sand, 
piled  up  by  the  sea  and  the  winds,  and  prevented  from  drifting 
only  by  the  bent  grass  which  grows  upon  them.  The  whole 
locality  is  evidently  an  ancient  sea  bottom,  and  though  healthy, 
the  place  is  exposed  to  every  bitter  blast  which  blows  in  this 
cold  climate.  In  approaching  Dornoch,  the  low  but  old-looking 
tower  of  the  cathedral  and  the  bishop's  turreted  castle  give  it 
a  pleasing  and  venerable  appearance.  The  streets  are  remark- 
ably clean,  and,  unlike  what  we  see  in  most  old  towns,  they  are 
wide  and  regularly  formed.  Although  situated  at  the  entrance 
of  the  firth,  which  is  an  arm  of  the  German  Ocean,  Dornoch 
has,  in  these  latter  times  at  least,  been  little  benefited  by  its 
proximity  to  the  sea — a  bar  of  sand  which  stretches  across  the 
mouth  of  the  firth,  called  the  "  Geyzen  Briggs,"  rendering  the 


ROUTE  IV.         DORNOCH  CATHEDRAL.  403 

navigation  intricate,  particularly  to  vessels  of  large  burthen. 
At  spring-tides  there  are  four  fathoms  water  on  this  bar,  and 
with  neap-tides  seven  feet  less.  The  term  "  Geyzen  Briggs" 
is  evidently  of  Scandinavian  origin,  bearing  a  close  affinity 
to  the  word  "  Geyzer,"  which  is  the  appellation  given  at 
this  day  to  the  most  remarkable  of  the  boiling  springs  of 
Iceland,  and  which,  in  the  ancient  Icelandic  dialect,  is  de- 
scriptive of  the  hoarse  roar  and  foaming  appearance  of  the 
water.  The  noise  created  by  the  Geyzen  Briggs  at  parti- 
cular times,  especially  during  frosty  weather,  is  so  loud  as  to 
be  heard  at  a  distance  of  many  miles  :  it  is  the  infallible  baro- 
meter of  the  old  burgh  residenter,  to  whose  practised  ear  its 
each  varied  intonation,  from  the  deep  muffle  to  the  loud  and 
appalling  roar,  bears  a  sure  indication  of  the  coming  weather. 
Dornoch  was,  in  ancient  times,  the  ecclesiastical  seat  of  the 
Bishops  of  Sutherland  and  Caithness,  and  it  consequently  had 
the  honour  of  being  one  of  the  fourteen  cities  of  Scotland  :  the 
canons  (nine  in  number)  also  resided  here.  The  palace,  or  castle, 
was  a  large  building  of  most  massive  structure  :  in  1570,  it 
was  burnt  to  the  ground  by  banditti,  under  the  Master  of 
Caithness  and  Jye  Mackay  of  Strathnaver,  who  made  an  in- 
road into  Sutherland,  and  plundered  the  town  of  Dornoch.  In 
1813,  the  ruins  of  the  palace  were  in  part  repaired,  and  have 
till  lately  been  used  as  the  county  gaol,  but  the  whole  have  re- 
cently been  removed,  with  the  exception  of  the  picturesque  high 
western  tower,  and  on  the  site  a  spacious  ne-w  prison  and  beautiful 
court  house,  with  record  and  county  meeting  rooms,  have  been 
erected.  In  the  former,  the  prisoners  are  taught  to  work,  and 
though  allowed  to  walk  in  the  spacious  airing  court,  they  are 
all  subjected  to  the  severe  discipline  of  the  silent  system. 

The  cathedral  was  built  by  Gilbert  de  Moravia  (bishop 
from  1223  to  1260),  who  was  the  near  kinsman,  if  not  the  uncle 
of  Andrew  de  Moravia,  who,  at  the  same  time,  erected  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  firth,  the  more  magnificent  minster  of 
Elgin.  Being  thus  related  to  the  great  family  who  had  then 
recently  acquired  that  vast  territory,  "the  southern  land  of 
Caithness,"  which  now  gives  the  title  to  their  lineal  descen- 
dant the  present  duke,  he  ruled  his  church  in  peace,  and  re- 
paired many  royal  castles  in  the  northern  provinces.  It  seems 
probable  that  he  designed  this  cathedral  church  himself, 
as  he  caused  it  to  be  reared  at  his  own  charge,  and  the 


404  DORNOCH  CATHEDRAL.  SECT.  VII. 

Scottish  Breviary  states  that  even  the  glass  was  made  on  the 
spot  under  his  own  eye.  The  constitution  which  he  gave  to  it 
is  still  extant  at  Dunrobin,  and  has  been  printed  for  the  Ban- 
natyne  Club.  He  appointed  five  dignitaries  and  three  preben- 
daries. The  church  thus  built  survived  to  our  own  times, 
though  much  decayed  and  partly  ruined,  and  like  all  the  fanes 
in  Ross,  subjected  to  the  vilest  neglect  and  desecration.  It  was 
"  restored  "  about  twelve  years  ago,  but  as  remarked  by  the 
writer  in  the  Quarterly  Review  for  June  1849,  "the  work, 
unhappily,  was  not  intrusted  to  competent  hands."  It  consists 
at  present,  of  chancel,  nave,  transepts,  and  central  tower  ;  with, 
as  observed  in  the  Ecclesiological  Notes,  some  frightful  modern 
excrescences  in  the  shape  of  porches  and  sacristy.  The  nave, 
probably,  originally  had  aisles.  "  The  east  window  is  a  triplet, 
and  there  is  a  single  lancet  in  the  gable.  Each  side  of  the 
chancel  has  three  lancets.  The  north  transept  has  a  small  tri- 
plet to  the  north,  and  two  separate  lancets  east  and  west.  The 
south  transept  is  the  same.  The  nave  has  four  lancets  on 
each  side,  and  at  the  west  end  one  of  those  intersecting,  unfoli- 
ated,  middle-pointed  window  of  four  (should  be  five)  lights,  so 
common  in  this  part.  The  tower  is  short  and  thick,  resting  on 
arches  of  two  first-pointed  order,  and  crowned  with  a  stunted 
spire."  (Eccl.  Note,  p.  66.) 

Sixteen  earls  of  Sutherland  are  said  to  be  buried  in  the 
south  transept  (the  nave  having  been  reserved  for  the  bodies  of 
lessor  familioo)  ;  but  at  the  restoration  and  conversion  of  the 
building  into  a  parish  church,  the  whole  chancel  was  formed  into 
a  new  tomb  for  the  ducal  family,  and  the  top  of  it  railed  in  as 
their  pew — the  piscina  being  thus  almost  boarded  over,  and 
the  altar  window  being  closed  up.  The  parishioners  objected 
to  stained  glass  being  again  inserted  in  the  windows,  but  they 
seem  to  have  had  no  compunctions  at  the  site  of  the  altar  being 
appropriated  to  a  large  full-length  statue  of  the  late  Duke  by 
Chantrey,  which,  with  a  high  tablet  behind,  extending  to  near 
the  roof,  inscribed  with  a  long  history  of  the  virtues  and  line- 
age of  the  late  duchess-countess,  forms  a  piece  of  hero  worship 
unsuitable,  at  least,  to  such  a  place.  In  forming  the  new 
vault  beneath,  a  cross-legged  effigy  of  a  knight  covering  a  stone 
coffin  was  found,  containing  the  remains  of  Sir  Richard  de  Mo- 
ravia, brother  of  the  founder.  The  whole  were  rather  uncere- 


ROUTE  IV.        ORIGIN  OF  THE  NAME  DORNOCH.  405 

moniouslj  removed  from  their  original  resting  place,  and  now 
lie  exposed  in  the  north  transept. 

Neither  the  beauty  nor  sacred  character  of  the  tcathedral 
preserved  it  from  the  fate  of  the  palace,  in  1570,  at  the  hands 
of  the  Master  of  Caithness  and  his  Vandal  followers.  On  the 
same  occasion,  also,  a  monastery  of  Trinity  Friars,  established 
here,  fell  a  sacrifice  to  their  barbarous  fury.  In  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  town  are  numerous  spots  to  which  tradition  has 
attached  an  interest,  by  its  tales  of  the  many  bloody  struggles 
which  were  erst  so  successfully  maintained  there  against  for- 
eign invaders, — the  details  of  which,  however,  our  limits  forbid 
us  to  relate.  From  a  circumstance  attending  one  of  these  it 
was  that  the  town  received  its  present  name,  which  Sir  Robert 
Gordon  describes  as  follows  : — 

"  A  party  of  Danes,  having  effected  a  landing  on  the  coast, 
were  met  by  the  '  Morfhear  Chatt '  and  his  clansmen  within  a 
few  hundred  yards  of  the  town,  where  a  severe  contest  ensued, 
in  the  course  of  which  the  earl  had  his  sword  broken  whilst 
engaged  in  single  combat  with  the  king  or  chief  of  the  Danes. 
In  this  emergency  he  seized  the  hoof  of  a  dead  horse,  which 
accidentally  lay  on  the  spot,  and  with  one  blow  killed  his  op- 
ponent. In  reference  to  this  event,  the  town  was  called  Dor- 
noch,  (from  deem,  a  blow,  and  lack,  a  horse  ;)  and  the  tradition 
is  supported  by  the  fact  that  the  crest  of  the  burgh  is  a  horse's 
shoe  ;  and  a  stone  in  the  figure  of  a  cross  at  a  short  distance 
from  the  town,  called  Crois-Righ  (the  King's  Cross),  further 
corroborates  it,  and  serves  to  point  out  the  spot  where  the  oc- 
currence took  place."  *  Two  other  objects  pointed  out  by  the 
inhabitants  with  great  interest  are — the  socket  of  the  old  gal- 
lows tree,  (unused  now  for  one  hundred  and  twelve  years,  the 
last  execution  having  taken  place  on  the  26th  of  May,  1738, 
when  Donald  Mackay  from  Kirkton,  convicted  of  murder  before 
the  Regality  Court  of  Sutherland,  was  hanged  at  Dornoch  ;) 
and  the  fatal  stone  at  which  their  forefathers  used  to  display 
their  holy  enmity  against  the  Black  Art,  by  the  sacrifice,  in  an 
indiscriminate  blaze,  of  all  who  were  supposed  to  profess  it. 
Here  it  was  that  one  of  the  very  last  instances  in  Scotland  oc- 
curred of  the  burning  of  a  witch,  in  the  person  of  an  old  half- 
witted woman  from  Tarbet  in  Ross-shire,  in  1722.  "  About  the 

*  This  cross,  which  is  a  very  rude  one,  seems  to  us  to  have  been  of  more  recent 
origin,  and  to  be  simply  a  church  boundary  stone,  separating  the  Bishops'  and  Chan- 
ters' fields,  where  it  stands. 


406  THE  MOUND  AT  LOCH  FLEET.  SECT.  VII. 

town,"  says  Sir  Robert,  "along  the  sea-coast,  theie  are  the 
fairest  and  largest  links,  or  green  fields,  of  any  part  of  Scotland, 
fit  for  archery,  golfing,  and  all  other  exercise.  They  do  sur- 
pass the  fields  of  Montrose  or  St.  Andrews." 

18.  In  this  neighbourhood,  as  indeed  in  every  quarter  of 
the  county,  have  been  found  tumuli,  containing  stone  coffins  or 
chests,  enclosing  earthen  urns  with  ashes.     Sometimes  pieces  of 
human  bones,  and  the  remains  of  weapons,  and  polished  stone 
axes,  have  been  also  discovered  in  such  tumuli.      These  coffins 
are  formed  of  a  lid  and  bottom,  the  former  supported  at  the 
sides  and  either  end  by  flagstones  placed  on  edge,  so  as  to  be 
closely  shut  all  around.     The  urns  are,  we  believe,  in  every  in- 
stance unglazed,  but  some  were  rudely  ornamented,  though 
without  any  inscription,  and  they  evidently  are  not  of  Roman 
construction.    Stone  circles,  Druidical  and  Danish,  also  abound 
in  this  neighbourhood,  and  generally  throughout  the  county. 

19.  About  six  or  seven  miles  from  Dornoch,  the  road  crosses 
Loch  Fleet,  an  arm  of  the  sea  which  extends  nine  miles  inland, 
by  a  magnificent  mole  or  mound,  the  last  grand  work  by  which 
the  parliamentary  commissioners  completed  the  communication 
between  the  opposite  ends  of  this  island.      The  waters  of  the 
firth  are  confined  and  regulated  by  four  sluices  and  arches  on 
the  north  side  of  the  mound,  which  is  nearly  a  thousand  yards 
in  length.      Altogether  the  work  cost  £\  2,500  ;  but  a  great 
deal  of  land  has  been  reclaimed  by  means  of  it.      On  the  sou- 
thern shore  are  the  ruins  of  Skelbo  Castle,  formerly  the  resi- 
dence of  the  family  of  Sutherland,  Lord  Duffus  ;  and  on  the 
summit  of  Ben  Brachy  to  the  north  the  tourist  will  descry  the 
colossal  statue  of  the  late  Duke  of  Sutherland,  erected  by  the 
tenantry,  after  a  model  by  Chantrey. 

20.  Thence  to  Helmsdale,  the  coast  of  Sutherland  may  justly 
be  pronounced  as  soft  and  very  beautiful.     Woods  and  swelling 
hills,  and  farms  cultivated  on  the  newest  and  most  approved 
systems,  bedecked  with  neat  houses  and  offices,  everywhere  meet 
the  eye,  and  vary  and  enliven  the  journey.     Such  inns,  too,  are 
nowhere  to  be  found  within  the  Highland  border.     Their  atten- 
tive landlords  and  smart  grooms,  carpeted  floors  and  latticed 
windows,  transport  us  to  happy  England  ;  and  in  short,  from 
his  entrance  into  Sutherland,  the  stranger  perceives  everywhere 
the  impress  of  a  master-mind  in  the  device  and  execution  of 
magnificent  improvements.     Where  formerly  there  was  but  one 


ROUTE  IV.   SDTHERLANDSHIRE  IMPROVEMENTS.        407 

indifferent  road,  even  at  the  threshold  of  the  ducal  castle,  no 
enclosed  ground,  a  few  huts  of  wooden  frames  thatched  with 
turf,  and  each  accommodating  under  the  same  roof  the  family, 
with  their  cattle,  horses,  and  pigs, — the  rude  plough  drawn  by 
a  squad  of  garrons  and  stirks,  and  the  inhabitants  dressed  rather 
scantily  in  home-made  woollen  stuffs,  we  now  behold  a  fine 
mail-coach  road,  with  extensive  cross,  district,  and  farm  roads, 
of  the  best  description — the  finest  short-horned  and  Galloway 
cattle,  and  the  most  approved  breeds  of  horses — the  smaller 
tenants  all  living  in  decent  stone  and  lime  or  clay  cottages  with 
glass  windows,  and  their  fare  correspondingly  better,  and  habited 
in  long  coats  of  English  manufacture,  with  white  shirts,  hats, 
and  silk  handkerchiefs  :  while  the  upper  tenantry  are  all  gen- 
tlemen, living  in  good  houses  two  storeys  high,  and  having  their 
wheeled  carriages  for  personal  and  family  use.  The  establish- 
ments of  Mr.  Sellar,  Morvich,  on  Loch  Fleet,  and  Mr.  Craig, 
Kirkton,  afford  a  perfect  treat  and  study  ;  and  the  former,  be- 
sides being  greatly  instrumental  in  raising  the  Sutherland  clip 
of  wool,  and  the  carcass  of  the  sheep  to  its  present  high  repute, 
has  also  reclaimed  extensive  tracts  of  ground  from  the  sea,  and 
made  corn  grow  where  boats  were  wont  to  sail.  The  sore  feel- 
ings which,  in  the  bosoms  of  the  native  population,  accompanied 
these  improvements  for  years  after  their  commencement,  are 
now  happily  much  allayed,  as  the  people  have  had  most  une- 
quivocal proofs  of  the  desire  of  the  noble  family  of  Sutherland 
to  do  them  good.  The  removal  of  the  old  tenantry  from  the 
interior,  however,  gave  rise  to  most  heart-rending  scenes,  and, 
conducted  by  factors  and  foreigners  in  blood,  ignorant  of  the 
language  of  and  prejudiced  against  the  people,  it  must  be  obvi- 
ous to  those  acquainted  with  the  strength  of  Highland  attach- 
ments, that  it  could  have  been  no  easy  task  to  convince  the  old 
cottars  that  they  were  entitled  to  no  preference  over  the  stranger 
from  the  South  ;  or  that  they  did  not  possess  an  hereditary 
right  to  a  dwelling  in  the  land  preserved  by  the  blood  of  their 
fathers,  among  the  possessions  of  their  chieftain.  The  late 
noble  Duke,  and  Duchess-Countess,  however,  afforded  every 
facility  and  encouragement  to  the  people  to  establish  them- 
selves comfortably  on  the  coasts,  and  expended  munificent  sums 
on  roads  and  similar  improvements  ;  but  the  change  came  too 
suddenly  on  the  settled  and  cherished  habits  of  the  peasantry. 
The  undertaking  was  a  bold  one,  and  its  accomplishment  un- 


408  SUTHERLANDSHIRE  IMPROVEMENTS.       SECT.  VII. 

avoidably  involved,  in  some  measure,  a  disregard  of  human 
feeling  ;  and  what  followed,  we  believe,  is  now  universally 
regarded  as  a  warning  to  proprietors  not  to  tamper  too  hastily 
or  extensively  with  the  interests  or  even  the  prejudices  of  any 
large  bodies  of  people.*  As  to  the  question,  whether  the  country 
might  have  been  turned  to  better  account  than  it  has  been,  we 
believe  the  noble  proprietor  is  now  satisfied  that  large  tracts 
recently  under  the  plough,  will  be  more  productive  by  being 
planted  with  trees,  and  that  the  enormous  sheep-farms  of  the 
interior  should  be  broken  down  into  smaller  holdings,  and  the 
ancient  practice  of  having  on  each  some  corn-land  and  pasture 
for  cattle  as  well  as  sheep,  revived.  In  fact  the  increase  of  the 
population  in  the  little  hamlets  and  hill-sides,  next  the  eastern 
sea,  has  become  of  late  so  great,  and  exceeds  so  manifestly  the 
resources  of  the  peasantry,  that  the  present  Duke  has  seen  the 
necessity  of  giving  them  room  to  spread  again  towards  the  inte- 
rior, and  has  thus  announced  his  intention,  when  the  current 
leases  are  expired,  to  create  a  number  of  farms  not  exceeding 
,£50  of  yearly  rent,  besides  having  a  body  of  wealthier  tenantry, 
paying  from  £300  to  £800  a-year.  The  crofters  just  now  pay 
mere  trifles,  and  in  the  villages,  even  of  Dornoch  and  Golspie, 
excellent  building-stances,  with  large  gardens  attached,  may  be 
had  for  from  5s.  to  10s.  a-year.  It  is  generally  understood  that 
the  present  and  late  noble  Dukes  have  for  a  long  time  expended 
the  whole  rental  upon  local  improvements,  a  fact,  even  with 
their  munificent  outlay,  most  anomalous  and  unexampled. 

The  improved  aspect  of  the  country  as  yet  extends  to  no 
great  distance  from  the  coast.  Beyond  the  first  line  of  hills, 
which  in  general  are  not  so  much  as  two  miles  distant  from  the 
sea,  innumerable  chains  of  wild  bleak  mountains  present  them- 
selves, covered  only  with  heath,  and  but  occasionally  inter- 
spersed with  green  valleys.  These  mountains,  without  any 
change  of  appearance  or  variety  of  vegetable  productions,  pro- 
ceed quite  across  the  county  to  the  rocky  shores  of  the  Northern 
Ocean. 

*  One  of  the  most  irritating  features  of  the  Sutherland  clearings  was  the  impru- 
dent observance  of  a  most  unnecessary  formality — the  setting  fire  to  the  houses  of  the 
ejected  tenantry,  instead  of  simply  unroofing  them.  Another  circumstance  wliich 
agitated  the  people  most  powerfully,  was,  that  when  the  93d  regiment  of  Highland 
foot  was  embodied  on  the  Links  of  Dornoch,  at  a  time  of  great  national  alarm,  tin- 
soldiers'  families  and  relatives  were  promised  to  be  continued  in  their  small  hold- 
ings,— a  promise  which,  they  allege,  was  afterwards  forgotten ;  and  that  arrangements 
were  made  for  dispossessing  them  at  the  very  moment  these  poor  fellows  were  shed- 
ding their  blood  for  their  country  before  the  entrenchments  of  New  Orleans. 


ROUTE  IV.  GOLSPIE — DUNROBIN  CASTLE.  409 

21.  Mr.  Hill's  inn  and  posting  establishment,  at  the  thriv- 
ing village  of  Golspie,  is  decidedly  the  best  and  most  commo- 
dious in  the  extreme  north,  and  in  a  most  romantic  situation. 
A  mile  and  a  half  above  the  inn  there  is  a  beautiful  cascade,  to 
which  a  winding  path  leads  through  the  wood,  and  thence  west- 
ward to  the  monument  on  Ben  Brachy,  past  the  resident  factor's 
beautiful  house  at  Rhives.  Private  drives  have  here  been  com- 
menced, above  and  out  of  sight  of  the  post  road,  on  which  we 
hope  her  Most  Gracious  Majesty  the  Queen  may  yet  find  health 
and  enjoyment.  From  Golspie  double-seated  mail-gigs,  cars, 
already  alluded  to  (page  401),  proceed  twice  a-week  to  Tongue 
and  Lochinver  by  Bonar  Bridge. 

Close  by  is  Dunrobin  Castle  ("  the  Erie  of  Sutherland  his 
speciall  residence,"  to  quote  the  words  of  Sir  Robert  Gordon  the 
family  historian,  who  wrote  about  1630),  "  a  house  well  seated 
upon  a  mote  hard  by  the  sea,  with  fair  orchards,  wher  ther  be 
pleasant  gardens,  planted  with  all  kinds  of  froots,  hearbs,  and 
floors,  used  in  this  kingdom,  and  abundance  of  good  saphorn, 
tobacco,  and  rosemarie,  the  froot  being  excellent,  and  cheeflie  the 
pears  and  cherries."  This  castle  was  founded  by  Robert,  second 
Earl  of  Sutherland,  A.  D.  1097  (whence  its  name  Dunrobin),  and 
is  beautifully  surrounded  with  trees,  in  which  are  concealed  two 
older  burghs  or  dunes  attributed  to  the  Danes.  The  view  from 
the  top  of  the  tower,  the  paintings  in  the  public  rooms,  and 
especially  the  series  of  old  Scottish  portraits,  and  the  elegant 
breed  of  Highland  cattle,  for  which  the  parks  of  Dunrobin  are 
celebrated,  rendered  the  old  castle,  as  it  stood  some  years  ago, 
worthy  of  admiration.*  But  now  it  has  become,  by  recent  ad- 

*  Whether  the  Catti  were  of  German  or  original  Gaelic  extraction,  and  whether  as 
strangers,  they  had  an  allotment  of  land  from  the  Scottish  King  Galgacus,  for  their 
having  assisted  him  against  the  Romans,  in  the  districts  "  be  north  of  the  Morays, 
which  almost  lay  void  of  inhabitants,  and  was  by  them  called  CATTY  ;"  or  whether, 
as  Highlanders  contend,  the  name  was  derived  from  the  victory  of  one  of  their  early 
leaders  over  the  wild  cats  which  infested  the  country — are  questions  that  may  well 
be  left  to  the  learned.  One  point,  however,  is  clear,  that  Caithness  proper  was  long 
ruled  by  Scandinavian  Jarls,  whose  sway  extended  over  great  portions  of  Sutherland, 
for  Caithness  citra  Montem),  and  especially  in  the  interior  and  north-west  coast,  aud 
that  the  Gaelic  Maormor,  or,  as  he  is  sometimes  called  Thane  of  Sutherland,  held  the 
very  circumscribed  bounds  between  the  Ord  and  the  Oikel  Water,  which  were  some- 
times completely  overrun  by  the  Norwegians,  and  the  people  almost  extirpated. 
"  There  are,  consequently,"  (says  Mr.  Skene  on  the  Highlanders  of  Scotland,  vol.  ii.  p. 
301),  "  no  Highland  clans  whatever  descended  from  the  Gaelic  tribe  which  anciently 
inhabited  the  district  of  Sutherland ;  and  the  modern  Gaelic  population  of  that  region 
is  derived  from  two  other  sources.  In  the  first  place,  several  of  the  tribes  of  the 
neighbouring  district  of  Ross,  at  an  early  period  gradually  spread  themselves  into  the 
nearest  and  most  mountainous  parts  of  the  country,  and  they  consisted  chiefly  of  the 
clan  Annas  or  Ross.  Secondly,  Hugh  Freskin,  a  descendant  of  Fresldn  de  Moravia, 
and  whose  family  was  a  branch  of  the  ancient  Gaelic  tribe  of  Moray"  (though  by 


410  DUNKOBIN  CASTLE.  SECT.    VII. 

ditions,  one  of  the  most  princely  palaces  in  the  kingdom,  and 
undoubtedly  one  of  the  largest  in  Scotland.  Among  the  mul- 
titude of  high  towers  and  fretted  pinnacles  the  old  castle  is 
almost  lost,  except  on  the  seaward  side,  where  its  humble  but 
dignified  old  tower  and  plain  front  form  the  western  comer  of 
the  building.  East  of  these  a  magnificent  elevation  of  four 
storeys,  springing  from  a  terraced  basement,  and  pierced  with 
rows  of  oriel  and  plain  windows,  beautifully  finished  with  varied 
tabling,  forms  an  extensive  frontage  which  rises  to  a  great 
height,  and  over  which  a  number  of  towers,  turrets,  and  mina- 
rets, reach  up  into  the  sky,  backed  on  the  north  by  the  lofty 
and  very  steep  roof  of  the  great  entrance  tower,  which  is  at 
least  100  feet  high.  The  general  character  of  the  whole  build- 
ing is  that  of  a  very  large  French  chateau  or  German  palace, 
with  details  in  the  scroll  work  and  roofs  of  the  chambers,  bor- 
rowed from  the  best  old  Scottish  models.  The  grand  entrance 


igrau 

descendant  of  two  previous  Earls  of  Sutherland,  claimed  by  the  family,  as  to  the  first 
of  whom  it  is  alleged  that  his  Thanedom  was  converted  into  an  Earldom  by  Malcolm 
Caenmore  about  1057,  but  the  family  power  and  possessions  became  extensive  and 
permanent  in  consequence  of  the  severe  personal  vengeance  taken  by  King  William 
on  Harold  and  the  insurgents  of  Caithness,  (who  were  continually  molesting  the 
Scottish  provinces),  lege  talionis,  by  which  their  "blood  was  utterlv  extinguished." 
The  vigorous  government  of  Alexander  II.,  who  "  planted  his  standard  on  the  cliffs 
of  Thurso,"  seems  to  have  secured  the  separation  and  independence  of  Sutherland 
from  the  northern  Jarldom,  and  by  that  monarch  it  was  afresh  erected  into  an  earl- 
dom. Agreeably,  however,  to  Gaelic  customs,  the  Earl  has  always  been  stvled  in  his 
own  country  JUorar  Cliatt,  thus  excluding  the  Scandinavian  term  Jarl,  and  the  Scot- 
tish titles  of  Thane  and  Earl ;  and  the  succession  continued  uninterruptedly  in  males, 
under  the  surname  of  Sutherland,  for  the  lifetime  of  thirteen  earls,  when,  about  the 
year  1500,  the  title  and  estates  having  devolved  on  a  female,  Lady  Elizabeth,  married 
to  Adam  Gordon,  Lord  Aboyne,  (second  son  of  George,  Earl  of  Huntly),  the  family 
honours  passed  to  the  Gordons,  by  whom  they  were  handed  down  to  the  late  estim- 
able and  talented  Duchess-Countess,  the  last  o'f  the  pure  old  Scottish  blood.  Through- 
out their  history,  the  Earls  of  Sutherland  were  remarked  for  their  attachment  to  the 
church,  and  for  the  personal  piety  of  several  of  them.  They  early  embraced  the 
change  of  opinions  introduced  t>y  the  Reformation,  and  afterwards  assumed  those  of 
the  Presbyterian  party.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  there  is  not  a  single  Roman 
Catholic  to  this  day  within  the  county.  With  Lord  Reay  and  the  Baron  of  Foulis, 
they  twice  (in  1624  and  1629)  raised  3000  followers,  who  went  over  to  Germany  and 
were  highly  distinguished  in  the  armies  of  Gustavus  Adolphus.  They  were  leaders 
in  the  Covenanting  army  in  the  north  of  Scotland  ;  and  the  clan  boast  that  the  Earl 
i  if  Sutherland  took  part  in  the  celebrated  General  Assembly  at  Glasgow  in  1638,  where, 
however,  he  seems  to  have  had  influence  enough  to  have  saved  the  Bishop  of  Suther- 
land and  Caithness  from  excommunication,  along  with  the  rest  of  the  Episcopal  pre- 
lates, on  his  submitting  himself  to  Presbyterian  rule;  though  Keith  says  ne  was 
"  deprived ;"  and  the  Earl  also  subsequently  protected  in  their  livings  several  of  his 
parochial  clergv,  who  were  admitted  to  be  very  pious  men,  on  their  nominally  relin- 
quishing their  Episcopal  orders.  The  family  were  uniform  supporters  of  Wh\g  prin- 
ciples, and  among  the  best  friends  in  the  north  of  the  Hanoverian  dynasty;  for  the 
Earls  of  Sutherland  took  part  in  1715  and  '45,  as  well  as  previously,  against  the  pre- 
tensions of  the  house  of  Stuart.  The  superficial  extent  of  their  prodigious  territories 
in  the  North  is  little  short  of  2000  square  miles. 


ROUTE  IV.  DTJNROBIN  CASTLE.  411 

and  staircase  are  lined  within  with  polished  Caen  stone ;  but  the 
exterior  is  all  of  a  hard  white  silicious  freestone  from  Brora  and 
Braambury  Hill,  on  the  Duke's  own  property.  Internally  the 
castle  is  arranged  into  suites  of  apartments,  each  containing  a 
complete  set  of  sitting  rooms  and  bed  chambers,  and  named  the 
Duke's — the  Argyle — the  Blantyre  apartments,  and  those  of 
other  members  of  the  family ;  and  each  suite  has  its  own  pecu- 
liar style  and  colour  of  decorations  and  painting.  The  grand 
seaward  front  has  been  appropriated  to  her  Majesty,  whose 
apartments  are  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  palace  by  a  wide 
gallery  or  passage.  They  are  done  up  in  the  most  costly  and 
elegant  manner,  with  silk  tapestry  hangings  in  some  of  the 
rooms  instead  of  papering.  From  the  oriel  window  of  her  bed- 
room, her  Majesty  will  command,  in  one  view,  the  whole  circuit 
of  her  dominions,  from  Ben  Wyvis  in  Ross  round  by  the  Alps 
of  Inverness,  Moray,  and  Aberdeen  shires,  and  across  the  firth 
almost  to  the  Ord  of  Caithness,  which  is  concealed  from  view 
only  by  a  projecting  headland  ;  while  the  mid-distance  is  beau- 
tifully varied  by  the  yellow  sands  of  the  Dornoch  Firth,  and 
the  rocky  promontory  and  high  bright  lighthouse  on  Tarbat 
Ness. 

Extensive  as  the  buildings  are,  the  entire  design  will  not  be 
finished  until  another  tower  or  two  and  the  family  chapel  are 
added,  and  in  the  former  of  which  we  presume  it  is  intended  to 
have  a  great  feudal  receiving  room ;  for  the  present  main  din- 
ing room,  large  though  it  be  (and  which  is  beautifully  pan- 
nelled  with  oak,  with  large  paintings  inserted  in  the  compart- 
ments and  processions  in  the  frieze),  seems  yet  rather  small  for 
the  reception  of  all  the  company — the  tenantry,  and  native 
retainers  of  the  noble  Duke  and  his  guests,  who  on  state  occa- 
sions may  be  convened  to  enjoy  his  hospitality.  The  furniture, 
now  being  placed  in  the  different  rooms,  with  the  paintings  and 
decorations,  is  of  the  most  chaste  and  beautiful  description,  and 
it  is  pleasing  to  know  that  all  the  carpets  and  hangings  have 
been  cut  out  to  order  by  the  young  women  of  the  neighbour- 
hood. Two  very  beautiful  and  effective  mantle-pieces  of  great 
size  and  height,  representing  the  Sutherland  arms  and  their 
supporters,  in  alto-relievo,  are  also  the  work  of  a  local  sculptor, 
Mr.  Munro,  a  native  of  Inverness,  a  protege  of  her  Grace  the 
Duchess,  and  who  has  been  extensively  employed  by  Mr.  Barry 
in  the  carved  work  of  the  new  Houses  of  Parliament. 


112  DUNROBIN  CASTLE.  SECT.  VII. 

Below  the  castle  the  old  garden  and  orchard  occupied  the 
level  space  extending  to  the  sea  beach.  It  was  till  of  late,  like 
the  gardens  at  Ospisdale  and  Skibo,  celebrated  for  its  peaches, 
apricots,  nectarines,  figs,  and  almonds,  which  all  ripened  on  the 
open  wall.  These  have  now  been  removed,  and  the  whole  plain 
is  being  converted  into  a  flower  garden,  with  walls  and  flights 
of  steps  leading  up  to  the  basement  storey  of  the  castle.  Should 
the  whole  design,  as  planned  by  his  Grace,  ever  be  completed, 
including  the  chapel,  landscape  gardens,  drives,  and  pleasure 
grounds,  the  entire  cost  will  not  fall  far  short  of  half  a  million 
sterling ! 

22.  Brora,  five  miles  and  a  half  from  Golspie,  is  a  little  vil- 
lage, for  some  years  dependent  on  the  salt  and  coal  works  car- 
ried on  in  its  vicinity ;  now  chiefly  supported  by  the  produce  of 
the  quarries  of  beautiful,  though  rather  brittle,  freestone  found 
in  its  neighbourhood.  The  former  have  been  discontinued.  To 
the  geologist  this  place  presents  the  most  interesting  appear- 
ances perhaps  in  Scotland,  as  regards  the  occurrence  of  coal 
and  its  associated  minerals  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of 
granite.  The  formation  with  which  the  coal  is  connected  is  the 
lias  and  oolite,  the  principal  bed  of  coal  being  about  two  hun- 
dred feet  beneath  the  surface.  The  freestone  or  sandstone  which 
composes  the  upper  bed,  and  which  abounds  in  organic  remains, 
is  adapted  for  building ;  and  at  Helmsdale,  and  other  places 
not  far  distant,  a  fine  secondary  limestone,  called  cornstone, 
occurs.* 

*  Referring  to  the  geological  notices  of  Moray  and  Inverness  shires,  at  pages  344 
:md  382,  we  shall  complete  them  by  the  following  short  description  of  the  Brora,  Coal 
Field  .-—On  passing  the  granitic  mass  of  the  Ord  of  Caithness  froiu  the  north,  we  come 
immediately  upon  a  series  of  oolitic  and  lias  deposits,  a  great  portion  of  which  has  heen 
tilted  up  against  the  granite  without  the  intervention  of  the  old  red  sandstone,  and 
which  is  also  brecciated,  establishing  thereby  the  elevation  of  the  granite  subsequent 
to  the  formation  of  the  oolitic  rocks.  These  newer  deposits  stretch  along  the  coast 
of  the  firth,  and  are  found  not  only  in  Sutherlandshire,  out  also  in  front  of  the  gneiss 
«nd  older  sandstone  mountains  of  Ross-shire,  their  most  recent  beds  appearing  in  the 
promontory  of  Tarbat  Ness,  which  was  flanked  on  the  sea-side  by  exterior  layers  of 
Uas  shale,  and  limestone;  the  remains  of  these  being  still  visible  at  Cadboll,  Geanies, 
Shaudwick,  and  Ethie. 

Proceeding  westward  from  the  Ord,  the  Brora  coal  field  first  merits  our  attention. 
It  forms  a  part  of  the  deposits  which,  on  the  coast  of  Sutherlandshire,  occupy  a  tract 
of  country  of  about  twenty  miles  in  length,  from  the  Ord  to  Golspie,  and  three  miles 
in  its  greatest  breadth,  divided  into  the  valleys  of  Brora,  Loth,  and  Navidale,  by  the 
successive  advance  to  the  coast  of  portions  of  the  adjoining  mountain  range  which 
liounds  them  on  the  west  and  north-west.  The  first  of  these  valleys  is  flanked  on  the 
south-west  by  hills  of  red  conglomerate,  which  pass  inland  to  the  north-cast  of  Loch 
Brora,  and  give  place  to  an  unstratified  granitic  rock,  that  forms  the  remainder  of  the 
mountainous  boundary. 

The  highest  beds  at  Brora  consist  of  a  wliite  quartzose  sandstone,  partially  over- 
laid  by  a  fissile  limestone  containing  many  fossils,  the  greatest  number  of  which  have 


ROUTE  IV.      KILCALMKILL GEOLOGICAL  NOTE.  413 

23.  An  excursion  of  a  few  miles  up  the  Strath  and  Loch  of 
Brora,  will  be  found  very  interesting,  as  the  scenery  is  beautiful, 
giving  place  gradually,  as  we  proceed,  to  wild  and  heathy 
mountains.  The  rock  Carrol,  on  the  south  shore  of  the  loch, 
is  precipitous  for  nearly  four  hundred  feet  ;  and  opposite  it, 
four  miles  up,  is  Killin,  where  anciently  there  was  a  cell  or 
chapel,  dedicated  to  St.  Columba,  who  was  truly  the  most  ex- 
tensive patron  saint  in  the  Highlands.  From  it  is  evidently 
derived  the  name  of  the  beautiful  residence,  (two  miles  farther 
on),  Kilcalmkill,  which  was  the  seat  of  a  respectable  branch  of 
the  clan  Gordon,  descended  from  Adam  Gordon,  Dean  of  Caith- 
ness, uncle  of  Lord  Aboyne,  who  married  Countess  Elizabeth, 

been  identified  with  those  of  the  calcareous  grit  beneath  the  coral  rag ;  and  along  with 
these,  several  new  species  have  been  discovered.  The  next  beds,  in  a  descending 
order,  are  obscured  in  the  interior  by  the  diluvium  which  is  generally  spread  over  the 
surface  of  these  valleys,  but  are  exposed  on  other  places  on  the  coast;  and  they  con- 
sist of  shale,  with  the  fossils  of  the  Oxford  clay  overlying  a  limestone  resembling  corn- 
trash  and  forest  marble,  the  latter  associated  with  calciferous  grit.  To  these  succeed 
sandstone  and  shale,  containing  belemnites  and  ammonites,  through  which  the  shaft 
of  the  present  coal-pit  is  sunk  to  the  depth  of  near  eighty  yards  below  the  level  of  the 
river  Brora.  The  principal  bed  of  coal  is  three  feet  five  inches  in  thickness,  and  the 
roof  is  a  sandy  calcareous  mixture  of  fossil  shells,  and  a  compressed  assemblage  of 
leaves  and  stems  of  plants  passing  into  the  coal  itself.  The  fossils  of  this  and  the 
superior  beds  are  identical,  for  the  greater  part,  with  those  which  occur  in  the  strata 
above  the  coal  in  the  east  of  Yorkshire;  and  of  the  whole  number  of  species  collected, 
amounting  to  upwards  of  fifty,  two-thirds  are  well-known  fossils  ol  the  oolite,  the 
remainder  being  new  species. 

The  plant  of  which  the  Brora  coal  seems  to  have  been  formed  is  identical  with  one 
of  the  most  characteristic  vegetables  of  the  Yorkshire  coast ;  but  differs  essentially 
from  any  of  the  plants  found  in  the  coal  measures  beneath  the  new  red  sandstone. 
It  has  been  formed  into  a  new  genus  by  Mr.  Konig,  and  is  described  by  him  under  the 
name  of  Oncylogonatum ;  but  M.  A.  Brongniart  regards  it  as  an  Eqnisetum,  which  he 
has  figured  and  named  Equisetmn  columnare. 

The  Brora  coal  may  therefore  be  considered,  from  its  associated  shells  and  plants, 
as  the  equivalent  of  that  of  the  eastern  moorlands  of  Yorkshire,  and  in  no  respect  ana- 
lagous  to  the  coal  fields  of  the  south  of  Scotland. 

At  I/oth,  Helmsdale,  and  Navidale,  shale  and  sandstone  overlie  calcareous  strata 
resembling  the  cornbrash  and  forest  marble;  and  these  are,  in  many  cases,  dislocated 
where  they  are  in  contact  with  the  granitic  rock,  and  distorted  where  they  approacli 
it.  The  base  of  the  entire  series  above  mentioned  is  seen,  at  low  water,  on  the  coast, 
near  the  north  and  south  Sutors  of  Cromarty,  where  the  lias,  with  some  of  its  cha- 
racteristic fossils,  is  observable,  resting  upon  the  sandstone  of  the  red  conglomerate 
— the  latter  in  contact  with  the  granitic  rock. 

Braambury  and  Hare  Hills,  near  Brora,  composed  of  the  upper  beds  of  the  oolitic 
series,  owe  their  forms  most  probably  to  denudation;  a  supposition  recently  con- 
firmed by  the  exposure  on  their  surface  of  innumerable  parallel  furrows  and  irregular 
scratches,  both  deep  and  shallow :  such,  in  short,  as  could  scarcely  be  produced  by 
any  other  operation  than  the  rush  of  rock  fragments  transported  by  some  glacier  or 
current.  These  appearances  resemble  very  closely  those  in  other  places  described  by 
Sir  James  Hall  and  Dr.  Buckland;  and  show,  here,  that  the  course  of  the  current 
which  gave  rise  to  them  observed  a  direction  by  the  compass,  from  north-west  to 
south-east.  (See  the  papers  in  the  Geological  Society's  Transactions  for  1827,  &c.,  by 
Sir  Roderick  j.  M.  Murchison,  and  Rev.  A.  Sedgwick.) 

At  Inverbrora,  Mr.  Robertson  of  Elgin  was  enabled  to  detect  the  remains  of  a  dr- 
nosit  of  the  wealden,  having  the  usual  characteristic  organisms  of  that  fresh-water 
formation,  and  resembling  especially  those  in  the  wealden  clay  of  Mora) -shire. 


414  PORT  GOWEB.  SECT.'  VII. 

daughter  of  the  fourteenth  Earl  of  Sutherland.  Two  miles 
farther  north  is  Cole's  Castle,  an  ancient  Pictish  fortress  of  most 
prodigious  strength,  situated  on  a  rock  on  the  Black  Water  or 
river  of  Strathbeg.  It  is  circular,  and  built  of  uncemented 
stones,  with  chambers  in  the  walls,  and  it  seems  to  be  as  entire 
as  Dun  Dornadilla  in  Strathmore. 

24.  The  distance  from  Brora  to  Loth  Church,  one  of  the 
neatest  in  the  county,  is  six  or  seven  miles  ;  and  thence  two  to 
three  miles  to  Port  Grower,  where  are  a  neat  little  village,  a  good 
inn,  and  the  parish  school.    In  the  secure  little  bay  of  Helmsdale, 
two  miles  from  Port  Gower,  a  harbour  has  been  formed  for  the 
herring  busses,  which  collect  here  in  great  numbers,  reckoning 
it  the  safest  station  on  the  coast.      The  village  is  thriving  and 
populous,  and  possesses  a  sub-branch  bank.      From  Helmsdale 
a  road  branches  to  the  left  for  Kildonan  Kirk,  about  six  miles 
off,  whence  it  is  continued  north  to  Melvich  inn,  about  twenty 
miles  west  of  Thurso.     The  stage  is  just  thirty  miles  long,  and 
twenty  miles  of  it  uninhabited  ;  and  the  only  comfortable  con- 
sideration is,  that  the  road  is  good.      Adjoining  Helmsdale  are 
the  ruins  of  a  romantic  old  castle,  once  the  seat  of  an  extensive 
proprietor  of  the  name  of  Gordon.     On  occasion  of  some  unfor- 
tunate broil,  he  had  to  fly  with  his  family  under  the  silence  of 
night ;  but  the  ship  which  conveyed  them  foundered  at  sea, 
and  they  were  never  heard  of. 

25.  Between  Helmsdale  and  Berridale  (nine  miles  and  a 
half)  the  road  passes,  at  an  elevation  of  1200  feet  above  the 
sea,  along  the  acclivity  of  the  granitic  Ord  of  Caithness,  which 
is  the  commencement  of  a  long  chain  of  mountains  running 
north-west,  and  separating  Caithness  from  Sutherland.      The 
whole  of  this  stage  is  occupied  by  the  Ord,  and  its  huge  rami- 
fications ;  but  the  passage  of  these,  though  tedious,  is  now 
comparatively  free  from  danger.     Formerly  the  road  proceeded 
along   the  edge   of  a  tremendous   range  of  precipices,  which 
overhang  the  sea,  the  very  sight   of  which   was   enough   to 
frighten  both  horse  and  rider.     Even  the  modern  descent  to  the 
valley  of  Berridale,  where  the  beautifully  situated  little  inn  of 
that  name  occupies  the  centre  of  a  chasm  hollowed  out  among 
the  mountains  at  the  junction  of  two  alpine  streams,  is  ex- 
ceedingly abrupt.*     Descending  to  the  inn,  Langwell  (Donald 

•  It  is  considered  unlucky  for  a  Sinclair  to  cross  the  Ord  on  a  Monday,  because 
it  was  on  that  day  that  a  large  party  of  the  name  passed  on  their  way  to  Flodden 
Field,  where  they  were  cut  off  to  a  man. 


ROUTE  IV.  CAITHNESS.  415 

Home,  Esq.)  appears  on  the  left,  within  the  edge  of  a  thriving 
plantation.  Here,  towards  the  sea,  we  behold  the  commence- 
ment of  those  grand  cliffs  and  stacks,  or  detached  pillars  of 
rock,  which  accompany  us  thence  round  all  the  coasts  of  Caith- 
ness. A  few  trees,  the  most  vigorous  in  the  county,  ornament 
this  spot,  and  were  planted  under  the  eye  of  the  justly  celebrated 
Sir  John  Sinclair,  Bart.  Between  Berridale  and  Swiney  (twelve 
miles  and  a  half),  the  country  again  presents  a  sudden  change 
of  character.  The  mountains  recede  inland,  and  give  place  to 
bleak,  open  tracts,  partially  cultivated  ;  and  a  barrier  of  high, 
shelterless  precipices,  washed  by  the  ocean,  extends  on  the 
right  of  the  observer  to  the  distant  horizon. 

26.  Caithness  may   be   described   as  a  broad,   undulating 
plain,  devoid  of  trees,  but  covered  with  stunted  heath — in  some 
places,   also,   by   deep    peat    mosses.      The   dwellings   of    its 
peasantry  very  generally  till  of  late  were,  and  still  in  part  are, 
poor  hovels,  built  of  turf  and  stones  in  alternate  layers,  and 
thatched  over  with  straw  or  sods,  which  are  kept  down  by  straw 
ropes  thrown  across  the  roof,  to  the  end  of  which  flat  stones  are 
attached  as  safeguards  against  the  violence  of  the  winds.     Yet 
Caithness  is  not  a  poor  county  ;  and  its  agricultural  products 
are  greater  than  those  of  some  others  of  the  northern  shires. 
Its  advance  in  all  sorts  of  agricultural  improvements,  and  in 
rearing  the  finest  stocks  of  cattle,  has  of  late  years  been  pro- 
digious ;  and  the  last  Highland  Society's  Exhibition  at  Inver- 
ness proved  that  Caithness  henceforth  will  not  yield  the  palm 
to  any  of  her  neighbours.     Its  gentry  are  hospitable,  polished, 
and  well  educated.     The  ruins  of  their  ancient  towers  crown 
the  cliffs   of  their  rugged   shores,   as   if  still  watching    the 
approach  of  the  northern  pirates  ;  and  some  of  these  are  even 
yet  habitable.     The  Scandinavian  origin,  or  at  least  admixture 
of  the   people,  is  portrayed  in  their  tall  forms,  and  soft  fair 
countenances  ;  the  names  of  places,  and  the  language  generally 
spoken,  show  undoubted  marks  of  a  foreign  extraction  ;  and 
nowhere  in  the  county,  except  on  the  borders  of  Sutherland, 
are  Gaelic  sounds  to  be  heard.     At  Dunbeath,  seven  miles  and 
a  half  from  Berridale,  there  are  an  ancient  village,  and  the  ruins 
of  Dunbeath  Castle. 

27.  Three  miles  from  Dunbeath,  we  reach  the  church  and 
manse  of  Latheron.     On  the  north  of  the  manse,  a  branch  road 
strikes  off  to  the  west  for  Thurso,  by  Achbreanich,  where  there 


416  BRAAL   CASTLE — WICK.  SECT.  VII. 

is  a  tolerable  inn,  six  miles  from  Latheron,  and  sixteen  from 
Thurso.  On  this  road  there  is  a  good  view  of  the  hills  called 
the  Paps  of  Caithness,  behind  the  Ord  ;  and  of  Braal  Castle, 
surrounded  with  wood,  an  interesting  spot  a  mile  to  the  left. 
It  surmounts  an  eminence  on  the  banks  of  the  Thurso,  about 
five  miles  from  that  town,  near  the  junction  of  this  branch  with 
the  Wick  and  Thurso  road  ;  and  is  not  a  little  deserving  the 
attention  of  the  antiquary,  as  exhibiting  a  style  of  building 
apparently  but  a  stage  in  advance  of  the  round  burghs  or 
towers.  The  form  here  is  square,  and  cement  is  used  ;  but  the 
disposition  of  the  apartments  is  much  the  same  as  that  of  the 
galleries  in  the  burghs.  They  are  contained  in  the  wall  itself, 
and  open  into  the  inner  court  or  area,  and  communicate  by 
passages  and  staircases  similarly  situated.  These  rooms,  of 
which  there  is  one  on  each  side,  have,  however,  an  external 
window,  and  are  moreover  furnished  with  a  stone  bench  round 
the  inside.  Oldwick  Castle  is  a  similar,  but  rather  ruder  struc- 
ture still. 

28.  Wick  lies  fifteen  miles  farther  north  than  Swiney  inn, 
two  miles  past  Latheron  ;  and  Thurso,  at  which  the  mail-coach 
road  stops,  is  twenty  miles  beyond  Wick. 

Like  many  mighty  cities,  these  two  burghs  contend  with 
one  another  for  pre-eminence.  Thurso,  though  more  beautifully 
situated,  and  withal  the  genteeler  of  the  two,  must  yield  to  its 
rival  in  the  bustle  of  life  and  mercantile  wealth.  Wick  lies 
low,  and  in  a  dirty  situation  ;  and,  but  for  the  stream  which 
passes  through  it,  and  the  sharp  breezes  of  the  north,  the  smell 
of  its  fish  and  garbage  would  be  intolerable.  Though  the  bay 
is  long  and  dangerous,  and  hemmed  in  on  both  sides  by  high 
rocks,  it  is  the  resort  of  a  great  many  fishing  vessels  ;  and  in 
the  proper  season  the  town  swarms  with  crowds  of  Lowland 
Scotchmen,  fair  Northmen,  broad-breeched  Dutchmen,  and 
kilted  Highlanders.  No  sight  can  be  more  beautiful  than  the 
look-out,  on  a  fine  summer's  morning,  from  the  seaward  cliffs 
near  the  town,  on  the  surface  of  the  ocean,  bespangled  with, 
perhaps,  from  500  to  800  herring  boats,  either  sailing  in  lines  to 
or  from  their  stations,  or  busied  hauling  in  their  nets,  or  rowing 
round  them  to  guard  and  watch  the  indications  of  their  buoys. 
Larger  vessels  gliding  on  among  this  small  craft  seem  like 
stately  swans  surrounded  by  a  flock  of  lively  sea-gulls ;  and  here 
and  there  the  broad  pennon  of  a  revenue  cruiser,  and  the  swift 


ROUTE  IV.  WICK    HERRING   FISHERY.  417 

light-rowing  boats  of  the  preventive  service,  remind  us  that  no 
small  degree  of  caution  and  order  is  required  to  be  maintained 
among  the  numerous  little  objects  dancing  on  the  waves  before 
us,  like  the  motes  in  a  sunbeam.  During  the  fishing  season, 
the  busy  hand  of  industry  is  tried  to  the  utmost,  and  man, 
woman,  and  child,  are  obliged  to  bear  "  watching,  and  labour, 
and  pain."  Wick  carries  on  its  trade  principally  through  a 
small  village,  Staxigo,  situated  a  short  way  to  the  eastward, 
near  the  lofty  promontory  called  Noss-head,  and  which  pos- 
sesses a  convenient  harbour.  Its  own  harbours  are  improving  ; 
and  its  suburb,  called  Pulteneytown,  planned  under  the  auspices 
of  the  British  Fishery  Society,  and  built,  in  1808,  on  higher 
ground  than  the  old  town,  is  a  regular  and  handsome  village. 
The  population  of  the  parish  was,  in  1831,  9580,  being  an  in- 
crease of  3137  since  1821 ;  and,  in  1841,  the  numbers  fell  to 
9346.  The  following  statement  respecting  the  Wick  herring 
fishery  for  1829  and  1840,  will  give  an  idea  of  the  bustle  of 
the  place  during  that  season  of  the  year,  and  the  great  value  of 
the  fishery.  The  apparent  falling  off  latterly  is  owing  to  the 
resort  of  many  boats  to  Helmsdale  : — 

1829.  1840. 

Boats  belonging  to  Wick  engaged  in 457  428 

Do.  not  belonging  to  the  district 498  327 

Total  number  of  boats 955  755 

Fishermen  3,761  3,882 

Carers  (only  91  regularly  entered  in  1840)  ...  1,146  91 

Women  (chiefly  employed  in  gutting  the  fish)  2,937  2,175 

Coopers    442  265 

Carters 117  127 

Other  labourers 177  196 

Seamen  in  coasting  vessels  for  carrying  away 

herrings 3,200  1,200 

Total  number  of  persons  employed  ...    11,780  7,936 

Total  of  barrels  cured 112,698  63,495 


Owing  to  the  establishment  of  fishing-stations  on  other 
parts  of  the  coast,  the  attendance  of  boats  at  Wick  (which  at 
one  time  amounted  to  about  1200)  has  fallen  off,  and  perhaps 
fortunately  so  for  the  morals  of  the  people ;  but  the  success  of 
their  exertions  varies  exceedingly  in  different  seasons.  The 
following  comparative  statement  will  give  a  tolerable  idea  of 


418 


WICK    HERRING   FISHERY. 


SECT.    VII. 


the  whole  take  of  herring  for  two  years  on  the  east  coast  of 
Scotland.  We  extract  it  from  the  John-o1 -Groat  Journal, 
which  is  published  at  Wick  : — 

QUANTITY  OF  HERRINGS  CURED. 

1835.  1836. 

Peterhead 33,000  Barrels  44,000  Barrels. 

Fraserburgh 54,000    ditto  45,000  ditto. 

Banff. 24,000    ditto  18,000  ditto. 

Cullen  5,000    ditto  3,000  ditto. 

Findhorn 8,000    ditto  6,000  ditto. 

Cromarty 7,000    ditto  7,000  ditto. 

Helmsdale   28,000    ditto  18,000  ditto. 

Lybster    32,000    ditto  15,000  ditto. 

Wick    106,000    ditto  40,000  ditto. 

Thurso  and  Tongue   22,000    ditto  7,000  ditto. 

Orkney 45,000    ditto  28,000  ditto. 

Shetland 38,000    ditto  27,000  ditto. 

Berwick 30,000  ditto. 

The  cost  of  a  boat,  with  outfit  of  nets,  is  about  £120.  A 
drift  of  nets  consists  of  from  sixteen  to  twenty-six,  each  about 
sixteen  fathoms  long  and  four  deep.  The  fisher  generally  re- 
ceives from  9s.  to  10s.  a  cran  or  barrel  for  the  herrings ;  and  a 
crew  (four  in  number),  when  proprietors  of  the  boat,  sometimes 
make  £20,  £30,  and  even  £50,  a-head.  The  wages  allowed  for 
about  two  months'  service — from  the  middle  of  July  to  Sep- 
tember— are  £3  to  £7,  and  a  peck  and  a-half  of  meal  a-week. 
Poor  widows  and  girls  are  employed  to  gut  and  pack  at  about 
4d.  per  barrel ;  they  make  20s.  to  £3  a  season.  Whisky  is  con- 
sumed among  all  to  a  most  enormous  and  demoralising  extent. 

Wick  and  Pulteneytown  present  numerous  proofs  of  growing 
prosperity  in  the  style  of  the  newer  houses  and  the  public  build- 
ings, as  the  town-house  and  jail,  the  town  and  county  hall,  new 
church,  bank,  and  gas-work.  Wick  has  been  incorporated  as  a 
royal  burgh  since  1589  ;  and,  since  the  Union,  it  has  been  asso- 
ciated with  Kirkwall,  Dornoch,  Tain,  and  Dingwall  (and,  since 
the  late  Reform  Act,  with  Cromarty),  in  returning  a  member 
to  Parliament.  The  Sheriff-courts,  since  1828,  by  order  of  the 
Court  of  Session,  are  held  in  Wick,  having  been  then  removed 
from  Thurso,  where  they  had  previously  met  from  time  imme- 
morial. The  Custom-house  establishment  has  also  been  removed 
to  Wick,  which  likewise  possesses  a  Chamber  of  Commerce ;  and 
a  steamer,  of  200  horse-power,  touches  here  from  Leith  once 


ROUTE  IV.          EARLY  HISTORY  OF  CAITHNESS.  419 

a- week,  between  March  and  November,  on  its  passage  from  that 
port  to  Aberdeen,  Kirkwall,  and  Lerwick  in  Shetland.  It  car- 
ries passengers,  stock,  and  goods,  and  has  been  of  immense  use 
both  to  town  and  county.  Two  trading  smacks  ply  once  a-fort- 
night  between  Leith  and  Wick ;  and  an  almost  constant  inter- 
course is  carried  on  with  London,  Hull,  and  other  English  ports, 
by  means  of  the  vessels  which  are  continually  passing  along  this 
coast. 

We  subjoin,  in  the  foot-note,  a  sketch  of  the  early  history 
of  the  county,  from  the  last  statistical  account  of  the  parish  of 
Wick ;  and  we  also  beg  to  refer,  on  the  same  head,  to  our  his- 
torical notices  of  Orkney.* 

29.  Besides  the  parliamentary  road  to  Thurso,  a  district 
road,  twenty-seven  miles  long,  leads  along  the  coast  to  Houna 
and  John-o'-Groat's  House.  On  the  way  there  is  an  extensive 
sweep  of  sands  to  pass  over,  a  ferry  on  Waster  Water,  and  several 
bleak  hills.  The  view  of  the  cliffs  next  the  sea,  however,  is 
always  grand  and  interesting ;  and  the  castles  of  Oldwick,  Keiss, 
Girnigo,  and  Sinclair,  with  the  tower  of  Ackergill,  &c.,  perched 
like  eagles'  nests  on  their  summits,  render  these  cliffs  still  more 
picturesque  and  magnificent.  These  "  dark  places  of  the  earth" 
were  truly  full  of  horrid  cruelty.  Thus,  about  the  year  1570, 
George,  Earl  of  Caithness,  apprehended  his  own  eldest  son,  and 

*  "  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  the  district  which 
now  forms  the  parish  of  Wick,  were  of  Celtic  origin.  This  is  proved  by  several  names 
of  places  and  rivulets,  such  as  Auchairn,  Altimarloch,  Drumdrug,  which  are  significant 
in  the  Gaelic  language. 

"  About  the  year  910,  Harrold  the  Fair-haired,  a  Norwegian  King,  having  expelled 
the  pirates  who  infested  the  northern  seas,  from  the  Orkneys,  carried  the  war  into 
Pictland,  where  he  was  defeated  with  great  slaughter.  On  his  return  to  Norway,  he 
granted  the  Orcadian  islands  to  Ronald,  a  powerful  Norwegian  chieftain,  to  comfort 
Mm  for  the  loss  of  Ivar,  his  son,  who  had  fallen  in  battle.  Ronald  made  over  this 
grant  to  Sigurd,  Ms  brother,  who,  having  speedily  reduced  the  Orcadians,  passed  into 
Caithness  and  subdued  it,  with  Sutherland  and  Ross,  under  his  authority.  Under  a 
succession  of  Norwegian  earls,  a  very  close  and  frequent  intercourse  subsisted  after 
tMs  event  for  ages,  between  the  north  of  Scotland  and  Norway ;  whence  numerous 
bands  of  Norwegians  successively  came  and  settled  in  Caithness.  Surnames  of  Nor- 
wegian extraction,  as  Swanson,  son  of  Swen,  Manson,  son  of  Magnus,  Ronald,  Harold, 
&c.,  are  frequent  in  this  parish.  The  termination  ster,  softened  from  stadr,  a  steading, 
wMch  enters  into  the  names  of  Camster,  Ulbster,  Stemster,  Hanster,  Thuster,  Bilb- 
ster,  Sibster,  &c.,  shews  also  the  prevalence  of  Norwegian  colonization  within  the 
district  now  forming  the  parish  of  Wick 

"  Caithness  continued  subject  to  Orcadian  earls,  of  Scandinavian  extraction,  till 
about  1330,  when,  owing  to  the  failure  of  the  male  line,  tMs  earldom  went  by  mar- 
riage into  other  families,  and  the  power  and  influence  of  the  Norwegians  passed 
away 

"  These  various  marriages  brought  the  Sinclairs,  Sutherlands,  and  Keiths,  into  the 
parish  of  Wick ;  and  subsequent  events  gave  rise  to  the  following  couplet,  wMch  is 
yet  often  repeated  : — 

"  Sinclair,  Sutherland,  Keith,  and  Clan  Gun, 
There  never  was  peace  whar  thae  four  war  in." 


420          CLAN  FEUDS  AND  CONFLICTS.      SECT.  VII. 

confined  him  in  the  dungeon  of  Castle  Girnigo,  where,  after  a 
miserable  captivity  of  seven  years,  the  unfortunate  youth  is 
believed  to  have  died  of  starvation.  Ackergill  is  still  habitable, 
and  is  well  worthy  of  being  inspected,  and  may  give  a  good 
notion  of  the  rude  strongholds  which  frowned  along  this  iron- 
bound  coast.  "  It  is  a  square  tower,  65  feet  in  height ;  and  in 
breadth,  at  each  angle,  45  feet,  having  three  storeys,  each  of 
them  arched,  the  walls  above  10  feet  thick  at  the  butts  of  the 
arches.  It  stands  on  a  rock  close  to  the  sea,  a  few  feet  above 
the  highest  water-mark,  and  is  defended  by  a  moat  twelve  feet 
deep,  and  equally  broad,  extending  along  each  of  its  angles, 
excepting  the  one  facing  the  sea."  But  among  the  many  fear- 
ful stories  with  which  the  history  of  Caithness  abounds,  one  of 
the  most  extraordinary  relates  to  so  recent  a  period  as  1680. 
In  the  summer  of  that  year,  700  Argyle  Highlanders  suddenly 
appeared  in  Caithness,  in  support  of  the  king's  patent  of  the 
earldom,  which  had  been  granted  three  years  before  to  Camp- 
bell of  Glenorchy,  afterwards  created  Earl  of  Breadalbane,  and 
whose  pretensions  were  resisted  by  George  Sinclair  of  Keiss. 
So  lawless  and  peculiar  was  the  condition  of  Scotland  at  that 
time,  that  here  we  see  a  subject  arming  his  vassals,  and  waging 
war  in. support  of  his  private  legal  claims!  The  infatuated 
Sinclairs,  instead  of  encountering  their  foes  at  the  Ord,  trusting 
to  their  superior  numbers,  awaited  their  arrival  in  the  vicinity 
of  Wick,  and  sat  up  all  night  drinking  and  carousing.  Still 
reeling  from  their  potations,  they  attacked  the  Campbells  next 
morning  at  Alt-o-MhairlicJi ,  two  miles  west  of  Wick,  where  their 
enemies  were  advantageously  posted,  and  who  received  them 
steadily.  The  Caithness  men  were  routed,  and  pursued  for  many 
miles  with  great  slaughter.  It  was  on  this  raid  that  the  well- 
known  quick  steps,  "  The  Campbells  are  coming,"  and  "  The 
Braes  of  Glenorchy,"  obtained  their  names. 

30.  Who  has  not  heard  of  the  inn  of  Houna,  "  that  pretty 
little  circle  on  Mr.  Arrowsmith's  map,"  so  poor  and  humble,  yet 
withal  so  hospitable  and  cheering  to  the  way-worn  traveller ; 
or  of  the  stacks  of  Duncansbay,  the  Berubium  of  Ptolemy  ;  of 
John-o'-Groat's  House ;  of  the  rocky  shores  and  shell-banks  of 
the  Pentland  Firth  ?  At  the  famed  John-o'-Groat's  is  to  be 
seen  merely  the  indented  site  of  a  house  on  a  small  green  knoll 
close  to  the  beach.  John  was  a  worthy  Dutchman,  who  settled 
here  about  the  year  1509,  and  whose  sons  or  kinsmen  having 


ROUTE  IV.  PENTLAND  FIRTH.  421 

disputed  for  precedency  at  table,  he  contrived  the  expedient  of 
erecting  an  octagonal  room  with  a  door  on  each  side,  and  a  table 
to  correspond,  that  each  member  of  the  household  might  be  able 
to  enter  at  his  own  door,  and  sit  as  at  the  head  of  his  own  board. 
The  bold  adjoining  headland  of  Duncansbay,  with  its  numerous 
deep  and  lengthened  chasms  or  ghoes,  and  curious  detached 
stacks  or  columns  of  rock  in  the  sea,  is  well  worthy  of  inspection. 
31.  Authors  and  artists,  poets  and  historians,  have  vied  with 
one  another  in  delineating  the  dangers  and  the  wonders  which 
beset  the  northern  coasts  of  sea-girt  Albion.  But  who  has  yet 
fully  described  the  life  and  majesty  of  that  vast  body  of  moving 
waters — this  eastern  gulf-stream  of  the  Atlantic — the  force  of 
all  its  united  tides  hurrying  on  with  the  same  impulses  and  in 
the  same  direction  which  here  pour  through  the  narrow  open- 
ing between  us  and  the  Orcades  ?  The  Pentland  Firth  is  the 
throat  connecting  the  Atlantic  and  German  Oceans.  From  the 
Hebrides  and  Cape  Wrath,  the  flow  of  the  former  comes  rolling 
on  in  one  uniform  unbroken  stream.  As  it  approaches  the 
Eastern  Sea,  it  is  dashed  and  buffeted  against  the  projecting 
headlands  of  Caithness  and  Orkney,  which  contract  its  channel, 
and  send  it  spouting  on  between  them  with  increased  velocity 
and  the  utmost  agitation.  No  wonder,  then,  that  thi$  strait 
should  be  the  dread  of  mariners,  or  that  vessels  unfortunately 
entering  it  in  a  calm,  should  be  kept  for  days  together  tossed 
about  and  carried  from  side  to  side  by  the  conflicting  currents 
and  the  alternate  ebbs  and  flows,  while,  with  contrary  winds, 
the  passage  is  still  more  tedious  and  difficult.* 

*  In  the  evidence  submitted  to  the  House  of  Commons,  along  with  the  Report 
of  Sir  Edward  Parry  on  the  Caledonian  Canal,  many  curious  anecdotes  are  related, 
showing  the  detention  which  vessels  often  are  subjected  to  in  attempting  to  pass 
from  one  side  of  the  island  to  the  other  through  the  Pentland  Firth.  Thus,  a 
house  in  Newcastle  despatched  two  vessels  on  the  same  day,  one  for  Liverpool  by  the 
north  of  Scotland,  and  the  other  south  by  the  English  Channel  and  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  for  Bombay  in  the  East  Indies.  The  latter  reached  its  destination  first !  We 
also  happen  to  know  that,  not  many  years  ago,  a  shipowner  at  Inverness  sent  off  a 
vessel  on  Christmas  day  for  Liverpool,  and  which  had  to  go  "  round  about,"  as  the 
Caledonian  Canal  was  then  undergoing  some  repair.  On  the  1st  of  January  she  got 
into  Stromness  harbour  in  Orkney,  along  with  a  fleet  of  other  traders,  and  there  they 
lay  weather-bound  till  the  middle  of  April,  when  the  Inverness  skipper  was  the  first 
to  venture  out  in  prosecution  of  his  voyage ! 

Dnnnet  Head,  the  most  northerly  point  of  the  mainland,  and  on  which  a  fine 
beacon  light  has  been  erected,  is  one  of  the  best  places  for  viewing  the  commotions 
of  the  Pentland  Firth,  and  the  wild  and  sublime  scenery  by  which  it  is  surrounded. 
The  late  Statistical  Account  of  the  parish  thus  describes  the  changing  appearance  of 
the  sea.  "  The  current  in  the  Pentlaud  Firth  is  exceedingly  strong  during  spring 
tides,  so  that  no  vessel  can  stem  it.  The  flood-tide  runs  from  west  to  east  at  the  rate 
of  ten  miles  an  hour,  with  new  and  full  moon.  It  is  then  high-water  at  Scarfskerry 
(which  is  about  three  miles  distant  from  Dunnet  Head)  at  nine  o'clock.  Immediately 


422  PENTLAND  FIRTH.  SECT.  VII. 

32.  The  road  from  Houna  to  Thurso,  about  eighteen  miles 
distant,  proceeds  along  the  margin  of  the  firth.     The  views 
which  are  obtained  in  different  parts  of  it,  of  the  Isles  of  Ork- 
ney, the  Pentland  streams,  and  the  projecting  points  of  the 
mainland  of  Caithness,  are  so  grand  and  varied,  that  no  one  who 
can  command  his  time  should  quit  the  country  without  seeing 
them.    The  improvements  of  the  late  Sir  John  Sinclair,  of  James 
Traill,  Esq.  of  Ratter,  and  James  Smith,  Esq.  of  Olrig,  in  regard 
to  agriculture  and  the  planting  and  reclaiming  of  waste  lands, 
deserve  particular  notice ;  and  much  may  be  gathered  from  an 
examination  of  their  estates,  as  to  the  management  of  lands 
exposed  in  a  similar  manner  to  the  bitter  northern  blasts,  and 
the  blighting  influence  of  the  sea  breeze.    These  gentlemen  have 
demonstrated  how  capable  the  peasantry  are  of  being  improved 
and  rendered  comfortable,  and  at  the  same  time  of  adding  to 
the  wealth  of  the  proprietors ;  and  indeed  the  statistical  accounts 
of  the  whole  of  this  district  show  that  the  poorer  tenantry  re- 
quire only  moderate-sized  holdings,  leases  of  a  fair  endurance, 
with  prohibitions  against  squatting  and  subsetting,  and  ready 
access  to  markets  by  roads  and  steamers,  in  order  to  acquire 
independence,  and  by  their  increase  in  numbers,  to  be  a  blessing 
instead  of  a  burden  to  the  country.     At  Castlehill,  Mr.  Traill 
for  many  years  employed  a  number  of  labourers  in  quarrying 
pavement  for  the  southern  cities  and  towns,  and  besides  occu- 
pying about  4000  tons  of  shipping,  from  three  to  four  hundred 
thousand  square  feet  of  stone  are  annually  exported. 

33.  Thurso,  or  Thor's  Town,  a  burgh  of  barony  holding  of 
Sir  George  Sinclair  as   superior,  and  containing  about  2400 
inhabitants,  is  little  more  than  half  the  size  of  Wick,  and  is 
an  irregularly  built  town.      It  contains,  however,  some  neat 

as  the  water  begins  to  fall  on  the  shore,  the  current  turns  to  the  west;  but  the 
strength  of  the  flood  is  so  great  in  the  middle  of  the  firth,  that  it  continues  to  run 
east  till  about  twelve.  With  a  gentle  breeze  of  westerly  wind,  about  eight  o'clock  in 
the  morning  the  whole  firth  seems  as  smooth  as  a  sheet  of  glass,  from  frunnet  Head 
to  Hoy  Head  in  Orkney.  About  nine  the  sea  begins  to  raqe  for  about  100  yards  off 
the  Head,  while  all  without  continues  smooth  as  before.  This  appearance  gradually 
advances  towards  the  firth,  and  along  the  shore  to  the  east,  though  the  effects  are 
not  much  felt  upon  the  shore  till  it  reaches  Scarfskerry  Head,  as  the  land  between 
these  points  forms  a  considerable  bay.  By  two  o'clock,  the  whole  firth  teems  to  rage. 
About  three  in  the  afternoon  it  is  low-water  on  the  shore,  when  all  the  former  pheno- 
mena are  reversed, — the  smooth  water  beginning  to  appear  next  the  land,  and  advan- 
cing gradually  till  it  reaches  the  middle  of  the  firth.  To  strangers  the  navigation  is 
very  dangerous,  especially  if  they  approach  near  the  land.  But  the  natives  along  the 
coast  are  so  well  acquainted  with  the  direction  of  the  tides,  that  they  can  take  advan- 
tage of  every  one  of  these  currents  to  carry  them  safe  to  one  harbour  or  another. 
Hence  very  few  accidents  happen,  but  from  want  of  skill  or  knowledge  of  the  tides." 


ROUTE  IV.  THURSO.  423 

freestone  houses  in  the  suburbs,  and  the  church  is  a  building 
highly  creditable  to  the  taste  of  the  heritors.  To  the  east  of 
the  town  stands  a  venerable  old  castle,  the  residence  of  Sir 
George  Sinclair  of  Ulbster,  Bart.,  and  farther  east,  Harold's 
Tower,  over  the  tomb  of  Earl  Harold,  the  possessor  at  one  time 
of  half  of  Orkney,  Shetland,  and  Caithness,  and  who  fell  in 
battle  against  his  own  namesake,  Earl  Harold  the  Wicked,  in 
the  year  1190.  Close  by  the  town,  on  the  west  side,  are  the 
ruins  of  a  once  extensive  castle,  a  residence  of  the  Bishops  of 
Caithness,  alluded  to  in  Branch  F.  For  the  credit  of  Thurso, 
we  are  glad  to  say  that  it  now  possesses  an  excellent  new  inn. 
Great  improvements  have  been  projected  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  this  town ;  but,  besides  being  too  far  distant  from  the  east 
coast  of  Scotland,  and  too  near  the  Pentland  Firth,  the  Bay  of 
Thurso  is  itself  too  dangerous  to  admit  of  its  ever  being  a  resort 
for  shipping ;  and,  in  consequence,  the  bounds  to  the  increase 
of  the  town  are  almost  already  known.  But  who  is  he  who 
finds  himself  on  its  beach,  and  thinks  of  the  town  or  its  re- 
sources ?  The  lengthened  waves  thundering  along  the  shores 
of  the  spacious  crescent-shaped  bay,  arrest  his  attention  as 
their  curling  crests  break  upon  and  splash  up  the  sandy  slope 
at  his  feet.  The  white  streak  and  the  hollow  moan  of  each 
billow,  as  it  yields  up  its  power,  lead  away  the  eye  and  ear  to 
the  sides  of  the  bay,  formed  of  precipitous  rocks,  and  termi- 
nated by  the  high  bluff  promontories  of  Holborn  and  Dunnet, 
over  the  top  of  which,  though  upwards  of  400  feet  in  height, 
the  spray  dashes  during  storms,  and  on  which  even  the  sea  pink 
and  the  short  tufted  grass  hardly  obtain  a  footing.  In  the 
distance,  the  prodigious  western  precipices  of  Hoy,  which  form, 
perhaps,  the  most  magnificent  range  of  cliff  scenery  in  Britain, 
with  the  outlines  of  the  Orkney  hills,  compose  a  most  splendid 
termination  to  the  seaward  view.  The  traveller  should  not 
fail  to  walk  as  far  as  Holborn  Head,  where  the  majestic  mural 
and  fissured  cliffs,  with  the  Clett,  a  huge  detached  rock,  the 
boundless  expanse  and  heaving  swell  of  old  Ocean,  and  the 
clouds  of  screaming  sea  birds,  afford  a  perfect  epitome  of  this 
style  of  scenery.  The  sail  across  the  firth  from  Thurso  to 
Stromness,  in  Pomona,  by  the  west  of  Hoy,  is  about  twenty- 
four  miles  in  length,  and  should  not  be  attempted  except  in 
fine  steady  weather.  A  boat  costs  fifty  shillings,  with  some- 
thing additional  if  required  to  wait.  By  the  east  end  of 


424  BEAULY  TO  KINTAIL.  SECT.  VII. 

Hoy,  the  navigation  is  longer,  but  comparatively  free  from 
danger. 

In  the  branch  route  from  Tongue,  in  Sutherlandshire,  to 
Thurso,  will  be  found  a  succinct  account  of  the  road  between 
these  two  places.  A  mail-car,  carrying  four  passengers,  besides 
the  driver,  leaves  Thurso  every  Monday,  Wednesday,  and  Thurs- 
day, for  Tongue  (distance,  46  miles),  returning  the  intermediate 
days.  The  road  to  Houna,  a  distance  of  18  miles,  is  now  much 
improved,  and  fitted  for  a  gig  or  carriage. 


ROUTE  FOURTH.— BRANCH  A. 

BEAULY    TO    STRATHGLASS,    GLENSTRATHFARAR,    GLEN    CANNICH, 
GLEN    AFFRICK,    AND    THENCE   TO   KINTAIL. 

Roads ;  Falls  of  Kilmorack  ;  Old  Church ;  Manse ;  The  Drhuim ;  Isle  of  Aigas,  1.— 
Approach  to  Strathglass ;  Eskadale ;  Erchless  Castle ;  Clan  Chisholm ;  their  late 
Chief,  2. — Beaufort ;  Fort  Lovat ;  The  Fentous ;  Grahams ;  Bissets ;  Sieges  under 
Edward  I.  and  Cromwell ;  Accommodations  of  the  Eighteenth  Century,  3. — Bel- 
ladrum;  Glenconvinth;  Ferries,  4. —  Strathglass;  Ancient  Pine  Forests;  Lead 
Mine;  Cross  Roads  to  Urquhart;  Bridge  of  Invercannich;  Bridge  and  Chapel  of 
Fasnakyle ;  Dun  Fion,  5. — Geusaehan ;  Termination  of  the  Road ;  State  of  the 
Country  in  1745-6. — Passes  to  the  West  Coast ;  Tracks,  or  Footpaths ;  Mountains 
on  the  Boundary  between  Inverness  and  Ross  shires,  7- — Glenstrathfarar ;  Loch 
Miulie ;  Loch  Monar ;  Great  Deer  Hunt,  8. — Scournalapich,  and  other  Mountains 
and  Valleys,  on  the  route  to  Attadale,  on  Loch  Carron ;  MacRaas  of  Kintail,  9.  - 
Glen  Cannich,  10.— The  Chisholm's  Pass ;  Falls  of  the  Glass ;  Knockfin,  11.— Loch 
Benneveian,  12. — Loch  Aifriek ;  Resting-houses  of  Culivie  and  Annamulloch,  13. 
Mam  Soul ;  Glaciers,  14. — Strath  Affrick ;  Glen  Greenivie ;  the  Beallach ;  Crowe 
of  Kintail ;  Falls  of  Glomak ;  Characters  of  the  Scenery,  15. 


1.  From  Beauly  Inn  to  public  house  at  Qrask  of  Aigas,  at 

the  upper  end  of  the  Drhuim 6            16 

Struy  Bridge  and  Inn 4            20 

Invercannich  (p.  h.) 7J 

Fasnakyle  Bridge,  where  the   road  to   the  Chisholm's 

Pass,  and  Falls  of  the  Glass  strikes  off. 2J          30 

Chisholm's  Pass  to  Loch  Benneveian  5            35 

Annamulloch,  west  end  of  Loch  Affrick,  by  footpath  ...  10            45 

Shielhouse,  by  the  Beallach  and  Crowe  of  Kintail,  about  17            62 

2.  From  Struy  Bridge,  through  Glenstrathfarar,  to  lower 

end  of  Loch  Monar 16 

Shepherds'  cottages  at  upper  end  of  Loch  Monar 7  23 

Thence  to  Attadale,  on  Loch  Carron  (no  house  by  the 

way),  equal  to 20  43 

Across  Loch  Carron  to  inn  at  Jeantown 2 

3.  From  Struy,  through  Glen  Cannich,  to  Invercannich  ...  7$          27| 


KOUTE  IV.  A. 


BEAULY  TO  KINTA1L.  425 


Shepherd's  cot  at  Longart 15  42£ 

Thence  to  Killellan  on  Loch  Long,  15  (no  house  by  the 
way). 

Falls  of  Glomak,  say  15  W* 

Thence  to  Shielhouse 8  65j 

4.  Road  by  Kiltarlity  on  south  side  of  Strathglass  :— 

Inverness  to  Bogroy   7 

To  the  turn  off  towards  Beaufort  Castle,  on  the  top  of 

the  ridge,  1^  mile  from  Beauly  Bridge 3 

N.B.  —  At  Kiltarlity  church,  a  good  district  road 
branches  off  to  the  south,  through  Glenconvinth,  to 
Drumnadrochet,  in  Glen  Urquhart,  distant  seven 
miles. 

Eskadale — public -house 5 

N.B. — Below  it  is  Aigas  Ferry,  on  the  river  Beauly. 
Many  tourists  cross  here,  and  proceed  down  through 
the  Drhuiin  to  the  Falls  of  Kilmorack  and  Beauly. 

Mauld,  opposite  Erchless  Castle — public-house 3 

N.B. — A  little  above  the  junction  of  the  Farar  and 
Glass,  there  is  a  bridge  on  the  latter  communicat- 
ing with  that  at  Stray  on  the  former,  and  with  the 
road  on  the  north  side  of  the  Glass,  and  affording  a 
longer  circuit  than  Aigas  Ferry. 
Fasnakyle,  where  the  roads  on  the"  opposite  sides  of  the 

Strath  unite 9 

Geusachan  House,  at  which  the  road  stops 3 

N.B. — At  Crochiel,  an  old  cart  tract  crosses  the  hill 
into  Glen  Urquhart ;  but  a  new  district  road  is  pro- 
jected from  Corrymony,  which  (about  three  miles 
in  length)  will  descend  on  Strathglass,  opposite  In- 
vercannich. 

1.  WE  proceed  to  give  in  this  route  a  short  account  of  the  upper 
portion  of  the  river  Beauly,  including  the  valleys  of  Strath- 
glass, Glen  Cannich,  and  Glenstrathfarar,  and  the  passes  through 
them  to  the  west  coast,  all  of  them  being  very  interesting. 

Returning  to  Lovat  or  Beauly  Bridge,  a  road,  as  formerly 
mentioned,  has  been  carried  westward  along  the  north  bank  of 
the  Beauly,  through  the  parish  of  Kilmorack,  (the  burying- 
ground  of  St.  Marion),  to  the  summit  of  the  first-mentioned 
strath,  which  is  about  twenty-five  miles  distant.  Another  road 
nearly  parallel  to  it,  already  referred  to,  runs  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river,  through  the  parish  of  Kiltarlity  ;  both  uniting 
at  the  bridge  of  Fasnakyle;  in  Strathglass. 

The  lower  falls  of  Kilmorack  are  situate  about  two  miles 
west  from  Beauly,  immediately  beneath  the  parish  church. 
They  are  less  remarkable  for  their  height,  than  for  breadth 
and  quantity  of  water,  and  for  the  beautiful  accompaniments 

T  2 


426  FALLS  OF  KILMORACK.  SECT.  VII. 

of  lofty  rocks,  smooth  green  banks,  and  hanging  woods  which 
encircle  them.  The  river,  dashing  from  between  two  lofty 
precipices,  where  it  is  confined  to  an  extremely  narrow  chan- 
nel, suddenly  expands  into  an  open  semicircular  basin,  through 
which  it  slowly  glides,  and  is  then  precipitated  over  its 
lower  edge  in  a  series  of  small  cataracts.  These  falls  are  not 
sufficiently  high  or  powerful  to  prevent  salmon  from  getting  up 
the  river  ;  but  the  rocks  next  the  shore  being  accessible,  the 
fish  are  often  caught  by  men  who  stand  watching  them,  with 
hooks  or  spears  fixed  to  long  rods,  and  with  which  the  salmon 
are  seized  when  in  the  act  of  springing  over  the  cascades.  It 
is  obvious  that  the  sport  is  a  dangerous  one  ;  and  many  a  stal- 
wart Highlander  has  met  his  death  by  it.  Below  the  falls,  the 
stream  flows  on  through  a  rich  plain,  overtopping  which  Beau- 
fort is  beheld  to  great  advantage  ;  and  close  by,  on  the  further 
bank,  the  visitor  will  perceive  the  ruins  of  the  old  church  and 
the  deserted  manse  of  Kiltarlity,  with  the  small  adjoining 
burying-ground,  which,  as  being  the  resting  place  of  their 
forefathers,  is  still  resorted  to  by  the  parishioners.  On  the  Kil- 
morack  side,  the  same  objects  of  human  mortality  and  affection 
are  still  more  picturesquely  situated  ;  the  church  and  manse 
stand  on  a  green  bank  a  little  above  the  road,  but  the  burying- 
ground  has  been  perched  on  the  brink  of  the  precipice  over- 
hanging the  river. 

Part  of  the  same  bank  has  been  enclosed  for  the  clergyman's 
garden,  at  the  corner  of  which  a  summer  house  looks  down  into 
the  deep  gulf,  where  the  torrent  chafes  and  foams  in  its  nar- 
rowed bed.  Beyond  the  garden,  the  river  forms  some  other 
cascades  over  shelving  masses  of  red  sandstone  and  conglome- 
rate, and  comes  sullenly  on,  threading  its  way  through  a  set  of 
high  precipitous  cliffs  clothed  with  the  bright  foliage  of  the 
birch-tree,  and  a  thousand  trailing  shrubs  ;  its  channel  cut 
below,  by  the  force  of  the  stream,  into  small  fantastic  caves  and 
boiling  caldrons.  The  next  group  of  waterfalls  occurs  about 
three  miles  up  the  river,  at  the  top  of  a  most  romantic  ride 
called  "  The  Drhuim,"  which  signifies  a  narrow  pass.  This  is 
the  most  sweetly  Highland  and  beautiful  part  of  the  course  of 
the  Beauly  :  on  either  hand  the  mountain  acclivities  are  rather 
steep  and  rocky,  and  the  valley  between  them  is  not  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  broad  ;  but  woods  of  birch  and  fir  encompass  the 
whole  scene,  especially  on  the  north  side  ;  and  the  edges  of  the 


ROUTE  IV.  A.         THE  DHRUIM ISLE  OF  AIGAS.  427 

river  are  fringed  all  along  with  rows  of  oak,  weeping  birches, 
and  alders.  In  one  part,  half  up  the  strath,  near  the  cottage 
of  Teanassie  (the  burn  of  which  will  reward  its  being  explored), 
the  waters  plunge  through  a  rocky  passage  encircling  high 
pyramids  of  stone,  standing  up  in  the  midst  of  the  stream, 
gigantic  witnesses  of  its  ceaseless  and  consuming  power.  Im- 
mediately below,  the  turmoil  ceases,  and  the  quieted  element 
reposes  in  smooth  dark  linns  ;  while  the  rocks  at  the  same 
time  recede  and  give  place  to  soft  daisied  banks  and  sweet 
patches  of  corn  land.  On  the  southern  shore,  on  a  high  conical 
mound  rising  above  a  perpendicular  sheet  of  rock,  is  Dun  Fion, 
a  vitrified  structure,  which  was  laid  open  some  years  ago  for 
the  inspection  of  the  curious  by  order  of  Lord  Lovat.  He  has 
also  formed  a  drive  along  the  whole  of  his  side  of  the  river, 
which  thus  comprehends,  as  a  part  of  his  policies,  this  interest- 
ing piece  of  scenery.  At  the  further  end  of  the  Drhuim,  the 
road  begins  to  ascend  towards  the  interior  of  the  country,  and 
here  the  river  is  seen  pouring  down  on  each  side  of  a  high 
rounded  hill,  covered  with  oak  and  birch,  at  the  lower  extre- 
mity of  which  it  forms  the  second  set  of  small  but  beautiful 
cataracts.  This  wooded  hill  is  the  Island  of  Aigas — for  the 
river  parts  into  two,  and  encircles  it — noted  as  having  been  the 
temporary  retreat  to  which  Simon,  Lord  Lovat,  conducted  the 
dowager  Lady  Lovat  (whom  he  had  forced  to  become  his  wife), 
when  letters  of  fire  and  sword  were  issued  against  him  and  the 
principal  families  of  his  clan  by  King  William,  in  1697.  Eilan 
Aigas  is  now  more  appropriately  occupied  by  a  beautiful  villa, 
which  is  approached  by  a  rustic  bridge  from  the  east  side,  and 
which  was  recently  the  summer  retreat  of  Sir  Robert  Peel  and 
his  family. 

2.  On  ascending  the  high  ground  opposite  this  island, 
another  valley,  of  a  very  different  character  from  that  we  have 
just  passed,  opens  to  view.  Its  surface  is  broad  and  flat,  and 
has  greatly  the  appearance  of  being  the  dried-up  bed  of  an  old 
inland  lake ;  and  along  it  the  Beauly  winds — a  broad  and 
sluggish  stream,  quite  different  in  aspect  from  the  impetuous 
torrent  it  appeared  below.  We  are  now  approaching  the  con- 
fines of  Strathglass,  and  the  country  assumes  a  wilder  and 
rougher  aspect.  Under  the  brow  of  the  wooded  hill  on  the 
right,  is  the  house  of  Aigas — a  property  lately  added  to  the 
other  possessions  in  this  neighbourhood  of  the  Chisholm  of 


428  ERCHLESS  CASTLE — THE  CHISHOLM.      SECT.  VII. 

Chisholm,  and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  valley  rises  the  ele- 
gant mansion  of  Eskadale  (Thomas  Fraser,  Esq.) :  to  the  west- 
ward, the  small  hamlet  of  Wester  Eskadale,  behind  which, 
though  half  concealed  by  the  birch-trees,  appear  the  white 
walls  and  pinnacles  of  a  handsome  Roman  Catholic  chapel, 
erected  by  Lord  Lovat.  Five  miles  on,  the  traveller  arrives  at 
Erchless,  or  Easter  Glass  Castle,  a  stately  old  tower  modernized, 
surrounded  by  well-dressed  grounds,  the  residence  of  "  The 
Chisholm,"  whose  estates  lie  on  the  north  side  of  the  Beauly, 
and  in  Strathglass,  and  extend  over  hundreds  of  hills  to  the 
westward. 

We  have  already  alluded  to  Sir  Robert  Chisholm  as  being 
king's  constable  of  Urquhart  Castle,  on  Loch  Ness  (see  page 
130),  early  in  the  fourteenth  century.  He  appears  to  have 
been  the  founder  of  the  family's  greatness  in  the  north,  and  by 
his  alliance  with  the  Lauders  of  Quarrelwood,  in  Moray,  to 
have  obtained  extensive  possessions  in  that  county,  in  addition 
to  his  Inverness-shire  estates.  Under  the  titles  of  "  Chisholm 
of  Comar,"  "  The  Chisholm,"  or  "  Chisholm  of  Chisholm,"  the 
successive  chiefs  continued  to  rule  over  a  respectable  clan  till 
the  first  rebellion  of  last  century,  when  Laird  Roderick,  by 
joining  the  Stuarts'  cause,  was  attainted,  and  his  property  for- 
feited to  the  crown,  though  he  himself  was  subsequently  par- 
doned. After  passing  through  various  hands,  it  was  ultimately 
bought  back  (less  a  good  many  slices  sold  or  picked  off  by 
friendly  neighbours)  for  behoof  of  the  family  in  the  year  1774. 
The  change  of  system  in  the  management  of  Highland  proper- 
ties caused  several  large  and  heart-rending  migrations  of  the 
clan  to  Canada.  Hard  by  the  castle  is  the  picturesque  "  last 
resting-place"  of  the  late  chief,  Alexander  William  Chisholm 
of  Chisholm,  for  several  years  M.  P.  for  the  county  of  Inverness, 
and  whose  many  virtues  and  ardent  attachment  to  his  kinsmen, 
and  to  the  civil  and  religious  institutions  of  his  country,  which 
he  defended  in  many  arduous  struggles,  will  be  long  and  fondly 
remembered. 

3.  Before  proceeding  up  this  valley,  it  is  necessary  to  return 
to  the  spot  where  we  parted  from  the  post-road,  between  Inver- 
ness and  Beauly,  on  the  height  above  the  Lovat  Bridge,  and 
bring  on  the  description  of  the  parish  of  Kiltarlity,  on  the  south 
side  of  the  country.  A  few  hundred  yards  on  from  the  main 
post-road,  we  pass,  on  the  right,  the  porter's  lodge  at  the  en- 


ROUTE  IV.  A.  BEAUFORT  CASTLE GLENCONVINTH.     429 

trance  to  the  extensive  and  wooded  policies  of  Beaufort  Castle, 
which  stands  on  the  site  of  the  old  fortress  of  Beaufort,  or 
Dunie,  which,  with  its  subsidiary  fortalice,  Lovat,  is  noticed  in 
Scottish  story  as  early  as  the  era  of  Alexander  I.  Persons  of 
the  name  of  Fenton  and  Graham,  who  seem  to  have  been  nu- 
merous in  the  adjoining  country,  were  governors  or  constables 
of  these  castles,  even  after  the  Bissets'  lands,  on  which  they 
stood,  were  given  to  the  Frasers. 

The  Bissets  themselves  were  an  extremely  powerful  family, 
denizened  in  the  north  during  the  sway  of  Malcolm  III.  and 
William  the  Lion,  and  whose  greatness  seems  to  have  reached 
its  acme  under  the  sovereignty  of  Alexander  II.  They  pos- 
sessed the  Aird,  a  great  part  of  Stratherrick,  and  Abertarff  on 
Loch  Ness ;  but  their  head  being  implicated  in  the  murder  of 
Patrick,  Earl  of  Athole,  in  1242,  and  subsequently  in  the 
rebellion  of  Donald,  Lord  of  the  Isles,  the  estate  was  forfeited, 
and  of  new  granted  to  the  Frasers,  who  originally  appear  in 
Caithness  (then  a  part  of  Inverness-shire)  so  far  back  as  1296, 
from  the  counties  of  Peebles  and  Tweeddale. 

In  the  year  1303,  Beaufort  sustained  a  regular  siege  by 
Edward  I.,  whose  army  battered  it  with  catapultse,  from 
trenches  still  visible  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river :  it  was 
also  seized  by  Oliver  Cromwell,  and  the  citadel  blown  up ;  and, 
lastly,  it  was  burnt  and  entirely  razed  to  the  ground  by  the 
royal  troops,  after  the  battle  of  Culloden.  The  accommoda- 
tions of  the  fortress  seem  not  to  have  been  great ;  for  Simon, 
Lord  Lovat,  is  related,  on  the  authority  of  Ferguson  the  astro- 
nomer, as  having  "  received  company  and  dined  with  them  in 
the  same  room  in  which  he  slept.  His  lady's  sole  apartment 
was  her  bedchamber,  and  the  only  provision  for  lodging  the 
domestics  and  the  numerous  herd  of  retainers,  was  a  quantity 
of  straw  on  the  four  lower  rooms  of  the  tower:  sometimes 
above  400  persons  were  kennelled  here." 

4.  Proceeding  onwards,  the  road  immediately  winds  in  front 
of  the  pleasure-grounds  of  Belladrum  (J.  Stewart,  Esq.),  one 
of  the  most  elegant  and  costly  mansions  and  demesnes  in  the 
Highlands.  The  estate  of  Belladrum  stretches  southward  up 
a  pastoral  dell  called  Glenconvinth,  through  which  a  new  road 
leads  across  the  hills  into  Glen  Urquhart,  on  the  side  of  Loch 
Ness.  Glenconvinth  takes  its  name  from  a  nunnery,  the  foun- 
dations of  which,  in  the  centre  of  the  valley,  are  still  visible. 


430  STRATHGLASS.  SECT.  VII. 

Crossing  now  over  a  long  dreary  ridge,  we  at  length  regain 
the  course  of  the  Beauly,  as  the  island  of  Aigas,  the  fertile 
plains  of  Eskadale,  and  the  distant  woods  of  Struy  and  Erch- 
less,  suddenly  burst  on  our  sight.  At  Eskadale  there  is  a  ferry 
across  the  river,  which  affords  a  convenient  means  to  the  visitor 
of  the  Falls  of  Kilmorack  and  scenery  of  the  Drhuim,  to  vary 
the  homeward  route  to  Inverness.  The  road  passes  from  Eska- 
dale towards  Strathglass,  past  the  hamlet  and  chapel  before 
noticed. 

5.  Both  sides  of  this  valley  may  now  be  described  together. 
Its  course  is  nearly  south-west,  and  almost  rectilineal.  It  is 
throughout  pastoral ;  traversed  by  a  sluggish  river,  the  over- 
flowings of  which  give  rise  to  the  most  luxuriant  pastures, 
although  at  the  same  time  they  render  the  grounds  rather  too 
wet  for  cultivation.  The  sides  of  the  glen  are  all  along  fringed 
with  beautiful  woods  of  birch,  over  which,  in  ancient  days, 
large  pine  forests  stretched  up  to  the  summit  of  the  hills. 
Successive  burnings — the  necessities  of  the  proprietors — the 
general  introduction  of  sheep  and  cattle  into  the  country  (some 
will  have  it  a  change  of  climate),  have  entirely  swept  these 
away,  and  a  few  solitary  trees,  clinging  to  the  precipices,  or 
trunks  dug  up  from  the  peat-mosses,  are  all  that  now  remain 
to  attest  their  former  abundance.  Strathglass  was,  at  one 
period,  a  great  storehouse  for  timber,  and  it  contributed,  in  no 
small  degree,  to  the  scanty  commerce  which  this  country  carried 
on.  The  Protector  Cromwell  used  an  immense  quantity  of  the 
pine  from  the  Struy  estate  in  the  construction  of  his  fortifica- 
tions at  Inverness. 

Near  Little  Struy,  half  a  mile  from  the  bridge,  a  lead  mine, 
situate  in  a  thick  vein  of  heavy  spar,  traversing  gneiss,  was 
some  years  ago  opened  by  Lord  Lovat ;  but  for  the  present  it 
has  been  abandoned.  The  geologist  will  observe  how  powerful 
the  denuding  agents  once  were  in  Strathglass,  and  will  have 
noticed,  from  Eilan  Aigas  upwards,  the  effects  of  undoubted 
glacial  action  in  rounding,  polishing,  and  scratching  the  ledges 
of  the  hard  gneiss  rocks  of  which  the  country  is  composed. 

From  Mid  Crochiel  a  bridle  road  leads  across  the  hills 
into  Urquhart.  Another  path,  farther  up  the  glen,  conducts 
from  Geusachan  to  the  same  district,  and  another  strikes  farther 
west  into  Glen  Moriston,  while  the  new  district  road  between 
Strathglass  and  Corrymony  long  projected,  will,  we  trust,  be 


ROUTE  IV.  A.         STRATHGLASS — GEUSACHAN.  431 

speedily  formed,  so  as  to  enable  the  traveller  to  return  from 
this  excursion,  if  he  pleases,  by  Glen  Urquhart. 

On  the  north  side  of  Strathglass,  about  seven  miles  above 
Stray,  a  wild  torrent  comes  pouring  down  from  a  glen  on  the 
right,  called  Glen  Cannich,  along  the  banks  of  which  are  seen 
two  groups  of  black  huts,  styled  Easter  and  Wester  Inver- 
cannich.  This  stream  is  crossed  by  a  strong  massive  bridge, 
from  the  farther  end  of  which  a  branch  road  slants  up  the 
acclivity  of  the  neighbouring  hill,  and,  bringing  us  to  a  con- 
siderable elevation,  ushers  us  on  the  upland  glen,  which  we 
will  presently  describe. 

Nearly  opposite  Invercannich,  seven  and  a  half  miles  from 
Struy,  is  the  old  clachan  or  chapel  of  Fasnakyle ;  the  area  of 
the  sacred  enclosure,  with  a  small  space  around  it,  being  occupied 
by  the  graves  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  glen.  A  little  further 
on  is  the  wide  moor  of  Comar,  the  house  of  Fasnakyle,  and  a 
neat  Roman  Catholic  chapel,  embowered  among  weeping 
birches.  At  the  bridge  of  Fasnakyle,  the  two  Strathglass  roads 
unite.  Here  the  river  Glass  flows  through  a  rocky  channel, 
from  a  wooded  glen,  lying  to  the  westward,  which  leads  up  by 
the  Chisholm's  Pass  to  Lochs  Beneveian  and  Affrick,  the  main 
road  deviating  towards  the  south.  The  high  bold  crag,  rising 
betwixt  the  two,  and  forming  a  conspicuous  object  through  the 
greater  part  of  Strathglass,  is  called  Knockfin,  or  Fingal's  Fort. 
It  is  surrounded  on  the  summit  by  two  enormously  thick  walls 
of  stone,  but  it  is  not  vitrified. 

6.  Through  flourishing  plantations  and  highly  cultivated 
grounds,  we  now  reach  Geusachan,  the  beautiful  residence  of 
Fraser  of  Culbockie,  the  representative  of  a  family  which 
suffered  much  at  the  rebellion  of  1745,  and  in  the  flames  of 
their  dwelling-house  lost  many  of  their  most  valuable  papers. 

A  mile  or  so  beyond  Geusachan  the  public  road  stops  on 
the  brow  of  a  hill,  just  as  the  traveller  expects  it  is  to  usher 
him  on  Glen  Affrick — one  of  the  great  openings  to  the  west — 
to  which  we  are  immediately  to  direct  attention,  after  a  short 
traditionary  narrative. 

The  districts  of  Strathglass  and  Urquhart,  being  easily 
accessible  from  the  extensive  tracts  of  moor  ground  lying  to 
the  west  of  them,  and  which  were  too  remote  to  be  under  the 
command  even  of  the  ancient  chieftains  of  the  country,  were 
formerly  much  infested  by  depredators,  who  occasionally  took 


432  STATE    OF   THE    COUNTRY   IN    1745.        SECT.  VII. 

possession  of  these  wilds  ;  and  by  the  more  distant,  but  equally 
unsettled  clans  who  resided  on  the  western  coasts  of  Inverness 
and  Ross  shires.  An  excessive  population,  which  had  outgrown 
its  means  of  subsistence,  and  totally  regardless  of  the  indus- 
trious and  peaceable  occupations  of  civilized  life,  was  always 
ready  for  desperate  enterprises ;  and  the  chiefs  were  obliged,  if 
not  to  encourage,  at  least  to  connive  at  such,  to  prevent  their 
retainers  from  quarrelling  among  themselves.  Hence  our  late 
venerable  and  learned  friend,  Mr.  Grant  of  Corrymony,  author 
of  an  erudite,  but  now  scarce,  work,  on  the  origin  and  descent 
of  the  Gael,  used  to  relate  that  his  father,  when  speaking  about 
the  rebellion  of  1745,  always  insisted  that  a  rising  in  the  High- 
lands was  absolutely  necessary,  to  give  employment  to  the 
numerous  bands  of  lawless  and  idle  young  men  who  infested 
every  property.  Besides,  he  added,  Sir  Ludovick  Grant,  our 
chief,  plainly  told  the  gentlemen  of  his  name,  resident  in  the 
Braes  of  Urquhart  and  Glen  Moriston,  that  it  was  not  in  his 
power  to  protect  them  from  the  attacks  of  the  neighbouring 
clans,  such  as  the  Frasers,  Macdonells,  and  Camerons,  who  were 
favourable  to  the  cause  of  Prince  Charles  Stuart ;  and  that  they 
must  just  consult  their  own  safety,  and  take  whichever  side 
they  considered  best.  Whether  these  gentlemen  understood  the 
meaning  of  this  sly  and  shrewd  advice  we  cannot  say ;  but,  in 
the  circumstances  in  which  they  were  placed,  we  cannot  wonder 
that  they  joined  the  cause  which,  in  the  Highlands  at  least, 
appeared  the  strongest  and  most  legitimate. 

At  the  period  just  alluded  to,  cow's  flesh  formed  almost  the 
exclusive  food  of  both  gentry  and  peasantry,  and  hence  much 
disease  prevailed  from  the  want  of  vegetables.  Corn  was  scarce, 
and  the  reaping  of  such  as  arrived  at  maturity  was  uncertain, 
as  well  from  robbery  and  bad  husbandry  as  inclement  seasons. 
Hence,  like  the  patriarchs  of  old,  the  head  of  every  considerable 
family  had  occasionally  to  send  forth  his  sons  and  servants  to 
the  Low  Countries  to  buy  corn  for  food.  Old  Corrymony  had 
every  season  to  do  so ;  and  a  goodly  band  of  young  fellows  would 
he  despatch,  with  leathern  bags  on  their  backs  and  money  in 
their  hands,  to  purchase  meal  at  the  Earl  of  Moray's  granaries, 
in  Petty.  Such  an  expedition,  however,  was  too  important  to 
be  disregarded  by  the  neighbourhood ;  and  it  so  happened  that 
the  kind  old  laird  seldom  sent  out  his  household  accoutred  with 
their  sacks,  but  intelligence  was  some  way  or  other  communi- 


ROUTE  IV.  A.  FROM  STRATHGLASS  TO  THE  WEST  COAST.    433 

cated  to  the  famished  Camerons  of  Lochaber,  who  instantly 
crossed  the  hills  in  great  strength,  under  cloud  of  night,  and 
waylaid  the  Grants  on  their  return  from  the  low  grounds.  Some- 
times without,  but  oftener  only  after  a  struggle,  the  caterans 
would  succeed  in  relieving  the  Urquhart  men  of  their  treasure, 
which  they  instantly  carried  away  to  their  own  hungry  families 
on  the  banks  of  Loch  Arkaig ;  where,  perhaps,  the  luxury  of 
meal  was  not  again  experienced  till  the  following  year,  when 
another  successful  foray  might  bring  it  them. 

PASSES  PKOM  STRATHGLASS  TO  THE  WEST  COAST. 

7.  We  now  proceed  to  describe  the  routes  from  Strathglass 
through  the  great  passes  or  openings  between  the  mountains 
leading  to  the  west  coast.  They  are  three  in  number :  1st,  by 
Glenstrathfarar  and  Loch  Monar;  2d,  by  Glen  Cannich;  and 
3d,  by  the  Chisholm's  Pass  and  Strath  Affrick,  through  the 
Beallach  to  the  Crowe  of  Kintail.  The  last  is  the  highest  and 
grandest,  and,  on  the  whole,  the  best  adapted  for  a  public  road, 
as  being  the  shortest,  and  communicating  most  directly  with 
well-inhabited  districts ;  and  in  fact  it  was  marked  out  by  the 
Parliamentary  Commissioners  as  one  of  their  first  lines  of  road, 
though  it  has  not  hitherto  been  carried  beyond  the  top  of  Strath- 
glass.  At  present  there  are  but  mere  tracts  or  foot-paths  through 
these  wilds,  without  drains  or  bridges,  but  sufficiently  marked 
for  the  pedestrian,  though  rendered  extremely  rough  by  the 
constant  tread  of  the  little  country  garrons,  and  the  droves  of 
cattle  which  for  ages  have  been  passing  along  from  coast  to 
coast,  and  whose  footsteps  have  scooped  out  the  earth  between 
the  rocks  and  stones  on  the  surface,  which  has  thus  been  con- 
verted into  a  sort  of  broken  causeway.  The  whole  of  the  moun- 
tains through  which  we  have  to  pass,  composing  the  irregular 
boundary  between  Inverness  and  Ross  shires,  are  grouped  into 
enormous  chains  and  clusters,  set  on  a  high  table-land  or  base, 
to  which  the  lesser  chains,  on  the  confines  of  Loch  Duich,  Strath- 
glass,  and  Glen  Urquhart,  appear  only  as  buttresses,  and  which 
attain  an  elevation  in  some  places  equal,  and  in  general  but  little 
inferior,  to  Ben  Nevis  and  the  Grampians.  They  contain  mul- 
titudes of  lakes  at  a  very  high  level,  which  communicate  with 
one  another  by  rapid  streams,  the  descent  from  these  great  cen- 
tral masses  of  rock  to  either  coast  being  also  for  the  most  part 


434  GLENSTRATHFARAR LOCH  MITJLIE.        SECT.  Til. 

abrupt  and  steep.  Guides  may  be  hired  at  the  inn  at  Struy 
Bridge,  or  at  the  little  village  of  Invercannich,  to  direct  one's 
course,  and  carry  his  wallet  and  provisions,  the  charge  being 
from  5s.  to  7s.  a-day. 

1.  GLENSTRATHFARAR,  BRANCHING  OFF  FROM  STRATHGLASS 
AT  STRUT. 

8.  Of  old,  the  whole  district  from  Inverness  to  this  point 
was  known  under  the  name  of  Strathfarar ;  the  Firth  of  Beauly 
was  called  by  the  Romans,  latinising  most  probably  the  native 
names,  JSstuarius-Varrar,  and  the  valley  at  present  denomi- 
nated Glenstrathfarar,  shows  itself,  by  its  designation,  to  be  the 
narrowest  part  of  the  great  strath.  Glenstrathfarar  runs  nearly 
due  west  along  the  base  of  the  mountain  Benevachart,  on  the 
estate  of  Struy,  for  a  distance  of  about  ten  miles,  and  is  con- 
fessedly one  of  the  most  picturesque  valleys  in  the  Highlands. 
In  geological  phrase,  it  is  formed  of  a  succession  of  small  cir- 
cular valleys,  opening  into  one  another,  and  in  consequence  it 
presents  a  variety  of  landscape,  generally  bold  and  rocky,  but 
beautifully  wooded,  and  interspersed  with  soft,  low  meadow 
grounds.  At  its  further  end  the  glen  terminates  in  the  basin  of 
Loch  Miulie,  in  which  is  a  small  island  whither  Lord  Lovat 
retreated  after  the  disaster  at  Culloden,  and  from  the  summit 
of  one  of  the  adjacent  mountains,  encompassed  by  a  few  faith- 
ful adherents,  he  beheld  the  flames  of  the  conflagration  which 
consumed  his  own  and  his  clansmen's  houses. 

Three  miles  beyond  is  Monar  House  (Captain  White),  at  the 
lower  end  of  Loch  Monar,  and  thus  far  the  road  is  adapted  for 
carriages ;  but  beyond,  it  is  a  mere  tract,  and  the  traveller  should, 
if  possible,  make  his  way  to  the  head  of  the  lake,  which  is  seven 
miles  long,  by  boat.  There  he  will  find  a  shepherd's  cot,  at 
which,  as  it  is  twenty-five  miles  distant  from  Struy,  he  should 
rest  for  the  night.  The  shores  of  Loch  Monar  are  wild,  but 
picturesque,  and  at  the  eastern  end,  where  the  water  is  hemmed 
in  by  a  narrow  tortuous  strait,  the  remnants  of  an  ancient  pine- 
forest  are  seen,  of  which,  farther  on,  stumps  and  fallen  trees  only 
appear,  though  these  are  met  with  in  the  mosses  all  the  way  to 
Kintail.  According  to  the  historical  manuscript  of  a  Highland 
clergyman  of  the  seventeenth  century,  a  great  hunt  took  place 
here  in  the  year  1655.  It  is  thus  described : — 


ROUTE  IV.  A.       GREAT  DEER  HUNT.  435 

"  The  law  here  is  strict  against  loyalists,  so  that  the  Earl 
of  Seaforth  entered  his  person  prisoner  in  the  Sconce  at  Inver- 
ness, as  also  the  Lord  Macdonald,  and  had  their  respective  lodg- 
ings within  the  citadel.  Seaforth  procured  a  furlough  this  year, 
putting  himself  under  bail  to  Governor  Miles  Man,  and  went  to 
visit  his  friends  the  length  of  Kintail ;  and  resolving  to  keep  a 
hunting  by  the  way  in  the  forest  of  Monar,  he  prevailed  with 
the  Master  and  Tutor  of  Lovat  to  go  along  with  him.  The 
tutor  pitched  his  tent  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  and  Struy 
his  tent  upon  the  south.  Next  day  we  got  sight  of  six  or  seven 
hundred  deer,  and  sport  of  hunting  fitter  for  kings  than  country 
gentlemen.  The  four  days  we  tarried  there,  what  is  it  that 
could  cheer  and  renovate  men's  spirits  but  was  gone  about? 
Jumping,  archery,  shooting,  throwing  the  bar,  the  stone,  and 
all  manner  of  manly  exercises  imaginable.  And  for  entertain- 
ment, our  baggage  was  well  furnished  of  beef,  mutton,  fowls, 
fishes,  fat  venison — a  very  princely  camp — and  all  manner  of 
liquors.  The  fifth  day  we  convoyed  Seaforth  over  the  moun- 
tain in  sight  of  Kintail,  and  returned  home  with  the  Master  of 
Lovat — a  very  pretty  train  of  gallant  gentlemen.  Masters  Hill 
and  Man,  two  Englishmen  who  were  in  company,  declared  that 
in  all  their  travels  they  never  had  such  brave  divertisement ; 
and  if  they  should  relate  it  in  England,  it  would  be  concluded 
mere  rant,  and  incredible  ! " 

9.  Scuir-na-Lapich,  a  beautifully-peaked  mountain  belong- 
ing to  Lord  Lovat,  lies  on  the  south  side  of  Loch  Monar,  and 
between  it  and  Glen  Cannich ;  and  to  the  west  of  it  an  enor- 
mous shapeless  mass,  called  Ryuchan,  flat  at  top,  and  seared  in 
front  by  innumerable  streams  and  gullies,  the  first  and  highest 
mountain  on  the  Lochalsh  property,  and  from  the  summit  of 
which  both  seas  are  visible.  The  peaks  of  Crechil  come  next, 
and  most  splendid  grassy  shoulders  descend  from  them,  stretch- 
ing off  and  uniting  with  the  rich  pastures  of  the  west  coast.  It 
will  take  seven  hours'  hard  walking  to  reach  Attadale,  on  Loch 
Carron,  from  Loch  Monar,  and  that  over  the  most  rugged 
ground,  but  without  any  considerable  ascents,  the  path  passing 
at  no  great  distance  from  Lochs  Ged,  Cruashi,  and  Calivie,  and 
from  one  great  pastoral  valley  to  another  by  gentle  undulations, 
till,  after  crossing  Luip-Y-Guilig,  an  open  hollow,  where  the  hill 
paths  from  Monar,  Strathconon,  Loch  Carron,  and  Loch  Long 
unite,  it  descends  into  the  rocky  and  picturesque  Strathan  of 


436  GLEN  CANNICH.  SECT.  VII. 

Attadale,  where  brushwood,  cultivation,  and  the  cottages  of  the 
MacRaas,  a  pure,  swarthy,  dark -eyed,  and  tall  Celtic  race,  greet 
the  weary  traveller.  From  Loch  Monar  the  scenery  is  rather 
wide  and  open,  but  the  straths  and  hill  sides  are  beautifully 
green,  and  the  forms  and  tints  of  many  of  the  mountain  groups 
and  single  peaks  are  exceedingly  interesting.  In  Glenstrath- 
farar,  the  tourist  can  refresh  himself  at  several  farm-houses, 
and  perhaps  he  might  get  quarters  for  a  night  at  one  or  other 
of  the  shooting-lodges  there,  but  for  the  last  twenty  miles  there 
is  no  bothie  at  all  to  be  seen. 

2.    GLEN   CANNICH. 

10.  Glen  Cannich,  or  the  Glen  of  the  Cotton  Grass,  which 
abounds  throughout  its  pastures,  strikes  off  from  Strathglass 
at  the  clachan  or  village  of  Invercannich,  seven  and  a  half  miles 
above  Struy,  and  after  a  short  rocky  ascent,  it  turns  westward, 
and  stretches  out  for  twenty  miles  before  the  eye,  as  a  broad 
mossy  valley,  abounding  in  most  valuable  pasture,  but  covered 
to  a  great  extent  by  a  succession  of  uninteresting  lakes  or  tarns, 
of  which  Loch  Longard  (called  in  maps  Loch  Moyley,  and  which 
is  six  or  seven  miles  in  length)  is  the  most  considerable.  At 
the  farther  end  of  this  lake,  which  is  about  half  way  across,  is 
a  shepherd's  cottage,  where  the  traveller  will  be  made  welcome, 
but  no  other  is  to  be  seen  till  he  reaches  Killellan,  on  Loch  Long, 
about  fifteen  miles  distant.  Glen  Cannich  is  of  a  lower  level 
than  Strath  Affrick,  to  which  it  is  nearly  parallel,  except  that 
it  trends  more  to  the  north,  and  it  is  higher  than  Glenstrath- 
farar.  Its  west  end  is  called  Glasletter,  significant  of  its  rich 
green  pastures,  and  here  the  estates  of  the  Chisholm  and  Loch- 
alsh  meet.  From  the  edges  of  the  plain  the  mountain  acclivi- 
ties rise  up  on  all  sides  in  long  unbroken  and  beautiful  slopes, 
clothed  with  the  richest  herbage,  and  thousands  of  choice  Che- 
viot sheep  are  reared  upon  them.  A  good  road  could  easily  be 
made  along  this  glen ;  but  the  overflowings  of  the  lochs  in  win- 
ter would  have  to  be  guarded  against,  whilst  higher  up  it  would 
be  much  exposed  to  deep  snow  wreaths,  and  the  rough  shores 
of  Loch  Long,  at  the  west  end,  could  only  be  surmounted  at  a 
great  expense.  Instead  of  going  so  far  as  Killellan,  we  would 
advise  the  traveller,  soon  after  passing  Loch  Edrum,  where  the 
waters  first  shear  towards  the  west  coast,  to  ford  the  Elcaig 


ROUTE  iv.  A.  CHISHOLM'S  PASS — LOCH  BENNEVEIAN.     437 

river,  and,  ascending  to  the  south-west,  visit  the  Falls  of  Glo- 
mak,  and  thence  proceed,  as  after  described,  to  Shielhouse  by 
the  Crowe  of  Kintail. 

3.  THE  CHISHOLM'S  PASS,  AND  STRATH  AFFRICK. 

11.  Between  the  bridges  of  Invercannich  and  Fasnakyle,  the 
tourist  will  find  an  excellent  road  striking  off  to  the  right,  which 
was  made  for  the  conveyance  of  wool  from  the  Chisholm's  sheep 
farms  in  the  interior,  and  which  terminates  at  the  nearer  end 
of  Loch  Benneveian,  four  or  five  miles  distant.     It  ascends 
rapidly,  and  then  becomes  level,  and  it  commands  fine  views  of 
the  strath  it  has  left,  and  of  the  river  above  whose  course  it 
conducts,  on  which  are  a  series  of  beautiful  cascades,  from  ten 
to  thirty  feet  high,  occurring  in  the  course  of  a  rapid  upwards 
of  a  mile  long.     The  opening  through  which  this  road  leads  is 
called  THE  CHISHOLM'S  PASS.    The  scenery  is  somewhat  similar 
to  the  celebrated  birken  bowers  of  Killiecrankie  and  the  Tro- 
sachs,  but  on  a  much  ampler  and  grander  scale ;  and  to  the 
beauty  of  the  birch,  and  of  many  large  native  ashes  and  elms, 
the  intermixture  of  tall,  fantastic  pines,  here  superadds  the 
sober  and  imposing  majesty  of  the  Rothiemurchus  and  Mai- 
forests.     In  ascending  the  shelving  opening,  a  prolonged  vista 
in  one  general  mantle  of  foliage  ascending  high  on  either  side, 
forms  a  woodland  picture  of  incomparable  beauty,  threaded  by 
the  rocky  channel  of  the  river.      The  path  is  prolonged  west- 
ward from  the  termination  of  the  good  road  through  the  Chis- 
holm's Pass,  and  is  daily  becoming  more  passable  for  horses  as 
well  as  foot  passengers. 

12.  After  resting  at  the  shepherd's  cot  at  Achagait,  on  a 
fine  green  haugh  at  the  exit  of  the  Glass  from  its  parent  lake, 
the  tourist  must  proceed  by  land,  if  not  so  fortunate  as  to  find 
the  Loch  Benneveian  boat  at  the  east  end.    This  sheet  of  water 
is  five  miles  long,  and  about  a  mile  broad  in  the  centre,  and 
wider  at  the  lower  than  the  upper  end.      The  surrounding 
mountains  are  high,  bold,  and  massive — quite  bare  on  the  north 
side,  but  the  sloping  declivities  on  the  south  are  closely  and 
extensively  covered  with  pine  forest,  of  which  a  fine  circular 
screen  also  encloses  the  head  of  the  lake.    Beyond  it  the  gigan- 
tic mountain  masses  of  Loch  Affrick  rise  in  most  graceful  ma- 
jesty, and  present  long,  slightly-curving   summits  and  lines 


438         LOCH  AFFKICK SHEPHERDS'  COTTAGES.      SECT.  VII. 

subsiding  very  gently  in  the  distance,  the  broad  and  remote 
peaks  of  Kintail  filling  up  the  centre,  the  whole  composing  an 
exquisite  landscape  of  severe  but  most  engaging  grandeur.  The 
character  of  the  scene  is  realized  in  Thomson's  "  Castle  of  In- 
dolence." 

"  Full  in  the  passage  of  the  Vale,  ahove, 
A  sable,  silent,  solemn  forest  stood ; 
Where  nought  but  shadowy  forms  were  seen  to  move, 
As  Idless  fancied  in  her  dreaming  mood  : 
And  up  the  hills,  on  either  side,  a  wood 
Of  blackening  pines,  aye  waving  to  and  fro, 
Sent  forth  a  sleepy  horror  through  the  blood ; 
And  where  the  valley  winded  out,  below, 
The  murmuring  stream  was  heard,  and  scarcely  heard,  to  flow." 

13.  A  narrow  rocky  barrier,  covered  with  pine  and  birch 
separates  Loch  Benneveian  from  Loch  Affrick  ;  and  launched 
again  upon  the  latter,  the  tourist  will  perceive  every  feature 
as  he  advances  more  gigantic  and  imposing  than  those  he  has 
already  explored.  The  hoary  pine  forests  still  continue,  but  in 
more  broken  masses  ;  but  with  groups  and  single  trees  now 
only  crowning  a  zone  of  low  eminences,  which  line  both  shores. 
Loch  Affrick  terminates  below  in  a  lengthened  stripe,  widening 
for  a  space  in  the  centre,  partially  bordered  with  meadow 
ground,  and  overhung  by  birch  and  pine  trees,  and  thus  afford- 
ing the  most  admirable  foregrounds,  comprising  a  most  roman- 
tic shooting-lodge  of  the  Chisholm's  ;  while  the  distant  vista 
retains  the  same  finely  outlined  character.  As  we  advance,  the 
mountains,  which  previously  appeared  in  depressed  perspective, 
increasing  in  size,  press  close  at  hand,  especially  on  the  north, 
in  all  their  lofty  majesty  ;  and  the  pine-clad  shores  bestow  an 
indescribable  sense  of  lonely  and  sombre  solitude  on  the  scenery. 
This  lake  is  also  about  five  miles  long,  and  a  mile  across  where 
widest.  The  foot-path  on  the  northern  shore  glides  along  the 
beetling  crags  of  Scour-na-Lapich  and  Mam  Soul,  and  at  length 
ushers  us  on  a  fine  meadow  plain  at  the  farther  end  of  the  loch, 
where  the  shepherd's  house  at  Culivie,  neatly  fitted  up,  will  be 
heartily  welcomed  by  the  traveller  as  his  night's  quarters. 

The  water  of  Affrick  separates  this  house  from  Annamul- 
loch  (a  ford,  where  a  set  of  reivers  from  Mull  are  said  by  tra- 
dition to  have  been  drowned)  from  another  shepherd's  cottage, 
which  is  similarly  fitted  up,  either  for  sportsmen  or  travellers, — 
that  is,  having  the  "ben  "  room  boxed  round,  with  snug  boarded- 
up  beds  in  the  side,  which  are  farther  provided  with  the  luxu- 


ROUTE  IV.  A.       MAM  SOUL STRATH  AFFRICK.  439 

ries  of  English  blankets  and  sheets  ;  and  the  occupants,  to 
their  other  civilities,  will  obligingly  assist  in  procuring  the  use 
of  the  boats  on  the  lochs,  especially  if  a  message  is  sent  before- 
hand that  they  are  wanted. 

14.  Should  the  tourist  have  time,  we  would  recommend  his 
ascending  Mam  Soul  before  proceeding  farther,  if  the  weather 
is  fine,  as  the  view  is  remarkably  grand,  both  seas  being  visible 
from  the  summit ;  and,  if  a  botanist,  he  will  find  on  the  upper 
shoulders  a  most  interesting  intermixture  of  east  and  west 
coast  plants  ; — while  in  some  of  the  greater  corries  he  is  almost 
sure  of  being  gratified  with  a  sight  of  a  herd  of  red  deer.     The 
nearest  approach  in  Britain  to  perpetual  glaciers,  likewise  oc- 
curs in  the  snow  and  icy  patches  on  this  mountain ;  but  the 
story  is  quite  fabulous,  that  a  green  little  lake  on  the  northern 
shoulder  is  frozen  the  whole  year  over. 

15.  An  eight  or  nine  hours'  walk  from  Culivie,  or  Anna- 
mulloch,  will  land  our  pilgrim  at  Shielhouse,  in  Kintail — the 
foot-path  being  quite  distinct  the  whole  way,  keeping  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Affrick  Water,  along  an  open  level  valley,  at 
the  further  end  of  which  a  sudden  cleft  in  the  terminating 
range  of  rocky  hills,  called  the  Beallach  (literally  the  Pass), 
lets  us  "  drop  down,"  with  cautious  footsteps,  to  the  Crowe  of 
Kintail.     A  single  bothie  at  Aultbae,  at  which  a  bowl  of  milk 
may  be  had,  is  to  be  met  with  in  the  hill,  about  four  miles 
west  from  Loch  Affrick,  where  an  opening  in  the  mountains 
leading  southwards  conducts  to  Cluany,  in  Glen  Moriston.     At 
the  head  of  Strath  Affrick,  a  glen,  or  hollow,  running  at  nearly 
right  angles  to  the  north,  and  containing  three  small  lochs, 
brings  us,  at  about  four  miles'  distance,  to  the  Falls  of  Glomak, 
on  the  river  of  that  name,  from  which  a  different  route  from 
that  by  the  Beallach  conducts  to  Shielhouse.    For  a  description 
of  those  remarkable  falls,  the  highest  in  the  Highlands,  and 
the  approaches  to  them,  and  of  the  scenery  generally  in  this 
day's  route,  we  refer  our  readers  to  Route  i.,  Branch  F.,  page 
198. 

Throughout  this  last  day's  walk,  the  whole  country  has 
been  treeless  ;  but  the  green  pastures  redeem  the  loss  by  their 
brilliant  lively  hue,  very  different  from  the  brown  sombre 
colour  of  the  east-coast  moors.  A  few  alders  and  birches  reap- 
pear in  Kintail,  as  we  attain  the  level  of  Loch  Duich,  but  they 
seem  dwindled  down  to  mere  twigs  ;  and  an  impression  of 


440  KESSOCK   FERRY.  SECT.  VII. 

solemn  admiration  and  awe  steals  over  the  mind,  as  the  stu- 
pendous peaks  and  frontlets  of  Kin  tail  first  burst  on  the  view. 


ROUTE  FIFTH.— BRANCH  B. 
(THE  BLACK  ISLE.) 

INVERNESS,  BY    KESSOCK    FERRY,   TO   DINGWALL,  REDCA8TLE, 
AVOCH,  FOHTROSE,  AND  CROMARTY. 

Kessock  Ferry,  paragraph  1. — Beads ;  Allangrange;  Kilcoy;  Ferintosh;  footnote. 
History  of  Redcastle,  2. — Ord  of  Kessock;  Drumderfit;  Origin  of  the  Logans; 

t  Munlochy ;  Rosehaugh ;  Avoch,  3. — Fortrose ;  Cathedral  of  Ross ;  Rosemarkie,  4. 
General  Sketch  of  the  Black  Isle,  or  Ardmeanach,  footnote ;  Cromarty ;  Trade,  5. 
Traditions  of  Cromarty,  6. — Conveyances ;  Sculptured  Stones  at  Nigg,  &c ;  Geo- 
logy, 7. — Old  Churches ;  Urquharts  of  Cromarty,  8. 

Miles. 

Dingwall  by  Kessock  Ferry 13 

Strathpeffer  Spa  Hotel 4 

By  Beauly,  25  Miles. 

17 

Mile*. 

Redcastle  from  Kessock 5 

Muir  of  Ord,  where  junction  with  Great  North 
Post  Road 3 

8 

Mile*.     Mile*. 

Kessock  to  Munlochy 5 

„          Avoch    4  9 

„          Fortrose 2  11 

„          Cromarty  9  20 

20 
„          Invergordon  Ferry,  15  Miles. 

1.  THE  road  along  the  west  bank  of  the  river  Ness  conducts 
us  towards  its  estuary,  through  the  lands  of  Merkinch,  to 
Kessock  (Kesswick)  Ferry,  the  narrowest  part  of  the  Moray 
Firth,  and  the  main  passage  to  the  Black  Isle,  Dingwall,  and 
the  west  of  Ross-shire.  This  strait  is  about  three-quarters  of 
a  mile  broad,  and  is  now  one  of  the  safest  ferries  in  the  north. 
The  current  of  the  river  Beauly,  which  flows  down  next  the 
northern  shore,  and  the  reflux  of  the  ebb  of  the  sea  meeting 
the  flow,  create,  at  certain  periods,  an  agitation  of  the  waters 


ROUTE  V.  B.     BLACK  ISLE — REDCASTLE.  441 

which  is  more  dangerous  in  appearance  than  in  reality.  It  is 
thus  pompously  described  by  Franck,  an  officer  of  Cromwell's 
army,  who  wrote  memoirs  on  his  sojourn  in  Scotland — who, 
besides  the  dangers  of  the  waves,  says  that  his  boat  was  nearly 
upset  by  the  porpoises,  "  which  vented  so  vehemently  at  the 
stern :" — "  In  the  midst  of  this  Pontus  Cambrosia  is  a  white 
spumation,  or  frothy,  foaming,  sparkling  spray,  that  resembles 
via  lactea;  occasioned,  as  you  see,  from  luxuriant  tides  and 
aggravating  winds,  that  violently  contract  the  surface  of  the 
sea,  and  so  amalgamises  them  together,  that  neither  the  one 
nor  the  other  can  divide  nor  expatiate  itself  till  inevitably 
sucked  into  the  bowels  of  the  ocean."  Of  the  many  beautiful 
points  of  view  around  Inverness,  that,  from  the  midst  of  Kes- 
sock  ferry,  of  the  Beauly  and  Moray  Firths,  and  of  the  heights 
which  line  the  great  glen,  of  the  town  itself,  and  river's  mouth, 
and  the  surrounding  fields  and  hanging  woods,  especially  at 
full  tide,  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  extensive. 

2.  The  peninsula  lying  between  the  firths  of  Beauly  and 
Cromarty,  called  the  "Black  Isle,"  or  "Edderdail"  (the  land 
between  the  two  seas),  or  "  Ardmeanach"  (the  monk's  height), 
consists  chiefly  of  three  great  ridges  parallel  to  one  another, 
and  running  nearly  from  south-west  to  north-east,  of  which 
the  loftiest  and  farthest  back,  called  the  "  Maolbuy  "  (or  yellow 
hill),  rises  to  the  height  of  between  600  and  700  feet,  and 
which,  though  now  enclosed  and  extensively  planted,  was,  till 
of  late  years,  a  bleak  undivided  commonty.  To  the  tourist 
this  peninsula  is  useful,  as  affording  him  short  routes  either  to 
the  West  or  North  Highlands,  and  as  presenting,  in  all  direc- 
tions, from  its  high,  undulating  surfaces,  most  grand  and  ex- 
tensive views,  whether  he  looks  southward,  across  the  Moray 
and  Beauly  Firths,  upon  Inverness,  and  towards  the  recesses  of 
the  Great  Glen  and  Strathglass,  or,  on  attaining  the  summit  of 
the  highest  ridge,  he  beholds  all  at  once  beneath  him  the  ex- 
panse of  the  Cromarty  Firth,  embosomed  in  fine  cultivated 
grounds,  with  high  and  wild  mountains  of  every  shape  and 
size  extending  in  grand  groups  and  chains  behind  them. 

From  the  inn  of  North  Kessock,  on  the  Ross-shire  side  of 
the  ferry,  where  carriages,  gigs,  and  saddle-horses  can  be  had, 
two  roads  proceed,  one  by  the  sea-side  westwards  by  Redcastle* 

*  The  fine  old  tower  of  Redcastle,  which  is  still  inhabited  by  the  proprietor, 
Colonel  H.  D.  Baillie,  was  anciently  the  head  castle  of  the  lordship  of  Ardmeanach, 


442  KILCOY   CASTLE.  SECT.  VII. 

(five  miles),  which  joins  the  great  post  road  at  the  Muir  of  Ord 
(three  miles  on,  and  two  miles  from  Beauly),  and  is  continued 
across  it  to  Moy  and  Contin  (five  miles  more),  on  the  Loch 
Carron  road  from  Dingwall.  The  other  road  from  Kessock 
holds  over  the  hill,  in  a  north-west  direction,  for  Dingwall,  and 
at  the  first  toll-bar  (two  miles  on)  a  branch  of  it  strikes  off  for 
Munlochy,  Avoch,  Fortrose,  Rosemarkie,  and  Cromarty.  Another 
branch  from  the  Dingwall  road  breaks  off  three  miles  farther 
on,  at  the  Tore  Inn  or  public-house,  and  which  also  conducts 
to  Avoch  and  Fortrose,  without  passing  through  Munlochy; 
and  an  arm  of  it  strikes  west  from  nearly  the  same  point  of 
junction  for  Redcastle  and  Beauly.  Near  the  top  of  the  ridge 
of  the  Maolbuy,  a  very  tedious  but  straight  road  proceeds  due 
east  to  Cromarty,  intersected  by  cross  ones  from  Munlochy  and 
Rosemarkie  leading  to  Invergordon  ferry.  At  Arpaphily  (three 
miles  from  Kessock)  we  pass  a  small  Episcopal  chapel,  and 
opposite  it,  in  the  hollow  on  the  right,  the  house  of  Allangrange, 
and  the  site  of  an  old  chapel  of  the  Knights  Templars.  Farther 
on  is  the  Castle  of  Kilcoy  (Sir  Evan  Mackenzie),  on  the  height 
above  Redcastle,  and  behind  it  one  of  the  largest  cairns — en- 
closed with  circles  of  upright  stones — in  the  north  of  Scotland. 
These  lie  about  half  a  mile  north-west  of  the  tower.  Descending 
thence  towards  the  head  of  the  Cromarty  Firth,  the  traveller 
will  behold  one  of  the  most  magnificent  panoramic  views  in  the 
country,  as  he  passes  through  the  barony  of  Ferintosh,  a  district 
long  celebrated  for  its  superior  whisky.  The  privilege  of  dis- 

and  also  a  royal  castle.  "  On  the  forfeiture  of  the  old  Earls  of  Ross,  it  was  annexed 
inalienably  by  parliament  to  the  Scottish  Crown  in  1455 ;  and  in  1482,  the  Earl  of 
Huntlie,  the  "king's  lieutenant  in  the  north,  bestowed  the  keeping^  of  Kcdcastle  on 
Hugh  Rose,  Baron  of  Kilravock.  It  was  seized  soon  thereafter  by  Hector  Mackenzie, 
and  the  country  of  Ardmeanach  spuilzied  by  William  Forbes  in  Strathglaish,  Chisholm 
of  Comer,  and  other  accomplices,  against  whom  Rose  of  Kilravock  obtains  sentence, 
12th  May  1492.  Thus  armed,  the  Earl  of  Huntlie  farther  gave  commission  to 
Mackintosh,  Grant,  Kilravock,  and  others,  to  the  number  of  3000,  to  go  against 
Cainoch  M'Cainoch  and  his  kin  (the  occupiers  of  Glen  Cainoch)  for  spuilzing  Ard- 
meanach, and  killing  Harold  Chishoun  in  Strathglaish,  and  that  they  did  Iiarrie, 
spuilzie,  and  slay  the  clan  Kynech  by  his  command,  as  the  king's  rebels  and  oppres- 
sors of  the  liedges"  (Kilravock  MSS.)  Tradition  says,  that  when  Queen  Mary  was 
at  Inverness,  on  which  occasion  it  is  also  believed  her  majesty  bestowed  the  name  of 
BeavlifH  or  Beaulv  on  the  priory  there,  she  visited  Redcastle.  It  was  afti wards 
burnt  in  Montrose's  time ;  and  the  family  of  Mackenzie  of  Redcastle  (the  first  of  the 
house  being  Bory  More,  second  son  of  Kenneth,  fifth  Laird  of  Kintail,  and  who 
acquired  the  estate  about  the  year  1570)  having  become  unfortunate,  the  property 
was  sold  in  1790  by  authority  of  the  Court  of  Session,  and  purchased  for  £25,000  by 
Mr.  Grant  of  Sheuglie,  the  gross  rental  being  about  £1000  a-year.  In  1S24,  the  same 
estate  was  bought  by  the  late  Sir  William  Fettes  for  £135,000,  but  has  since  been 
resold  to  the  present"  proprietor  for  a  sum  considerably  less.  On  the  estate  of  Red- 
castle, the  tourist  will  pass  the  ruins  of  the  old  chapel  of  Gilchrist  (or  Christ's  church  \ 
the  burning  of  which  is  described  in  the  horrid  "  Raid  of  Cillie-christ,"  (page  149.) 


ROUTE  V.  B.  OED  OP  KESSOCK.  443 

tilling  spirits  in  this  barony,  not  subject  to  the  excise  laws, 
was  granted  to  President  Forbes  of  Culloden  (the  proprietor),  a 
poor  recompense  for  his  extraordinary  exertions  in  behalf  of 
the  Hanoverian  government ;  and  it  was  bought  back  by  the 
Crown,  in  1786,  for  a  sum  of  about  £20,000.  The  tower  of 
Ryefield,  on  the  right,  is  the  messuage  of  this  estate,  which  be- 
longs to  the  county  of  Nairn ;  and  on  the  left  will  be  observed 
another  small  tower  or  fortalice — that  of  Kinkell,  on  the  estate 
of  Conon,  the  old  residence,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  island, 
of  the  Gairloch  family,  an  ancient  and  powerful  branch  of  the 
clan  Mackenzie,  now  represented  by  a  promising  youth,  Sir 
Kenneth  Mackenzie,  whose  estate  in  this  quarter  is  also  valu- 
able and  beautiful.  At  Scudal  Bridge  (two  miles  from  Ding- 
wall)  we  join  the  main  post  road.  (See  page  388.) 

3.  Let  us  now  revert  to  the  roads  proceeding  from  Kessock 
to  the  eastern  parts  of  the  Black  Isle.  The  high,  round-caped 
hill,  immediately  to  the  east  of  Kessock,  is  called  the  Ord,  or 
Wardhill  of  Kessock,  and  is  crowned  with  a  strong  walled  struc- 
ture, extensively  vitrified.  One  of  its  acclivities  on  the  right 
hand,  as  we  descend  towards  Munlochy  by  a  side  or  district 
road,  is  called  the  ridge  of  Drumderfit  or  Druim  deur,  "  the 
ridge  of  tears,"  which,  as  the  many  cairns  strewed  over  it  would 
indicate,  was  about  the  year  1400  the  scene  of  a  strange  and 
sanguinary  event.  Donald,  the  then  Lord  of  the  Isles,  having 
collected  a  powerful  army,  made  a  descent  upon  Ross,  and  en- 
camped on  this  ridge,  opposite  the  town  of  Inverness,  which  he 
threatened  with  fire  and  sword,  if  not  propitiated  by  an  exor- 
bitant ransom.  Happily  for  the  town,  the  provost,  whose  name 
was  Junor,  was  a  man  of  penetration  and  address.  Aware  that 
Donald's  army  was  greatly  fatigued,  and  in  want  of  provisions, 
Provost  Junor  contrived  to  smuggle  into  the  camp  a  large  quan- 
tity of  strong  spirits,  which  were  eagerly  consumed  by  the  isles- 
men,  who  soon  sunk,  under  the  power  of  the  intoxicating  beve- 
rage, into  the  most  profound  slumber.  In  the  mean  time,  the 
provost  collected  a  number  of  resolute  adherents,  and  crossing 
Kessock  ferry  at  dead  of  night,  suddenly  fell  on  Donald's  camp 
and  massacred  almost  every  man.  The  farm  of  Drumderfit  was, 
till  very  lately,  occupied  for  upwards  of  400  years  by  a  respect- 
able family  of  the  name  of  Logan,  from  the  Lothians,  who  were 
extensive  merchants  or  traffickers,  and  who,  tradition  says,  re- 
ceived by  marriage  into  their  house  the  last  heiress  of  the  old 


444  AVOCH  —  FORTROSE.  SECT.  VII. 

Bissets  of  Lovat,  an  alliance  for  which  they  paid  dearly,  through 
the  inroads  and  jealousies  of  the  clan  Fraser,  who  succeeded  the 
Bissets  in  the  Lovat  estates.  The  Logans  also  suffered  from 
their  attachment  to  Episcopacy ;  but  they  afterwards  retrieved 
their  losses,  by  becoming  commissioners  for  Forbes  of  Culloden, 
for  the  sale  of  the  licensed  Ferintosh  whisky.  Munlochy  is  a 
little  post  town,  situated  at  the  head  of  a  small  but  picturesque 
inlet  of  the  Moray  Firth,  from  which  a  road  continues  nearly 
due  north,  across  the  elevated  and  far-extending  moorland,  to 
Invergordon  Ferry  on  the  Cromarty  Firth,  and  another  branch- 
ing from  it  leads  straight  forward  along  the  ridge  of  the  hill  to 
Cromarty.  That  by  the  coast  introduces  us,  four  miles  on,  to 
the  little  fishing  village  of  Avoch,  passing  previously  the  man- 
sion-houses and  grounds  of  Rosehaugh  (Sir  James  Mackenzie 
of  Scatwell,  Bart.),  and  of  Avoch  (Alexander  G.  Mackenzie, 
Esq.),  and,  one  mile  further,  to  the  ancient  burgh  of  Fortrose.* 
4.  As  a  free  town,  and  as  the  seat  of  the  bishops  of  Ross 
(whose  palace  or  castle  was  completely,  and  their  cathedral  in 
a  great  measure,  destroyed  by  Oliver  Cromwell),  Fortrose  was 
in  ancient  days  a  place  of  considerable  consequence  ;  the  re- 
cords of  its  chanonry  or  canon  courts  contained  transcripts  of 
almost  all  the  valuable  documents  relating  to  the  family  his- 
tories and  estates  in  the  county  of  Ross,  and  it  gave  birth  to 
men  eminent  both  in  church  and  state.  Here  resided  the 
celebrated  historian,  Bishop  Lesley,  the  last  Catholic  bishop  of 
Ross,  who  lost  his  see  for  his  zealous  support  of  Queen  Mary. 
Dr.  Gregory  Mackenzie,  the  laborious  compiler  of  the  lives  of 
the  most  eminent  writers  of  the  Scottish  nation,  also  dwelt 
here,  in  an  old  castle  belonging  to  the  Earl  of  Seaforth,  and 
lies  interred  in  the  tomb  of  that  family  within  the  cathedral  ; 

*  Between  Avoch  and  Fortrose  a  broad  green  sward  formerly  extended  along  the 
sea-beach,  and  was  continued  to  the  Ness  of  Clianonry,  on  which  the  burghers  used 
to  play  at  bowls  and  golf,  and  along  which  the  great  Sir  George  Mackenzie,  Lord  Ad- 
vocate to  Charles  II.,  and  author  of  some  of  our  best  Scottish  statutes,  used  to  ride 
with  a  large  escort  when  on  his  way  to  court  or  Parliament.  It  abounded  with  the 
little  white  Burnet  rose  (rosa  spinosissima),  and  hence  the  name  of  the  estate,  "  Val- 
lis  Rosarum,"  or  "  Rosehaugh.  On  a  rocky  mound  now  called  "  Ormond,"  or  the 
"  Lady  Hill,"  at  the  west  end  of  these  green  links,  stood  the  ancient  Castle  of  Avoch, 
to  which,  as  related  by  Wyutoun,  the  Regent,  Sir  Andrew  de  Moravia,  "  a  lord  of  great 


of  Rosmarkyn."  Passing  afterwards  into  the  possession  of  the  Earls  of  Ross,  this 
castle  was,  on  their  forfeiture  in  1476,  annexed  to  the  crown,  when  James  III.  created 
his  second  son,  Duke  of  Ross,  Marquis  of  Ormond,  and  Earl  of  Edirdal,  otherwise  called 
Ardmanachc,  and  hence  this  district,  which  still  bears  these  names,  thus  became  one 
of  the  regular  appanages  of  the  royal  family  of  Scotland. 


ROUTE  V.  B.  FORTROSE.  445 

and  a  physician  of  the  same  name,  noted  in  his  day  for  a  work 
entitled  "  The  Art  of  preserving  Health,"  is  said  to  have  been 
in  his  youth  a  teacher  of  the  grammar  school  in  this  burgh. 
The  famous  Scottish  statesman  and  lawyer,  Sir  George  Mac- 
kenzie, often  retired  from  courts  and  senates  to  enjoy  the 
delightful  and  secluded  walks  about  Fortrose  ;  and  the  late 
Sir  James  Mackintosh,  the  well-known  historian,  senator,  and 
author  of  the  "  Vindiciae  Gallicae,"  received  the  rudiments  of 
his  education  in  this  place.  With  the  adjoining  older  burgh  of 
Rosemarkie,  which  dates  its  first  privileges  from  Alexander  II., 
and  with  which  the  old  chanonry  of  Ross  was  united  by  a  char- 
ter from  King  James  II.  (anno  1444),  under  the  common  name 
of  Fortress,  softened  into  Fortrose,  it  now  shares  the  honour  of 
possessing  a  numerous  tribe  of  knights  of  the  awl  and  shuttle  ; 
but,  although  provided  by  government  with  an  elegant  and 
commodious  harbour,  and  by  the  neighbouring  gentry  with  an 
academy  for  the  education  of  youth,  and  an  Episcopal  chapel, 
Fortrose  boasts  of  little  or  no  trade,  and  no  rapidly  increasing 
population.  The  situation  of  the  town  is  romantic  and  sunny, 
and  the  grounds  about  it,  which  have  long  been  under  cultiva- 
tion, are  rich  and  in  high  order  ;  and  when  the  cathedral 
green  was  surrounded  by  large  old  trees,  before  Cromwell's  axe 
was  laid  to  their  roots,  and  the  houses  of  the  town  were  re- 
moved to  a  distance  from  the  cathedral — save  that  the  canons 
and  presbyters  of  the  see  had  each,  near  it,  his  manse,  with 
gardens  and  court-yards,  entered  by  gothic  arched  gateways — 
the  whole  place  must  have  had  a  very  beautiful  and  imposing 
appearance,  more  like  an  English  ecclesiastical  town  than  a 
Scotch  one.  After  the  Restoration  in  1660,  the  bishops,  from 
poverty,  feued  out  small  portions  round  the  edges  of  the  green 
for  building,  and  thus  the  sacred  enclosures,  which  were  for- 
merly reserved  as  a  site  for  certain  annual  fairs,  and  as  a 
burying-ground,  has  been  encroached  upon.  Mr.  Neale,  in  his 
"  Ecclesiological  Notes  "  of  1848,  thus  describes  what  remains 
of  the  cathedral — though  his  ground  plan  which  accompanies  it 
was  too  hurriedly  got  up ;  and  we  doubt  much  his  accuracy  in 
separating  the  south  chapel  into  distinct  nave  and  chancel : — 
"  On  one  side  of  this  green  are  the  remains  of  the  once  glorious 
cathedral,  the  see  of  the  bishops  of  Ross.  It  was  not  destroyed 
in  the  Knoxian  Reformation,  but  by  Oliver  Cromwell,  who 
applied  the  stones  to  the  construction  of  a  fort  at  Inverness. 


446  CATHEDRAL   OF   ROSS.  SECT.  VII. 

The  fort  has  perished  ;  the  cathedral,  in  the  last  stage  of  decay, 
still  exists.  It  formerly  consisted  of  choir  and  nave,  Arith 
aisles  to  each,  eastern  lady  chapel,  western  tower,  and  chapter- 
house at  the  north-east  end  ;  what  remains  consists  merely  of 
the  south  aisle  to  chancel  and  nave,  and  the  detached  chapter- 
house. The  style  is  the  purest  and  most  elaborate  middle- 
pointed  ;  the  material,  red  sandstone,  gave  depth  and  freedom 
to  the  chisel  ;  and  the  whole  church,  though  probably  not  120 
feet  long  from  east  to  west,  must  have  been  an  architectural  gem 
of  the  very  first  description.  The  exquisite  beauty  of  the 
mouldings,  after  so  many  years  of  exposure  to  the  air,  is  won- 
derful, and  shows  that,  in  whatever  other  respect  these  remote 
parts  of  Scotland  were  barbarous,  in  ecclesiology,  at  least,  they 
were  on  a  par  with  any  other  branch  of  the  mediaeval  Church. 
The  east  window,  fragments  of  the  tracery  of  which  hang  from 
the  archivolt,  must  have  been  magnificent,  and  consisted  of  five 
lights  ;  it  is  wide  in  proportion  to  its  height,  and  must  have 
afforded  great  scope  for  throwing  up  the  altar  beneath.  On 
the  outside,  in  the  gable,  there  are  two  lancets,  the  lower  one 
much  longer  than  the  other ;  the  whole  effect  is  extremely 
satisfactory  ;  I  know  not,  indeed,  where  one  could  look  for  a 
better  model  for  a  small  collegiate  church,  and  such  as  might 
suit  the  needs  of  our  communion  at  this  moment.  There  are 
two  windows  on  the  south  side,  of  the  same  elaborate  and 
beautiful  description,  but  consisting  of  four  lights.  The  pis- 
cina remains,  and  the  mouldings  are  truly  the  work  of  a 
master.  The  south  aisle  was  separated  from  the  chancel  by 
two  middle  pointed  arches,  now  walled  up,  but  not  so  much 
injured  as  to  destroy  their  extreme  loveliness.  In  the  first  of 
these  arches  is  a  canopied  tomb  for  the  foundress,  a  Countess  of 
Ross,  the  date  of  which  is  probably  1330.  Very  possibly  her 
lord  might  be  interred  in  a  similar  position  in  the  north  side  of 
the  choir.  This  must  have  been  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
monuments  I  ever  saw.  Between  the  foot  and  the  easternmost 
pier,  a  credence  is  inserted,  sloping  up  with  a  stone  lean-to 
against  the  passage  wall.  In  the  second  arch  is  a  poor  third- 
pointed  high  tomb  and  canopy,  with  the  effigy  of  a  bishop,  by 
tradition,  the  second  bishop  of  the  see  ;  a  thing  manifestly  im- 
possible, unless  the  monument  were  erected  long  after  the 
decease  of  the  person  commemorated.  The  chancel-arch  is 
modern.  The  nave  consists  of  four  bays,  and  much  resembles 


ROUTE  V.  B.        CATHEDRAL  OF  ROSS.  447 

the  chancel  in  its  details  :  the  fourth  is,  however,  blocked  off 
for  the  burying  place  of  some  family  (the  Mackenzies  of  Sea- 
forth).  In  the  second  arch  is  another  third-pointed  monument. 
On  the  south  side  the  first  window  is  injured  ;  the  second  re- 
sembles those  in  the  chancel  arch ;  the  third  is  high  up  and 
mutilated  ;  the  fourth  is  a  plain  lancet.  The  west  front  is  re- 
markably simple,  and  contains  nothing  but  a  small  two-light 
middle-pointed  window,  without  foliation.  The  rood  turret 
still  exists,  and  is  a  very  elegant,  though  somewhat  singular 
composition.  It  stands  at  the  junction  of  the  south  aisle  of 
nave  and  chancel,  and  acts  as  a  buttress.  Square  at  the  base, 
it  is  bevelled  into  a  semi-hexagonal*  superstructure,  and  has 
elegant  two-light  windows  on  alternate  sides.  The  top  is 
modern.  The  chapter-house,  as  at  Glasgow,  consisted  of  two 
stages,  a  crypt  and  the  chapter-house  properly  speaking.  The 
crypt  still  remains,  and  is  used  as  a  coal-hole  ;  the  upper  part, 
which  has  been  rebuilt,  is  now  a  school  and  court-room.  The 
remarkable  disorientation  of  the  chancel  to  the  south  is  worthy 
of  notice  ;  it  gives,  at  first  sight,  the  effect  of  a  gigantic  apse 
to  the  whole  north  side  of  the  ruins.  There  is  a  Scotch  chapel 
in  Fortrose,  a  horrible  conglomeration  of  pinnacles,  without 
chancel — without  any  one  good  point  ;  it  seems  quite  new." 

We  trust  her  Majesty's  Commissioners  of  Woods  and 
Forests  will  now  save  the  remains  of  the  cathedral  from  farther 
decay,  and  protect  the  green  from  encroachments,  by  enclosing 
it  as  a  place  of  healthy  recreation  for  the  inhabitants. 

A  new  parish  church  has  lately  been  erected  by  subscrip- 
tion, and  a  stipend  for  a  minister  appropriated  out  of  a  fund 
left  by  a  worthy  bailie  of  Fortrose  in  the  end  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  intended  for  the  benefit  of  the  Episcopal  communion. 
This  building,  and  a  Free  Church  near  it,  both  make  pretensions 
to  modern  Gothic,  but  they  are  spiritless  and  devoid  of  sym- 
metrical proportions.  The  Gaelic  language  is  but  little  known 
in  this  or  the  adjoining  parish  of  Avoch,  but  the  English 
spoken  dialect  is  peculiar,  and  abounds  in  obsolete  words  and 
phrases,  many  of  which,  especially  among  the  fishermen  at 
Avoch,  are  Danish.  So  late  as  1686,  the  bishop  and  his 
chapter  made  over  the  grass  of  the  cathedral  green,  and  the 
feu  and  manse  maills  and  duties,  to  the  schoolmaster  of  the 
parish,  on  account  of  the  "  troubles,"  and  seeing  that  Episco- 
*  Octagonal.  It  forms  a  cross  or  short  transept  to  the  chapel. 


448  CROMARTT.  SECT.  VII. 

pacy  was  then  again  likely  to  be  overturned.  The  first  Pres- 
byterian pastor  was  established  here  about  the  year  1710. 
Fortrose  can  boast  of  a  most  comfortable  inn,  and  private 
lodgings  are  easily  had,  both  here  and  at  Rosemarkie,  which 
are  delightful  sea-bathing  quarters.  The  manse  and  church  of 
Rosemarkie  (on  the  site  of  the  tomb  of  St.  Boiiiface,  the  patron 
saint  of  this  parish,  and  who  is  believed  to  have  taken  up  his 
residence  here  on  a  mission  from  the  Pope  in  the  seventh  cen- 
tury), a  little  to  the  east,  are  beautifully  situated.  In  digging 
the  foundations  of  the  present  church,  a  large  stone  coffin  was 
come  upon,  and  a  cross,  which  is  beautifully  carved  with  foliage 
and  knotwork  on  both  sides,  but  without  any  inscription,  and 
was  likely  the  patron  saint's  cross.  It  was  coolly  appropriated 
as  a  grave-stone,  and  broken  in  two.  The  projecting  sandy 
point  of  Chanonry,  running  out  into  the  firth,  between  Fortrose 
and  Rosemarkie,  is  terminated  by  a  fine  and  useful  lighthouse, 
and  by  the  ferry-house,  where  we  take  boat  for  Fort-George  and 
the  Inverness-shire  coast. 

From  Fortrose,  the  public  road  to  Cromarty  sweeps  across 
to  the  opposite  firth,  and  a  shorter  branch  by  Eathie,  but  at 
present  in  bad  order,  bends  inland  across  the  intervening  hills, 
whilst  beyond  Raddery  there  is  a  further  choice  of  the  road  from 
Munlochy  to  Cromarty.  A  footpath  along  the  cliff's  overhang- 
ing the  sea  is  generally  preferred  by  the  pedestrian,  and  to  the 
geologist  we  would  particularly  recommend  it,  that  he  may 
visit  the  small  but  very  curious  lias  deposit  near  Eathie,  and 
the  sandstone  beds  with  the  Ichthyolite  concretions,  in  the  de- 
scription of  which  Mr.  Hugh  Miller  laid  the  foundations  of  his 
fame.  We  may  also  remind  our  scientific  friends,  that  along 
the  sea-beach  eastward  from  Rosemarkie,  they  can  form  a  good 
collection  of  specimens  of  hornblende-rock,  chlorite  and  acty- 
nolite  schist,  quartz-rock,  and  granite  and  gneiss  charged  with 
garnets  ;  and  by  the  botanist,  these  rocks  will  be  found  ex- 
tremely prolific  in  herbaceous  plants,  ferns,  and  mosses. 

5.  Cromarty  is  celebrated  all  the  world  over  for  the  safety 
of  its  bay  (the  Portus  Salutus  of  the  ancients),  the  convenience 
and  neatness  of  its  harbour,  the  boldness  of  its  bluff"  promon- 
tories (called  the  Sutors) — the  opposing  disjoined  members  of 
the  coast  line — and  which  protect  it  from  the  blasts  of  the 
north-east,  south,  and  west,  and  for  the  exceeding  beauty  and 
fertility  of  its  neighbourhood.  At  morning's  glow  it  hails  the 


ROUTE  V.  B.  CROMARTY.  449 

sun,  rising,  between  the  Sutors,  from  the  bed  of  the  German 
Ocean,  and  at  even  it  beholds  his  level  rays  gilding  the  massive 
shoulders  of  Ben  Wyvis,  and  burnishing  the  broad  retiring 
waters  of  its  own  inland  firth.  Cromarty  is  often  a  stirring 
place,  and  a  refuge  in  storms  to  all  vessels  which  may  be  out 
on  the  adjoining  seas.  It  has  a  fine  pier  and  lighthouse,  and  a 
beautiful  esplanade,  and  has  a  good  beach  for  sea-bathers.  It 
contains  also  a  manufactory  for  bagging,  one  or  two  timber 
yards,  several  cooperages,  a  brewery,  two  banks,  and  a  depot 
for  pickled  salmon  and  for  the  other  produce  of  the  country, 
which  is  collected  here  previous  to  being  carried  away  to  the 
southern  markets  by  the  Inverness  trading  vessels  and  steamers. 
A  considerable  trade  in  pork  has  for  fifty  years  been  carried  on 
at  Cromarty :  the  annual  value  now  cured  may  be  from  ,£5000 
to  £10,000.  The  import  and  export  trade  of  Ross- shire  for- 
merly passed  through  this  town ;  but  the  erection  of  a  harbour 
at  the  more  convenient  and  central  port  of  Invergordon  has,  of 
late,  diverted  it  very  much ;  and  the  many  ruinous  and  totter- 
ing buildings  in  Cromarty  indicate,  that  unless  a  new  spur  to 
its  commerce  is  found  out,  its  glory  will  speedily  depart.  The 
estate  on  which  it  is  situated  has  been,  till  very  recently,  under 
trust,  and  the  subject  of  litigation,  which  also  of  course  mar 
the  prosperity  of  the  whole  neighbourhood.  It  now  belongs  to 
the  family  of  Mrs.  Rose  Ross.  As  at  Rosemarkie,  Fortrose,  and 
Dingwall,  the  ancient  cross  of  Cromarty  is  still  standing,  though 
it  is  perhaps  questionable  whether  the  worthy  burghers  should 
be  allowed  to  retain  any  such  mark  of  distinction,  their  ances- 
tors having,  through  their  simplicity,  and  little  estimation  of 
those  political  honours  for  the  acquisition  of  which  people  now- 
a-days  manifest  such  inordinate  zeal,  resigned  to  his  Majesty 
King  Charles  II.  their  privilege  of  presenting  a  delegate  to  par- 
liament. Cromartyshire  is  now  united  with  Ross. 

6.  Macbeth  was  Thane  of  Cromarty  or  Crombathi,*  and  Cro- 
marty House  stands  on  the  site  of  the  old  castle  of  the  Earls  of 
Ross.     The  seaward  quarters  of  the  town  are  inhabited  by  a 
colony  of  fishermen,  who  go  ten  or  twelve  miles  out  to  sea  to 
the  haddock  and  herring  banks,  where  they  find  their  perilous 
livelihood.     A  friend  and  fellow  townsman  of  their  own,  Mr. 
Hugh  Miller,  their  most  interesting  and  graphic  historian,  a 
few  years  ago,  among  his  other  writings,  published  an  account 
*  The  curved  or  crooked  bay. 
U  2 


450  TRADITIONS  OF  CROMARTY.  SECT.  VII. 

of  these  hardy  fishermen ;  from  which  we  extract  the  following 
notices  of  the  former  history  of  the  town  of  Cromarty : — 

"  James  the  Sixth  attempted  to  civilize  the  Highlands  and 
Isles,  by  colonising  them  with  people  brought  from  the  southern 
counties  of  the  kingdom ;  and  his  first  experiment,  says  Robert- 
son, was  made  in  the  Isle  of  Lewis,  where,  as  the  station  was 
conveniently  situated  for  prosecuting  the  fishing  trade,  he  settled 
a  colony  brought  from  the  shores  of  Fife.  The  historian  adds 
further,  that  the  project  miscarried  in  this  instance,  through 
the  jealousy  of  the  islanders,  who  were  alike  unwilling  to  for- 
sake their  old  habits,  or  to  acquire  new ;  and  that  it  was  alto- 
gether abandoned  on  the  accession  of  James  to  the  throne  of 
England.  That  Cromarty  was  originally  peopled  by  some  such 
colony,  appears  at  the  least  probable,  from  the  following  cir- 
cumstances. The  surnames  of  the  oldest  families  in  it  are  pecu- 
liar to  the  southern  counties  of  Scotland ;  and  the  Gaelic  lan- 
guage, though  that  of  the  adjacent  country,  was  scarcely  known 
in  it  prior  to  the  erection  of  its  hemp  manufactory. 

"  At  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  early  in  the 
eighteenth,  the  herring  fishery  of  Cromarty  was  very  success- 
ful ;  and  the  era  of  the  Union  is  still  spoken  of  as  the  time  of 
the  '  herring  drove.' 

"  During  the  era  of  the  '  herring  drove,'  Cromarty  was  a 
place  of  considerable  commercial  importance.  I  have  heard 
from  old  men,  that  at  the  beginning  of  the  last  century,  not 
less  than  five  three-masted  vessels  belonged  to  it,  besides  others 
of  lesser  size.  Like  many  of  the  trading  towns  of  Scotland,  it 
suffered  from  the  Union,  and  the  failure  of  the  herring  fishing 
completed  its  ruin.  It  fell  so  low  before  the  year  1730,  that  a 
single  shopkeeper,  who  was  not  such  literally,  for  in  the  sum- 
mer season  he  travelled  the  country  as  a  pedlar,  more  than  sup- 
plied the  inhabitants.  It  is  a  singular  fact,  that  the  tide  now 
flows  twice  every  twenty-four  hours  over  the  spot  once  occupied 
by  his  shop. 

"  Those  acquainted  with  the  natural  history  of  the  herring, 
know  that  it  is  not  uncommon  for  it  to  desert  on  the  sudden  its 
accustomed  haunts. 

"  Cromarty,  as  I  have  stated,  after  the  failure  of  its  herring 
fishery,  dwindled  into  a  place  of  no  importance ;  and  its  excel- 
lent harbour,  which,  as  an  old  black-letter  folio  states,  was  so 
early  as  the  sixteenth  century  '  callit  by  Scottish  folks  the  haill 


ROUTE  V.  B.          TRADITIONS  OF  CROMARTY.  451 

(health)  of  seamen,'  proved  of  value  only  to  a  few  half-employed 
fishermen,  or  to  the  voyager  driven  from  his  course  by  tempest. 
This  change  materially  affected  the  character  of  the  inhabitants. 

"  Unsuccessful  exertion  is  naturally  succeeded  by  inert  apathy, 
a  mood  the  most  unfavourable  both  to  learning  and  the  arts. 
During  the  era  of  the  '  herring  drove,'  strange  as  it  may  seem, 
there  were  fishermen  in  Cromarty  who  were  no  contemptible 
scholars.  There  is  a  tradition  that  one  of  the  Urquharts 
(extensive  proprietors  in  the  neighbourhood)  of  that  time, 
when  sauntering  along  the  shore,  accompanied  by  two  guests, 
gentlemen  from  England,  asked  a  fisherman  he  met  several 
questions  in  Latin,  and  to  the  surprise  of  the  visitors  received 
prompt  answers  in  the  same  language.  In  the  age  which  suc- 
ceeded, education  among  this  class  was  entirely  neglected.  No- 
thing can  give  a  stronger  conception  of  their  nerveless  apathy 
than  the  fact  that  children  of  the  men  who,  their  rank  in  life 
considered,  were  both  learned  and  intelligent,  scarcely  knew  that 
the  world  extended  more  than  a  thousand  miles  round  the  plact 
of  their  nativity.  Though  inhabitants  of  a  sea-port  town,  they 
believed  that  at  the  distance  of  a  few  weeks'  sailing  the  ocean 
was  bounded  by  the  horizon,  and  that  all  beyond  was  darkness : 
but  though  thus  ignorant,  not  Virgil  himself  was  better  ac- 
quainted with  the  signs  of  the  weather,  or  could  tell  more  truly 
when  storms  or  calms  might  be  expected. 

"  The  domestic  economy  of  the  people  at  this  age  is  deserv- 
ing of  notice.  Their  clothing  they  manufactured  themselves. 
Every  half-dozen  neighbours  had  a  boat,  and  every  family  a 
strip  of  land.  The  latter  supplied  them  with  bread,  and  by  the 
former  they  supplied  themselves  with  fish.  At  midsummer, 
when  cod,  ling,  mackerel,  &c.,  are  to  be  caught  near  the  shore, 
it  was  customary  for  them  to  sail  to  Tarbet  Ness,  an  excellent 
fishing  station,  twenty  miles  north  of  Cromarty,  and  stay  there 
for  several  weeks,  laying  up  store  for  winter.  The  day  was  oc- 
cupied in  fishing ;  at  night  they  moored  their  boats  and  con- 
verted the  sails  into  tents.  In  autumn  the  more  enterprising 
among  them  formed  parties,  and  scoured  the  firth  in  quest  of 
herrings.  During  the  time  of  the  '  drove,'  a  premium  of  twenty 
pounds  Scots  was  awarded  every  season  to  the  boat's  crew  that 
caught  the  first  barrel  of  fish.  This  premium  (I  have  not 
learned  from  what  quarter  it  came)  was  afterwards  much  more 
the  object  of  the  fishermen  than  the  herrings  themselves ;  but 


452  TRADITIONS    OP    CROMARTY.  SECT.  VII. 

it  was  not  every  season  they  caught  enough  to  entitle  them  to 
it.  The  grandfather  of  the  writer,  a  man  who  witnessed  the 
smoke  of  Culloden  from  the  hill  of  Cromarty,  and  who,  in  his 
eighty-fifth  year,  possessed  all  his  faculties,  bodily  and  mental, 
frequently  made  one  in  these  parties.  I  have  often,  when  a 
child,  stood  by  his  knee,  listening  with  an  intense  interest  to 
his  minute  characteristic  details  of  men  and  times,  which  were 
unknown  almost  to  every  other  person  living.  From  his  nar- 
ratives, and  the  knowledge  I  have  acquired  of  the  character  of 
the  present  age,  I  find  data  to  conclude,  that  in  the  last  ninety 
years,  there  has  been  a  change  in  the  manners  and  habits  of 
the  inhabitants  of  this  part  of  the  country,  greater  beyond  com- 
parison than  any  other  that  has  taken  place  among  them  since 
the  era  of  the  Reformation.  The  men  of  the  present  age  in  the 
north  of  Scotland  are  much  more  unlike  their  predecessors  of 
the  reign  of  Queen  Anne  and  George  the  First,  than  the  latter 
were  to  the  people  who  lived  there  three  hundred  years  before. 
To  give  a  detail  of  the  signs  of  this  change,  to  examine  into  the 
various  causes  which  effected  it,  and  to  consider  and  balance  its 
advantages  and  disadvantages,  physical  and  moral,  would  be  a 
work  of  interest,  and,  as  the  subject  now  presents  to  me,  one 
not  of  great  difficulty." 

The  writer  from  whom  this  extract  is  taken  is  now  well 
known  to  the  public  as  a  poet,  a  man  of  science,  and  a  reviewer ; 
and  Mr.  Miller's  work  on  the  "  Old  Red  Sandstone,"  and  his 
"  Foot-prints  of  the  Creator,  or  the  Ostrolepis  of  Stromness," 
will  long  be  popular  proofs  that  we  may  find  "  sermons  in  stones, 
and  good  in  everything." 

7.  In  summer  a  two-horse  coach  runs  daily  to  and  from  In- 
verness and  Dingwall  by  Kessock,  or  by  Beauly,  and  proceeds 
up  Strathpeffer,  for  and  with  passengers  visiting  the  mineral 
wells.  Another  coach  used,  in  favourable  and  busy  seasons,  to 
proceed  from  Kessock  by  Avoch  and  Fortrose  to  Cromarty,  but 
for  the  present  it  has  been  discontinued.*  The  London,  Leith, 
and  Inverness  steamers  regularly  call  at  Invergordon  and  Cro- 
marty, landing  passengers  and  goods  by  the  way  at  Fortrose 
and  Fort- George ;  and  a  small  steamer  has  lately  been  intro- 
duced solely  for  the  Moray  Firth  and  Sutherlandshire  coasting 
trade. 

A  packet-boat  in  summer  sails  daily  between  Nairn  and 
*  The  post  gig,  carrying  three  passengers,  now  supersedes  it. 


ROUTE  V.  B.    URQUHARTS  OF  CROMARTY. 


453 


Cromarty  (fare  for  a  single  passenger  being  2s.,  or  about  15s. 
for  the  boat),  and  another  twice  a-week  between  Fortrose  and 
Inverness.* 

8.  Three  miles  westward  of  Cromarty,  by  a  good  road,  the 
tourist  will  reach  a  pier  and  ferry,  where  a  boat  may  be  had  for 
Invergordon,  and  into  which  carriages  and  horses  can  be  safely 
taken.  We  pass  on  the  way  Pointzfield  (Sir  G.  Gr.  Munro), 
Braerlangwell  (General  Sir  Hugh  Fraser),  and  New  Hall  (Shaw 


Sculptured  Stone  at  Sandwick. 

Esq.),  and  the  interesting  remains  of  the  old  church  of  Kirkmi- 
chael,  so  picturesquely  described  by  Mr.  Miller.  A  district  road 
proceeds  westwards  past  the  modern  kirk  and  manse  of  Resolis, 
which  joins  the  main  post  road  from  Inverness  to  Thurso,  near 
Scudel  bridge,  one  branch  of  it,  already  mentioned,  striking 

*  The  antiquary  should  not  omit,  while  at  Cromarty,  crossing  to  Nigg,  and  seeing 
the  beautiful  sculptured  stone  cross  in  the  churchyard  there,  and  the  similar  ones  at 
Hilton  and  Sandwick,  five  or  six  miles  to  the  eastward.  They  resemble  the  great 
carved  pillar  at  Forres ;  but  are  in  some  respects  more  interesting  and  beautiful,  the 
figures  on  them  being  more  distinctly  Christian.  The  geologist,  also,  will  find  the 
ichthyolite  beds,  so  fully  illustrated  by  Mr.  Miller,  at  low  water,  in  the  bay  between 
the  town  and  the  Sutor  of  Cromarty ;  the  lias  and  fish  beds  at  jEthie,  beyond  the 
Sutor,  on  the  margin  of  the  Moray  Firth ;  and  the  nearest  cliff  to  the  ferry-house  on 
the  Nigg  shore,  exhibits  the  line  of  junction  of  the  primary  with  the  red  sandstone 
and  fish  beds,  which  enabled  Mr.  Miller  to  determine  the  true  position  of  the  latter, 
and  which  he  regards  as  displaying  an  epitome  of  the  geology  of  the  whole  north  of 
Scotland,  and  especially  of  Caithness-shire. 


454         ROADS  TO  WEST  COAST  OP  ROSS-SHIRE.         SECT.  VII. 

across  the  hill  southwards,  past  Belmaduthy,  the  beautiful  re- 
sidence of  Sir  Evan  Mackenzie  of  Kilcoy,  to  Munlochy,  and  the 
other  proceeding  by  Findon  and  the  shore  side  to  Alcaig  Ferry, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Conon.  This  road  is  interesting,  as 
it  commands  most  extensive  and  beautiful  views  of  Easter  Ross 
and  Ferindonald,  and  at  its  western  extremity,  looks  right  into 
the  long  vista  of  Strathpeffer,  having  the  town  of  Dingwall 
most  suitably  placed  at  its  entrance,  and  in  the  centre  of  the 
picture.  Beneath  the  road,  likewise,  we  see  the  ruins  of  the 
ancient  church  and  grave-yard  of  Cullicudden — the  old  Bishop's 
palace  of  Castle  Craig — and  the  site  of  a  church  dedicated  to 
St.  Martin  of  Tours.  The  whole  district,  in  fact,  was  a  very 
early  seat  of  the  church  (probably  from  the  seventh  century), 
and  when  her  earthly  power  fell,  it  was  taken  up  by  the  wild 
iron-fisted  barons — the  Urquharts  of  Cromarty — the  gable  of  one 
of  whose  mansions  at  Kinbeachy,  with  the  date  on  it  of  the 
middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  is  still  standing ;  and  hard  by, 
9  cottage  contains  one  of  their  monumental  tablets,  showing, 
from  its  astrological  dates  and  signs,  their  learning,  and  probable 
connection  with  the  superstitions  of  diabolrie,  or,  as  the  people 
called  it,  the  "  black  art." 


•     ROUTE  SIXTH.— BRANCH  C. 

DINOWALL  TO  THE  WESTERN  COAST  OF  BOSS-SHIRE. 

Strathpeffcr;  Knockfarrel ;  Mineral  Well,  1.— Castle  Leod;  Auchterneed;  Enlist- 
ment; Eaven  Rock,  2.— Ben  Wyvis;  Rare  Plants ;  White  Hare,  3.— Battle  of  Blar- 
na-Parc ;  The  Turning  Stone,  4.— Contin ;  Coul,  5. — Excursion  to  the  Falls  of  the 
Conon  and  Scuirvullin ;  Tor  and  Loch  Echiltie ;  Comrie ;  Scatwell ;  Loch  Luichart ; 
Scuir  Marxy,  6.— Strathconon ;  The  Black  Rocks,  ?.— Scuirvullin,  8.— Short  Route 
to  the  West  Coast,  9. — Strath  and  Loch  Garve ;  Falls  of  Rogie ;  Sheep  Farming, 
10.— Loch  Luichart;  Strath  Bran;  Loch  Carron,  11. — Road  to  Ullapool,  Strath 
Birie,  and  Dirie  More ;  Loch  Fannich ;  Strath  and  Loch  Broom ;  Croft  System ; 
Fisheries,  12. — Ullapool,  13. — Routes  from  Ullapool,  Coigach,  Little  Loch  Broom, 
Loch  Greinord ;  Road  to  Poolewe,  14. — Road  to  Auchnasheen ;  Loch  Torridon,  15. 
— Loch  Maree,  16.— Gairloch ;  Flowerdale ;  Poolewe,  17. — Roads  to  Shieldaig  and 
Applecross ;  The  Beallach ;  Applecross,  18. 

To  Kyle  Akin. 

Mile*. 

Contin   7 

Strathgarve,  or  Garve  Inn 1\ 

Auchnanault  (good)   11 


ROUTE  VI.  C.  STRATHPEFFER.  455 

Mile*. 

Auchnasheen  (inn  now  removed)  ..............................  5 

Luip  (public-  house)  ................................................  * 

Craig,        do.)  ......................................................  8 

Jeantown  (good  inn)  ........................  -  ...................  9 

Strome  Ferry  .....................................................  5 

Kyle  Akin  ............................................................  12 


To  Ullapool. 

Strathgarve  Inn  ...................................................  14 

Glascarnock  (public-house)   ....................................  12 

Fascrinich  (public-house  now  removed  nearly  a  mile  far- 

ther on,  to  Braemore)  ..........................................  13 

Ardcarnich  (public  -house)  .......................................  7 

Ullapool  ...............................................................  5 

51 

To  Poolewe. 
Auchnasheen    ......................................................  30J 

Kinloch  Ewe  (new  inn)  ..........................................  12 

SSSf  }  *•»—  ....................................  {'! 

(By  new  road.) 
Slatadale  to  Gairloch  Inn  ...........................    8 

Gairloch  to  Poolewe  ....................................    5 

13 

60| 

To  Shieldaig. 
Jeantown  ............................................................  50£ 

Kishorn  ...................................................     5  5 

Applecross  ................................................  12 

Shieldaig  ................................................  9 

17  64 


1.  FROM  Dingwall,  the  main  parliamentary  road  to  the  west 
coast  of  Ross-shire  proceeds  through  a  succession  of  valleys, 
extending  nearly  to  about  the  same  length  as  the  great  glen  of 
Inverness-shire.  The  first  of  these  is  Strathpeffer,  stretching 
five  miles  westward  from  Dingwall.  It  was,  till  within  a  few 
years,  a  low  marshy  valley,  occupied  by  stagnant  waters,  large 
reeds,  and  a  few  stunted  alders.  Now  it  yields  the  most  luxu- 
riant crops  of  grain,  and  is  one  of  the  richest  and  best-peopled 
districts  in  the  country.  On  one  side  the  parks  and  woods  of 
Tulloch  Castle  (D.  Davidson,  Esq.)  diversify  the  front  of  the 
hill  which  intervenes  between  the  strath  and  the  base  of  the 


106  STRATHPEFFER  MINERAL  WELLS.  SECT.  VII. 

mountain  Ben  Wyvis ;  and,  on  the  other,  the  ridge,  significantly 
called  Druimchat,  or  the  cat's  back,  which  separates  the  valley 
from  the  policies  of  Brahan  and  Strathconon  is  crowned  with 
the  vitrified  fortress  of  Knockfarrel,  one  of  the  most  celebrated 
and,  at  the  same  "time,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  strongly 
marked  hill-forts  in  the  country. 

The  vitrified  rampart  at  top  encloses  an  oval  area  about  140 
yards  long  by  40  wide,  with  breastworks  proceeding  down  the 
adjoining  slopes.  There  was  a  well  or  tank  for  rain-water  on 
the  summit ;  and  the  sections  made  long  ago  by  Williams,  one 
of  the  earliest  writers  on  these  forts,  still  remain  open,  and 
show  the  great  extent  of  the  vitrified  matter,  which  is  in  some 
places  from  eight  to  ten  feet  deep.  The  fir  woods  stretching 
down  from  the  southern  side  of  this  station  embosom  a  beautiful 
little  lake  (Loch  Ousie),  with  tree-clad  islands  and  promontories, 
and  which,  especially  from  the  southern  shore,  displays  magni- 
ficent views  of  Ben  Wyvis,  with  a  soft  and  rich  foreground. 

Strathpeffer  has,  of  late  years,  become  a  fashionable  water- 
ing-place. Near  Dingwall  it  contains  some  chalybeate  springs, 
which,  however,  are  not  much  used ;  but  at  the  opposite 
extremity  of  the  valley  a  handsome  pump-room  has  been 
erected  over  a  well  strongly  impregnated  with  sulphureted 
hydrogen  gas,  and  which  is  recommended  as  a  cure  for  a  great 
many  diseases.  Dr.  Thomson,  of  Glasgow,  on  analysing  this 
water,  found  that,  while  a  quantity  of  it  holds  twenty-seven 
cubic  inches  of  sulphureted  hydrogen  gas,  a  like  quantity  of 
the  celebrated  Harrowgate  water  contains  only  about  twenty 
cubic  inches.  In  the  Strathpeffer  Spa  several  saline  ingredients 
also  exist,  which  add  much  to  its  medicinal  properties.  The 
following  are  the  results  of  Dr.  Thomson's  analysis  of  the  well, 
till  lately  principally  used  ;  but  adjoining  it  an  older  and  much 
stronger  and  more  abundant  spring  has  this  season  (1850)  been 
found. 

An  imperial  gallon  of  the  water  attached  to  the  pump- 
room  yielded — 

Sulphureted  hydrogen  gas,  13-659  cubic  inches. 

Sulphate  of  soda  52-710  grains. 

Sulphate  of  lime  30-686 

Common  salt  19-233 

Sulphate  of  magnesia  4-855 

107-484 


ROUTE  VI.  C.   STRATHPEFFER  MINERAL  WELLS.        457 

Until  of  late  years  strangers  found  much  difficulty  in  obtain- 
ing lodgings  in  the  vicinity  of  this  well.  Several  villas  and 
neatly  built  houses,  however,  are  now  springing  up  about  the 
place  ;  and  there  are  two  good  inns,  at  one  of  which,  the  Spa 
Hotel,  visitors  often  arrange  to  mess  together  at  a  common 
table,  when  the  charge  for  board  and  lodging  is  two  guineas 
a-week  for  each  person.  In  summer,  private  lodgings  near  the 
well  cost  from  10s.  6d.  to  21s.  and  50s.  a-week.  The  season  for 
drinking  the  waters  in  greatest  perfection  extends  from  the 
month  of  May  till  October.  Their  valuable  properties  are  un- 
doubtedly derived  from  the  bituminous  rock  through  which 
the  waters  flow,  and  which  is  a  member  of  the  old  red  sand- 
stone formation.  Composing  the  hill  of  Tulloch  on  the  northern 
boundary  of  Strathpeffer,  the  rock  passes  by  Castle  Leod,  and 
assumes  its  most  characteristic  form  on  the  estate  of  Coul,  that 
of  a  dark-coloured  calcareo-bituminous  schist,  soft  and  foliated, 
and  frequently  much  contorted  and  mixed  with  beds  of  shale, 
abounding  with  pyrites,  or  sulphuret  of  iron,  the  rapid  decom- 
position of  which  by  water  obviously  gives  rise  to  the  medici- 
nal springs.  This  rock  displays  most  singular  and  unaccountable 
contortions,  more  numerous  and  varied  in  aspect  and  position 
than  almost  any  other  rock  in  the  Highlands.  It  also  con- 
tains, in  a  few  places,  some  small  pieces  of  pure  hard  bitumen, 
which  have  occasionally  been  collected,  and  used  as  coal  by  the 
tenantry  on  the  Tulloch  and  Cromertie  properties,  on  which  it 
is  found.  This  anthracitic  coal  has  also  been  discovered  on  the 
ridge  north-west  of  the  Dun  of  Castle  Leod  imbedded  in  pri- 
mary gneiss  rocks,  a  most  unusual  occurrence. 

2.  The  greater  portion  of  Strathpeffer  formed  part  of  the 
estates  of  the  old  Earls  of  Cromarty  (Mackenzies),  which  now 
belong  to  the  Marchioness  of  Stafford,  one  of  whose  residences, 
Castle  Leod,  is  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Spa.  Placed 
near  the  base  of  a  round-topped  ward-hill,  and  surrounded  with 
avenues  and  clumps  of  tall  "  ancestral  trees,"  and  large  parks, 
which  conduct  to  the  entrance  of  an  alpine  valley  and  rivulet 
immediately  to  the  westward,  and  which  form  a  convenient 
pass  on  the  ascent  of  Ben  Wyvis,  Castle  Leod  presents  as  truly 
venerable  and  baronial  an  appearance  as  any  residence  in  the 
Highlands.* 

*  A  single  chesnut  tree  here  was  lately  thrown  down  by  the  wind,  which  measured 
21  feet  in  girth  at  the  ground,  and  18  feet  breast  high. 


458  BEN  WYVIS.  SECT.  VII. 

Opposite  the  castle  is  the  small  rural  village  of  Auchter- 
need,  which  straggles  up  the  hill  side  with  its  little  patches  of 
corn  land,  originally  allotments  to  the  hardy  veterans  who  re- 
turned unscathed  from  the  great  American  war.  There  are  a 
few  still  alive  who  remember  the  enrolment  of  the  Highland 
corps  ;  and  it  but  ill  assorts  with  the  free  notions  of  the  pre- 
sent day  to  think  of  the  manner  in  which  they  were  embodied. 
Their  landlord,  Lord  Macleod,  fixed  a  day  for  meeting  his 
people  at  the  castle ;  and  taking  the  rent-roll  of  the  estate,  his 
factor  and  he  arranged  the  number  of  young  men  that  could  be 
spared  from  each  farm  and  homestead,  and  then  announcing 
their  resolves  to  the  tenantry,  their  behests  were  most  unhesi- 
tatingly and  thankfully  acceded  to. 

3.  Ben  Wyvis,  or  Ben  Uaish,  "  the  Mountain  of  Storm,"  is 
of  easy  ascent,  but  from  the  quantity  of  mossy  ground  at  its 
base,  and  the  great  breadth  of  its  shoulders,  an  excursion  to  its 
summit  is  generally  regarded  as  very  tiresome.  Visitors  may 
avoid  much  of  the  fatigue  by  riding  part  or  most  of  the  way, 
provided  they  can  procure  ponies  accustomed  to  soft  hilly 
ground.  From  the  summit  the  view  of  course  is  most  exten- 
sive ;  and  a  hundred-fold  worth  all  the  labour  of  climbing  to 
it.  Ben  Wyvis  is  the  king  of  Ross-shire  mountains,  and,  indeed, 
of  all  the  mountains  on  this  side  of  the  island  ;  but  its  impor- 
tance arises  less  from  its  altitude  (by  the  late  government  tri- 
gonometrical survey  ascertained  to  be  3426  feet,  being  less  than 
that  of  Ben  Dearig,  on  Loch  Broom,  which  is  3551  feet)  than 
from  its  enormous  lateral  bulk,  and  extensive  ramifications. 
The  noble  proprietrix,  however,  need  never  be  apprehensive  of 
being  unable  to  yield  the  return  for  which  it  is  said  she  holds 
the  mountain  from  her  Majesty,  that  of  producing  a  snow-ball 
from  its  conies  on  any  day  of  the  year.  On  the  ascent,  the 
pedestrian  will  be  annoyed  at  the  immense  extent  of  mossy 
broken  ground  at  the  base  ;  but  after  passing  the  first  snow 
wreaths  in  Aultcunire,  which  we  recommend  as  the  easiest 
track,  he  will  find  the  whole  upper  acclivities  deeply  covered 
with  a  firm  elastic  moss,  and  from  the  cairn  on  the  top,  he  may 
approach  and  look  down  the  cliffs  of  Corie-na-feol  or  the  Flesh 
Corry,  from  the  number  of  deer  and  cattle  that  used  to  tumble 
into  it,  and  which  has  of  late  been  a  very  fertile  ground  of  liti- 
gation, more  expensive  many  times  over  than  its  intrinsic  value. 
Moorfowl  and  ptarmigan  abound  on  the  heights,  and  white  or 


ROUTE  VI.  C.       BEN  WF/VIS STRATHPEFFEE.  459 

alpine  hares  are  also  numerous.  They  burrow  and  bring  forth 
their  young  in  holes  under  the  peat  banks,  and  their  habits  are 
quite  intermediate  between  those  of  the  common  hare  and 
rabbit ;  when  disturbed  they  run  first  for  a  short  distance, 
and  then  sit  up  on  their  hind  legs  and  look  at  the  intruder  as 
a  tame  rabbit  would.  Ben  Wyvis  is  composed  of  slaty  gneiss, 
with  numerous  large  veins  of  horneblende  and  granite,  and  inter- 
mixed with  garnets.  To  the  botanist  this  mountain  is  chiefly 
interesting  for  the  earlier  spring  flowers,  as  Saxifraga  oppositi- 
folia,  Arbutus  alpina,  Azalea  procumbens,  Betula  nana,  &c.,  and 
for  its  mosses,  and  as  a  habitat  for  the  scarce  grass,  Alopecurus 
alpinus.  The  lower  straths  and  woods  are  more  prolific  in  rare 
species.  Thus  in  the  woods  of  Brahan,  Linncea  borealis  occurs 
in  great  beauty,  and  in  the  Coul  fir  wood,  about  a  mile  to  the 
west  of  the  Strathpeffer  pump-room,  the  extremely  scarce  and 
beautiful  little  bell  flower  the  Pyrola  uniflora,  has  been  de- 
tected in  two  or  three  large  patches,  as  also  Corallohiza  innata, 
Malaxis  paludosa,  and  Lycopodium  inundatun. 

4.  Strathpeffer,  now  the  resort  of  the  fair  and  the  gay,  as 
well  as  of  the  sick  and  decrepit,  was,  in  days  of  yore,  about  the 
year  1478,  the  scene  of  a  bloody  conflict  between  the  Macdonalds 
of  the  west  coast  and  the  Mackenzies,  who  were  aided  by  parties 
of  their  neighbours,  the  Dingwalls,  Baynes,  Maccullochs,  and 
Frasers,  in  which  the  latter  were  victorious.  Gillespie  Mac- 
donald  the  nephew,  or,  as  some  say,  the  brother  of  the  Lord  of 
the  Isles,  headed  one  party,  and  the  chief  of  the  Mackenzies, 
whose  residence  stood  on  an  island  in  the  small  adjoining  lake 
of  Kinellan,  commanded  his  troops  in  person. 

This  chief  had,  for  a  slight  offence,  repudiated  his  wife,  a 
sister  of  the  Macdonald,  and  married  another  lady,  a  daughter 
of  Lord  Lovat.  The  clan,  in  revenge  for  the  injured  honour  of 
their  chieftain  Macdonald,  laid  waste  the  lands  of  the  Macken- 
zies. It  is  said  they  were  challenged  by  the  latter  to  meet  them 
on  this  spot,  and  the  combat  which  ensued  was  most  desperate. 
A  thousand  of  the  Islesmen  were  either  killed  or  drowned  in  the 
river  Conon  while  attempting  to  escape.  This  conflict  is  gene- 
rally known  as  the  battle  of  Blar-na-caun  or  Blar-na-Parc,  and 
was  immediately  followed  by  the  utter  downfall  of  the  Mac- 
donalds, Earls  of  Ross,  and  the  complete  establishment  of  the 
power  of  the  Mackenzies.  Kenneth-y-vlair,  the  conqueror  in 
this  battle,  was  afterwards  knighted  by  James  IV.,  and  was 


4'Vi  STRATHPEFFER.  SECT.  VII. 

buried  at  Beauly  ;  and,  being  succeeded  by  his  son  Kenneth  Oig, 
(or  the  younger,)  his  estates  were  long  managed  by  Hector,  the 
uncle  of  the  latter,  and  who  was  founder  of  the  house  of  Gair- 
loch.  During  his  tutory,  Sir  William  Monro  of  Foulis,  harassed 
the  Mackenzies,  and  it  is  said  even  carried  off  by  force  Seaforth's 
lady  ;  but  the  tutor  of  Kintail  finally  defeated  him  on  the  ridge 
of  Knockfarrel,  and  the  spot  where  the  Monroes  and  their  allies 
first  gave  way,  is  marked  (a  little  below  the  pump  room)  by  a 
stone  pillar  with  an  eagle — the  Monroes'  crest,  rudely  carved 
on  it,  and  which  is  called  Clachan-Tiom-pan,  or  the  turning 
stone.  This  neighbourhood  would  admit  of  a  guide-book  for 
itself,  so  rich  is  it  in  varied  and  interesting  scenery  and  tradi- 
tionary story,  and  we  have  dwelt  rather  much  in  detail,  as 
Strathpeffer  is  now  a  place  of  great  resort.  As  our  limits  are 
circumscribed,  we  will  only  at  present  add,  that  Episcopacy  was 
long  of  giving  way  here,  and  even  after  its  overthrow,  some  of 
its  old  nonjuring  clergy  were  quietly  permitted  to  enjoy  their 
stipends  till  their  deaths.  At  Fodderty,  however,  the  people 
for  a  long  time,  defied  the  Presbytery  ;  and  at  every  attempt 
even  for  years  after  the  beginning  of  last  century  to  settle  a 
minister,  the  old  wives  stoned  him  back  and  would  not  permit 
him  to  enter  the  church. 

5.  Quitting  Strathpeffer,  the  road  again  brings  us  to  the 
banks  of  the  Conon,  passing  by  the  beautiful  manse  and  island 
of  Contin,  and  the  mansion-house  of  Coul  (Sir  Alexander  S. 
Mackenzie,  Bart).      This  is  the  proper  and  finest  native  wood- 
land district  of  Ross-shire,  and  is,  at  the  same  time,  greatly 
diversified  with  alpine  and  lake  scenery,  and  fertile  cultivated 
fields. 

Crossing,  a  little  below  the  beautiful  residence  just  men- 
tioned, by  a  handsome  bridge,  over  the  river  Blackwater,  which 
flows  from  Loch  Garve,  lying  to  the  westward,  the  road  ascends 
the  birchen  height  on  the  west  bank  ;  but  on  passing  Contin 
Inn,  near  the  bridge,  a  branch  road  will  be  seen  deflecting  to  the 
south,  which  conducts  past  Loch  Echiltie  and  Comrie,  to  the 
falls  of  the  Conon,  and  the  strath  of  that  name.  As  we  would 
recommend  an  excursion  in  this  direction  to  the  visitors  of 
Strathpeffer,  as  well  as  to  tourists  generally,  we  will  here  endea- 
vour to  thread  them  through  its  various  beauties  as  succinctly 
and  accurately  as  we  can. 

6.  Behind  the  conflux  of  the  rivers  Conon  and  Blackwater, 


ROUTE  VI.  C.     TOR  AND  LOCH  ECHILTIE.  461 

which  unite  a  little  to  the  east  of  Contin  village,  a  broad  allu- 
vial flat  will  be  seen,  extending  to  the  base  of  a  beautiful 
rounded  birch  and  pine-clad  hill,  from  which  a  long  undulating 
ridge  declines  to  the  westward.  This  hill  is  called  Tor  Echiltie, 
and  is  an  excellent  botanical  habitat.  It  exhibits  an  interesting 
junction  of  the  old  red  sandstone  and  primitive  gneiss  rocks,  the 
former  being  seen  abutting  against  the  others  on  the  eastern 
frontlet,  at  a  high  angle  ;  while  all  along  its  base,  and  on  each 
side  of  the  adjoining  valleys,  the  eye  will  be  struck  with  a  suc- 
cession of  beautiful  terraced  banks,  on  which  several  sweetly- 
placed  cottages  have  been  erected.  A  private  drive  round  Tor 
Echiltie  to  the  southern  side,  proceeds  through  splendid  oak 
and  birch  copses,  overhanging  the  bed  of  the  river  Conon.  Re- 
turning, however,  to  the  branch  road  which,  as  we  mentioned, 
strikes  off"  at  the  inn  of  Contin,  on  the  Blackwater,  we  shall  find 
that  it  leads  us  past  the  pleasure-grounds  of  Craigdarroch,  lying 
at  the  base  of  an  oak-covered  rocky  bank  of  that  name,  to  Loch 
Echiltie,  an  exquisitely  beautiful  sheet  of  water,  about  three 
miles  in  circumference,  which  is  embosomed  among  birch-clad 
knolls,  formed  of  the  terminating  ridges  of  Tor  Echiltie  on  the 
south  side,  but  which,  on  the  opposite  hand,  rise  into  higher, 
and  bolder,  and  more  picturesque  eminences.  Two  or  three 
small  islets  at  the  lower  end,  and  several  wooded  promontories 
projecting  into  the  lake,  afford  beautiful  foregrounds  to  the 
view ;  while  the  extreme  distance  is  closed  in  by  the  sharp  blue- 
toned  peaks  of  Scuirvullin  in  Strathconon.  The  carriage-road 
keeps  along  the  northern  shore,  and  after  a  few  abrupt  ascents 
and  descents  among  the  birken  knolls,  it  leads  us  past  a  series 
of  little  circular  lochs  or  ponds,  (the  edges  of  which  are  sur- 
rounded by  magnificent  belts  of  the  broad-leaved  white  water- 
lily,  and  their  coves  the  nestling-places  of  water-fowl),  and  then 
ushers  us,  two  miles  on,  to  the  smooth  green  plain  of  Comrie, 
and  the  beautiful  pastoral  valley  of  Scatwell,  watered  by  the 
combined  streams  of  the  Meig  and  the  Conon.*  The  former 
river  flows  from  Strathconon,  which  lies  almost  due  south  from 
the  spectator,  its  direction  being  strongly  marked  by  the  great 
guardian  peaks  of  Scuirvullin ;  while  the  latter  is  found  to  turn 
to  the  right  hand,  and  is  discovered  to  proceed  through  an' 
opening  of  the  mountains  at  the  lower  end  of  Loch  Luichart. 

*  A  fine  heronry,  with  numerous  nests,  exists  in  an  island  on  a  lake  u  little  to  the 
north-west  of  Loch  Echiltie. 


462  SCUIR  MARXY — THE   BLACK   ROCKS.        SECT.  VII. 

This  lake,  which  is  celebrated  for  its  trout,  is  the  parent  reser- 
voir of  the  Conon,  which,  for  the  first  mile  of  its  course,  tumbles 
over  a  series  of  gneiss  rocks,  dashing  its  waters  through  them 
in  several  picturesque  low  cascades,  or  running  cataracts.  The 
bold  rocky  frontlet  which  overhangs  the  lake  and  these  falls  on 
the  southern  shore,  is  called  Scuir  Marxy  ;  and,  although  not 
above  1600  feet  high,  we  can  recommend  it  to  the  botanist  as 
exhibiting,  at  this  low  elevation,  several  interesting  and  truly 
alpine  plants,  as  Rubus  Chamcemorus,  Thalictrum  alpinum, 
Circea  alpina,  Arlutus  alpina,  and  in  connexion  with  the  ridges 
stretching  westward  to  Mossford,  whole  forests  of  the  suberect 
but  beautiful  dwarf  birch,  or  Bettda-nana.  Its  gneiss  rocks, 
also,  abound  in  large  crystals  of  shorl,  inclining  to  tourmaline. 
Tor  Echiltie  is  the  extreme  westward  limit  of  the  common 
whins  and  broom,  neither  of  which  are  found  as  native  plants 
further  inland,  nor  on  the  west  coast,  though  it  has  there  been 
extensively  introduced. 

7.  We  have  now  led  our  readers  six  or  seven  miles  westward 
from  Contin ;  and,  before  returning  to  the  main  road,  we  would 
advise  them  to  pursue  their  course  through  Strathconnon  to  the 
top  of  Scuirvullin,  which  lies  not  more  than  eight  miles  farther 
on.  A  ford  across  the  rivers  Conon  and  Meig  will  be  found  near 
their  junction,  through  which  horses  can  pass,  if  the  weather  is 
fine  and  dry;  but  the  regular  ferry-boat,  which  lies  a  little 
farther  down,  opposite  Milltown  of  Scatwell,  near  the  beautiful 
residence  of  Captain  Douglas,  will  be  preferred  by  strangers, 
especially  if  the  waters  are  high.  Attaining  the  southern  bank, 
a  fine  new  road,  which  commences  at  the  Muir  of  Ord  near 
Beauly,  where  it  leaves  the  main  post  road,  and  conducts  along 
the  side  of  the  valley,  leads  us,  a  mile  on,  over  a  high  and  bare 
rocky  ridge,  to  the  entrance  of  Strathconnon.  It  is  a  green, 
narrow,  pastoral  plain,  once  the  bed  of  an  ancient  lake,  the 
waters  of  which,  in  cutting  through  the  barrier  of  rock  at  the 
lower  end,  penetrated  to  a  great  depth,  and  formed  a  channel 
for  the  present  river  Meig,  which  here  presents  the  unusual  but 
very  interesting  appearance  of  a  continuous  cataract  nearly  a 
mile  in  length,  rushing  along  at  the  bottom  of  a  narrow,  savage 
gorge,  which  few  heads  can  bear  to  look  into.  Some  scattered 
birches,  oaks,  and  roan  trees  in  the  clefts  of  the  "  Black  Rocks," 
as  they  are  called,  give  us  an  index  to  their  height ;  and  perhaps 
the  passenger  in  the  summer  season  may  enjoy  the  additional 


ROUTE  VI.  C.         STRATHCONON SCUIRVULLIN.  463 

excitement  of  beholding  the  tenants  of  a  neighbouring  hamlet 
descend  these  steep  rocks  for  salmon,  which  they  catch  in  wicker 
baskets  suspended  over  the  falls  below,  or  which  they  spear 
while  resting  themselves  in  the  still  pools  and  eddies  at  the 
sides  of  the  river.  A  false  step  in  this  descent  would  prove 
instant  destruction ;  and  when  the  waters  are  swollen  with  rain, 
no  man  could  stand  against  their  stream  if  once  fairly  involved 
in  it. 

A  few  large  alder  trees  and  birch  copses  line  the  margin  of 
the  river  and  the  sides  of  the  valley  of  Strathconnon,  which  is 
seldom  half  a  mile  wide ;  but  which  retains  still  the  melancholy 
proofs  of  having  once  been  thickly  peopled,  in  the  numerous 
deserted  and  ruinous  houses  and  hamlets  strewn  over  its  now 
lonely  pastures.  Part  of  an  old  estate,  the  owners  of  which  were 
attainted  for  their  participating  in  the  rebellion  of  1745,  Strath- 
conon  has  never  since  regained  a  proprietor's  family,  attached 
by  old  recollections  and  kindly  services  to  the  poorer  inhabi- 
tants ;  and  being  long  in  the  hands  of  creditors,  and  exposed 
to  all  sorts  of  experiments  in  the  arts  of  sheep  and  cattle  graz- 
ing, many  fires  have  in  consequence  been  extinguished  in  it, 
which  were  rekindled  no  nearer  than  the  other  side  of  the 
Atlantic ;  and  gloomy,  therefore,  must  be  the  feelings  with 
which  the  stranger  will  now  trudge  on  over  its  almost  silent 
fields.  Several  rather  large  farm-steadings  and  shepherds' 
cottages,  however,  are  still  to  be  seen ;  and  when  the  tourist 
approaches  near  the  base  of  Scuirvullin,  he  will  descry  the  white 
walls  of  the  government  church,  and  the  neat,  respectable  manse 
of  the  minister  of  the  district,  with  the  large  shooting-lodge  of 
Mr.  Balfour,  the  recent  purchaser  of  the  estate,  near  to  which 
the  road  crosses  the  river  by  a  bridge,  but  as  yet  it  has  not  been 
carried  farther.* 

8.  Scuirvullin  may  be  ascended  without  a  guide,  and  the 
outer  breastwork,  which  composes  its  base,  may  be  scaled  along 
the  course  of  a  small  burn  immediately  to  the  north-west  of 
the  church.  This  is  the  most  arduous  part  of  the  ascent ;  for, 
having  surmounted  it,  the  higher  acclivity  is  found  to  be  a 
gently  inclined  and  mossy  plane,  which  is  nowise  steep.  Close 
by  the  summit  the  rocks  jut  out,  and,  for  a  short  way,  make 

*  Great  ijuantities  of  honey  are  raised  in  this  district ;  and  the  gardens  at  lower 
Scatwell  bring  to  perfection  almost  every  variety  of  fruit,  and  of  the  most  delicate 
foreign  flowering  shrubs. 


464  CONTIN — STRATH    BRAN.  SECT.  VII. 

the  ascent  to  the  highest  central  peak  more  abrupt.  The  other 
two  pinnacles,  which  are  much  sharper,  are  not  nearly  so  ac- 
cessible ;  and  the  eastern  one  is  separated  from  the  main  body 
of  the  mountain  by  a  deep,  circular  hollow  or  corry,  at  the  base 
of  which  lies  a  small  lake  or  tarn.  The  fundamental  breast- 
work composing  the  lower  acclivity  rises,  as  a  continuous  wall 
of  rock,  nearly  600  feet  high,  all  round  the  mountain ;  proceed- 
ing westward  past  Strath  Bran,  and  turning  thence  round  by 
Strath  Manie,  which  skirts  it  on  the  south,  it  deflects  into 
Strathconnon,  thus  shewing  the  mountain  to  be  isolated,  and 
contained  between  three  great  valleys,  its  circumference  extend- 
ing at  the  base  to  nearly  eighteen  miles.  Scuirvullin  is  an 
isolated  three-topped  mountain,  with  a  deep  corry  and  lake 
between  two  of  the  summits,  about  2500  feet  high,  and  it  con- 
sists entirely  of  micaceous  schist,  inclining  in  some  places  to 
gneiss.  All  the  common  alpine  plants  are  to  be  seen  on  it ;  but 
the  dryness  of  its  surface,  and  low  elevation,  prevent  our  recom- 
mending it  as  a  peculiarly  good  locality  for  the  examination  of 
the  botanist. 

9.  The  tourist  must  now  return  to  Contin  by  the  way  he 
left  it ;  but  if  desirous  of  gaining  the  main  road  from  Dingwall 
to  Loch  Carron,  he  can  proceed  directly  across  the  northern 
shoulder  of  Scuirvullin,  by  a  continuation  of  the  Strathconon 
road  into  Strath  Bran,  and  he  will  attain  his  object  after  cross- 
ing some  rather  soft  ground,  being  ushered  to  the  parliamentary 
road  half  way  between  Auchnanault  and  Auchnasheen.      The 
country  people,  in  passing  to  and  from  the  west  coast,  always 
adopt  this  route  ;   and,  from  experience,  we  can  assure  our 
readers  that  in  summer  it  is  quite  safe,  much  more  interesting, 
and  greatly  shorter  than  the  other,  especially  if  the  journey  is 
undertaken  from  Inverness  or  Beauly,  in  which  case  the  road 
by  Arcan,  Fairburn,  and  Strathconon,  should  be  exclusively 
followed.     But  to  return  to  the  Dingwall  road. 

10.  Ascending  from  Contin  towards  Strathgarve,  the  next 
valley  towards  the  west,  over  a  series  of  birch-clad  hills,  the 
picturesque  waterfalls  of  Eogie,  which  have  been  likened  to 
those  of  Tivoli  in  Italy,  present  themselves  in  the  river  below 
us,   and   to   which   the   proprietor  has  formed  an  accessible 
footpath,  and  connected   the  opposite  banks  by  a  neat  airy 
bridge,  now,  however,  requiring  to  be  repaired. 

Loch  Garve  is  a  fine  open  sheet  of  water,  with  extensive 


ROUTE  VI.  C.  LOCH  GAKVE — LOCH  LUICHAKT.       465 

green  meadows  and  plantations  at  the  west  end.  The  inn  is 
small,  but  comfortable ;  and  here,  whether  he  has  to  proceed  on 
to  Loch  Carron,  or  over  the  Dirie  More  to  Loch  Broom,  the 
traveller  takes  leave  of  the  cultivated  and  wooded  scenery. 
Those  immense  sheep-tracts  here  commence,  which  supply  the 
great  staple  commodity  of  this  county — the  farms  varying  in 
size,  being  capable  of  accommodating  from  2000  to  10,000  sheep, 
or  more,  some  of  them  occupying  whole  estates,  and  one  gentle- 
man having  almost  an  uninterrupted  sheep-walk  from  the  pas- 
tures of  Wyvis  to  the  western  sea.  One  hundred  pounds  is  the 
average  rent  applicable  to  the  pasture  of  1000  sheep ;  and  to 
shew  the  change  of  value  of  the  land,  we  may  mention,  that  the 
hill  grounds  of  Fannich,  were  rented,  not  above  70  years  ago, 
for  five  pounds,  while  they  now  yield  annually  nearly  as  many 
hundreds.  A  system  thus  requiring  the  land  to  be  exclusively 
and  quietly  devoted  to  the  "  beasts  of  the  field,"  could  not 
admit  the  presence  of  the  old  Highland  peasantry ;  and  hence 
they  have  had  to  emigrate,  or  to  be  crowded  into  small  ham- 
lets of  turf-built  huts,  each  with  a  croft  or  a  few  roods  of 
enclosed  arable  ground,  (for  which,  however,  they  pay  from 
three  to  five  guineas  a-year,  a  rent  which  the  land  itself  can- 
not produce),  or  they  are  still  found  densely  huddled  together 
on  some  bye  corner  or  promontory  of  the  west  coast,  where 
they  are  allowed  to  squat,  and  eke  out  a  livelihood  by 
fishing. 

11.  Loch  Luichart,  with  its  heaving  braes  and  fine  rocky 
screens  on  the  southern  shore,  where  the  summer-sunset  effects 
are  exquisitely  beautiful  and  varied,  relieves  much  of  the  mono-  • 
tony  of  the  journey  through  the  bleak  bare  mountains.  Al- 
though the  hand  of  taste  and  opulence  is  now  discernible  on  its 
shores,  and  especially  around  the  beautiful  shooting  lodge  of 
the  proprietor,  Sir  James  J.  R.  Mackenzie  of  Scatwell,  yet  its 
native  glory  has  departed,  for  it  was  once,  about  a  generation 
ago,  encircled  within  an  oak  forest,  having  some  of  the  largest 
stems  in  the  Highlands,  the  felled  stumps  of  which  are  still 
occasionally  to  be  seen,  and  at  a  little  distance  are  often  taken 
for  rocks  instead  of  trees.  At  Grudie,  where  the  river  issuing 
from  Loch  Fannich  comes  roaring  down  from  the  right,  the  road 
enters  a  picturesque  gorge,  and  immediately  after  ushers  us  on 
the  great  upland  valley  of  Strath  Bran,  which  stretches  for  eight 
to  ten  miles  before  us  a  broad  sheet  of  meadow  pastures,  through 


466  LOCH   8CAVEN.  SECT.  VII. 

which  the  silver  thread  of  a  small  river,  expanding  here  and 
there  into  pools  and  lakes,  creeps  lazily  along.  At  its  farther 
end,  the  abrupt  descent  and  inclination  of  the  hills  to  the  west 
coast  is  perceptible ;  while  the  southern  flank  of  the  strath  is 
bounded  by  the  beautiful  peaks  and  ridges  of  Scuirvullin,  and 
the  northern  by  the  long  green  slopes  of  Foin  Bhein,  (Fingal's 
hill),*  and  the  other  rich  pasture  hills  of  Loch  Fannich. 

Beautiful  terrace  banks  encircle  Strath  Bran  ;  and  as  we 
approach  Auchnasheen,  they  are  deflected  into  the  opening  by 
Loch  Roshk,  towards  Lochs  Maree  and  Torridon.  At  Luip  we 
pass  the  last  fresh-water  lake  (Loch  Scaven),  whence  the  streams 
begin  to  bend  towards  the  west  coast ;  and  presently  the  upper 
bays  of  the  salt-water  loch  Carron  come  into  view.  Here  also 
are  met  the  wrecks  of  another  splendid  oak  and  pine  forest ; 
and  the  mountains  opening  wider  their  arms,  and  decreasing  in 
height,  give  space  to  fields  and  large  belts  of  cultivated  ground, 
and  to  a  broad  expanse  of  sea,  which  is  often  enlivened  by  mul- 
titudes of  boats  and  busses  occupied  in  the  herring-fishery. 

Since  leaving  Strathpeflfer,  the  principal  properties  through 
which  the  road  passes  belong  to  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie  of 
Coul,  Sir  James  J.  R.  Mackenzie,  Thomas  Mackenzie,  Esq.  of 
Ord,  and  Sir  Evan  Mackenzie  of  Kilcoy.  We  now  enter  on  the 
domains  of  Thomas  Mackenzie,  Esq.  of  Applecross,  late  M.P. 
for  the  county  of  Ross. 

From  Jeantown  on  Loch  Carron,  where  there  is  a  long  and 
straggling,  but  prosperous  fishing  village,  the  Skye  road  leads 
to  Strome  Ferry,  which  was  anciently  guarded  by  a  square  keep 
or  castle,  and  thence  by  Balmacara  to  Kyle  Akin.  Some  noble 
views  are  obtained,  on  the  way  to  the  latter  place,  of  the  fine 
inlet  of  Loch  Duich,  and  the  steep  and  lofty  alps  of  Kintail. 
Some,  however,  prefer  taking  a  boat  the  length  of  Plockton, 
and  thence  crossing  over  by  a  new  road  (six  miles)  to  Kyle 
Akin,  or  at  once  sailing  direct  to  Broadford,  in  Skye,  which  is 
the  preferable  course,  if  it  is  meant  to  perambulate  that  island. 

12.  The  districts  to  which  the  roads  branching  northwards 

*  Sportsmen  and  tourists  often  rest  awhile  at  the  comfortable  inn  of  Auchnanault, 
and  the  latter  generally  ascend  Scuirvullin  from  it.  We  would  recommend  Foin 
Bhein  as  preferable,  inasmuch  as  it  is  directly  opposite  the  Scuirmore  of  Fannich, 
wliich  with  its  associated  alps  is  cut  into  stupendous  corries  and  precipices,  and 
as  it  is  nearer  to  the  western  chains  on  Lochs  Alaree  and  Torridon,  and  besides  com- 
mands a  view  of  both  seas.  The  ascent  is  quite  gentle ;  and  the  back  of  Foin  Bhein 
itself,  overlooking  the  loch,  is  cut  from  the  summit  downwards  into  a  series  of  grand 
cliffs.  The  botany  is  intermediate  between  that  of  the  east  and  west  coasts. 


ROUTE  VI.  C.  DISTRICT   ROADS.  467 

from  the  Dingwall  and  Loch  Carron  road  lead,  are  among  the 
wildest  and  least  known  in  the  country ;  but  they  abound,  in 
several  places,  with  striking  and  varied  scenery.  They  are 
three  in  number : — 

1.  From  Strathgarve  to  Ullapool,  on  Loch  Broom. 

2.  From  Auchnasheen  to  Lochs  Maree  and  Torridon,  and  the 

district  of  Gairloch,  ending  with  Poolewe,  the  packet 
station  for  Stornoway. 

3.  From  Jeantown,  on  Loch  Carron,  to  Shieldaig  and  Apple- 

cross. 

We  shall  describe  each  of  these  routes  in  their  order. 

1st.  The  district  road  to  Loch  Broom,  and  the  village  of 
Ullapool,  on  the  shores  of  that  loch,  strikes  off  near  Garve  Inn, 
proceeding  over  the  high  ascent  of  the  Dirie  More.  Its  old 
course  may  be  seen  for  a  mile  or  so,  tending  to  the  north-east 
of  Loch  Garve  ;  but  a  gentler  line  has  lately  been  taken  to  the 
north,  along  the  Dirie  Water  by  Achnaclerach  and  the  deer 
forest  of  Kirkan.  The  distance  to  Ullapool  is  about  thirty- 
seven  miles.  This  road  was  first  made  about  sixty  years  ago, 
at  the  expense  of  government,  and  cost  .£4500,  and  it  was  then 
one  of  the  best  roads  in  the  Highlands ;  but,  after  being  long 
neglected,  it  is  now  undergoing  a  thorough  repair.  It  conducts 
across  a  dreary  district,  called  Strath  Dirie  and  the  Dirie  More 
(the  long  road  or  step),  to  the  glen  at  the  head  of  the  larger 
Loch  Broom.  There  are  two  very  indifferent  public-houses  on 
the  way,  the  first  at  Glascarnock,  about  twelve  miles  from 
Strathgarve,  and  the  other  at  Braemore,  a  like  distance  from 
the  former,  at  which  also  provisions  are  not  always  to  be  had  ; 
and  then  the  traveller  has  to  trudge  on  for  other  seven  miles, 
to  a  miserable  little  village  called  Ardcarnich,  where  he  may 
possibly  get  some  refreshment,  should  he  previously  resolve  not 
to  throw  himself  on  the  hospitality  of  some  of  the  farm-houses ; 
but  the  accommodation  will  doubtless  soon  also  partake  of  im- 
provement. The  mountain  torrents  which  cross  the  Ullapool 
road  are  exceedingly  annoying  to  travellers ;  and  the  largest 
one,  the  Torrandu  river,  a  little  beyond  Glascarnock,  is  not 
always  fordable  with  safety ;  but  we  are  glad  to  hear  that  the 
bridges  are  now  being  all  restored,  and  this  season  the  line  is 
expected  to  be  open  throughout.  The  very  existence,  not  to 
say  prosperity  of  the  Loch  Broom  and  Dundonald  people,  who 


468  D1RIE    MORE    ROAD.  SECT.    VII. 

are  in  a  state  of  abject  pauperism,  almost  depends  on  this  great 
line  of  communication  with  the  lowland  markets,  and  the  pro- 
prietors are  actively  exerting  themselves  to  complete  the  line 
of  communication  by  Dundonald  and  Loch  Greinord  to  Poolewe. 
The  strong  pedestrian  can  greatly  diversify  and  shorten  the  way, 
if,  instead  of  quitting  the  main  road  at  Garve,  he  goes  on  to  the 
public-house  at  Grudie,  and  then  takes  a  guide  over  the  hill 
past  the  end  of  Loch  Fannich  by  Ault  Derag,  Ault  Cunire  (the 
Fox's  Burn),  and  Ben  Lia,  and  crossing  high  up  the  Torrandu 
to  avoid  the  boggy  ground  which  skirts  it  lower  down,  he  should 
reach  the  Dirie  More  road  a  little  westward  of  Loch  Drome  or 
Draim,  not  far  from  the  top  of  Strath  Broom,  where  the  waters 
shear  to  the  opposite  coasts.  By  taking  this  route  the  tourist 
sees  Loch  Fannich,  which  is  a  mirror  encased  among  most  wild 
and  picturesque  mountains,  of  which  its  two  great  guardians  at 
the  east  end,  Cairn-na-Beast  and  Ben  Eigen  (or  the  difficult 
pass),  with  their  splendid  deer  corries  and  rifted  precipices,  are 
particularly  striking ;  and  where  (especially  in  Garrow  Corrie- 
More  and  Quilichan,  and  indeed  all  the  way  to  Ullapool),  if  in 
any  parts  of  Britain,  there  are  the  most  undoubted  evidences  of 
ancient  glacial  action.  A  close  view  is  also  had  of  the  Scuir- 
more  of  Fannich,  and  at  the  same  time  all  the  stupendous,  wild, 
and  terrific  screens  and  ranges  of  mountains  which  rise  along 
the  western  and  northern  sky  burst  on  the  sight ;  as  those  of 
Loch  Maree,  Strath-na-Shalag,  Ben  More  of  Coigach,  Ben 
Derag,  and  Ben  Lair,  at  the  top  of  Strath  Dirie,  and  the  more 
distant  but  exquisitely-formed  peaks  of  Freevater.  Each  dis- 
trict in  Ross-shire  is  thus  distinguished  by  its  own  group  or 
cluster  of  high  bare  rocky  alps,  and  each  is  marked  by  its  own 
peculiar  form  and  outline,  while  great  blanks  occur  between 
the  lower  heights,  which  are  composed  of  long  unbroken  chains 
and  ridges,  separated  by  wide  table-lands  or  pastoral  valleys. 
Strath  Dirie  is  one  of  these,  nearly  twenty  miles  long,  and 
which,  even  from  the  road  through  it,  is  visible  from  end  to 
end,  the  road  itself  appearing  as  a  faint  yellow  line  undulating 
along  the  heath.  The  most  oppressive  gloominess  prevails 
throughout  its  solitudes  ;  no  sounds  to  break  upon  the  ear, 
save  the  bleatings  of  sheep  or  the  lowings  of  cattle  ;  no  trees, 
no  houses,  or  marks  of  man,  save  a  few  shepherd's  huts  at 
great  distances  from  each  other,  or  the  grass-covered  walls  of 
hamlets  long  deserted,  and  the  rude  cairn  piled  here  and  there 


ROUTE  VI.  C.  STRATH    DIRIE.  469 

to  mark  the  graves  of  persons  who  perished  in  the  storm.  With 
Goldsmith's  Traveller  one  feels  himself  continually  exclaiming 
that  here  "  wilds  immeasurably  spread,  seem  lengthening  as 
they  go." 

A  sudden  bend  northward  at  the  pretty  Falls  of  Strome, 
where  dwarf  birch,  alders,  aspens,  and  rowan  trees  first  again 
meet  us,  changes  the  scene,  and  the  lower,  softer,  and  grass- 
clad  hills  of  Loch  Broom  or  Broam  (the  Lake  of  Showers), 
greet  the  eye.  Cultivation  and  dense  fringes  of  copsewood 
occupy  the  strath,  and  in  the  background  the  bright  waters  of 
the  ocean,  dotted  with  sunny  islets  and  rocky  promontories,  are 
spread  out  for  many  miles ;  the  whole  view  to  the  northward 
being  closed  in  by  the  long  and  singularly  bold  Ben  More  of 
Coigach,  which  resembles  a  quantity  of  bright  red  drapery  hung 
by  invisible  cords  from  the  sky,  its  front  being  quite  precipi- 
tous, and  seared  by  innumerable  water-courses. 

The  big  strath  and  shores  of  Loch  Broom  resemble  some  of 
the  finest  and  best  wooded  districts  in  Argyleshire,  while  the 
mountain-ranges  rise  very  abruptly,  and  are  of  very  peculiar 
outline  from  the  frequent  straight  lines  and  their  sudden  devi- 
ations. Inverbroom,  which  lies  on  the  west  side  of  the  river, 
is  now  the  spacious  shooting-lodge  of  D.  Davidson,  Esq.  of 
Tulloch,  and  immediately  beyond  are  the  beautifully  lying 
church  and  manse  of  Loch  Broom,  the  glebe  extending  for  two 
miles  down  along  the  loch,  and,  besides  small  patches  of  corn 
ground,  affording  pasture  for  several  hundred  sheep.  The 
rough  foot-path  to  Dundonald  and  the  beautiful  valley  of  Little 
Loch  Broom  crosses  it.  On  the  east  side  of  the  bay,  we  pass 
the  house  and  farm  of  Inverlair,  indicated  by  its  ruined  chapel 
and  burying-ground,  and  which  is  an  old  holding  of  the  Coul 
family,  now  converted  into  a  fine  sheep-walk,  but  capable  of 
extensive  agricultural  improvement.  The  house,  we  believe, 
was  erected  by  the  British  Fishery  Society,  and  intended  for  an 
inn,  but  the  neglect  of  the  Dirie  More  road,  till  of  late,  rendered 
such  a  luxury  unnecessary.  A  very  marked  feature  of  the 
vegetation  in  this  district  is  its  constant  greenness — a  sort  of 
perpetual  spring.  Even  late  in  summer  there  is  a  continued 
shooting  forth  of  leaf  and  flower,  with  little  tendency  to  ripen- 
ing— the  hazels  and  alders  are  mere  bushes,  rarely  attaining  to 
the  maturity  of  trees,  and  are  interwoven  into  perfect  thickets 
by  long  rank  twigs  of  dogrose  and  woodbine  ;  while,  even  in  the 


470  CHARACTER  OF  THE  VEGETATION.  SECT.  VII. 

end  of  July,  the  sward  beneath  is  bedecked  with  the  delicate 
petals  of  such  spring  flowers  as  the  wood  sorrel,  harebell,  dog 
violet,  and  primrose.  So  umbrageous  and  dark  are  the  copses, 
that  the  thrush  is  tempted  to  sing  the  whole  day  long,  and  not 
in  the  morning  and  evening,  as  elsewhere,  and  the  bat  comes 
forth  in  broad  daylight.  A  soft  dasied  zone  of  meadow-land 
encircles  the  whole  of  Loch  Broom,  the  rocks  of  which  are 
formed  of  gneiss,  and  this  green  carpeting  instantly  disappears 
as  we  reach  the  red  sandstone  deposits  on  the  outer  shores  to 
the  west  or  northward,  which  are  all  brown  and  heathery. 
Small  irregular  crofts  of  corn  land  have  been  gained  from  the 
pastures,  on  which,  in  general,  clusters  and  rows  of  black  huts 
arise,  having  walls  and  passages  of  loose  stones  leading  up  to 
them  disposed  in  all  the  labyrinthic  forms  o^  the  Chinese 
puzzle  ;  and  to  each  such  little  holding  is  attached  the  privi- 
lege of  an  outlet  for  one  or  two  cows  to  the  hill-grazing  above, 
which,  however,  is  limited  to  the  ridges  next  the  sea.  The  rent 
of  the  crofts  varies  from  one  to  five  guineas  a-year,  the  average 
on  the  adjoining  estate  of  Coigach  being  ,£3:8:6  to  each 
crofter — no  part  of  which  is  ever  looked  to  as  to  be  produced 
by  the  land,  but  to  be  won  from  the  sea,  if  the  fishing  should  be 
prosperous.  In  short,  the  people  seem  to  be  penned  in,  not  the 
sheep  ;  and  while  squalid  poverty  is  marked  in  every  counten- 
ance, the  average  number  of  each  family  is  6£  souls,  which  is 
equal  to  the  most  prolific  and  wretched  Irish  cabins.  Thousands 
are  willing  and  anxious  to  emigrate,  but  it  is  only  the  robust  and 
active  who  are  able  to  earn  as  much  as  to  defray  their  passage  ; 
and  hence  the  Highlands  are  yearly  being  drained  of  the  young, 
while  the  old  and  feeble  are  of  necessity,  and  most  reluctantly, 
left  as  paupers  at  home.  Trees  would  grow  well  in  this  district, 
(as  may  be  seen  at  the  manse,  Inverlair,  and  Loch  Melim) ;  but 
the  poor  Highlanders  would  not  now  let  them  grow,  the  tempta- 
tion to  use  them  for  firewood  and  spars  being  too  great.  The 
herring  seems  to  be  almost  the  only  fish  the  native  cares  to  look 
after,  (perhaps  from  its  giving  them  only  occasional  and  exciting 
occupation) ;  and  hence  their  boats  are  not  fitted  for  deep-sea 
fishing :  and  in  consequence  the  produce  of  the  coast  in  cod  and 
ling  is  annually  picked  up  by  enterprising  crews  from  T*'-  v'~ 
and  the  Moray  Firth,  in  the  very  teeth  of  the  .. 
famished  Highlanders. 

13.  Ullapool,  like  many  more  renowned  cities,  i> 


ROUTE  VI.  C.  TJLLAPOOL.  471 

from  a  distance,  and  from  the  sea.  It  stands  on  a  fine  terraced, 
gravelly  promontory,  about  half  a  mile  square,  between  the 
Loch  and  the  mouth  of  the  river  of  Achall,  and  from  the  sea- 
beach  to  the  summit  it  exhibits  several  parallel  lines  of  houses, 
most  of  them  whitewashed,  and  slated  or  tiled,  the  church,  manse, 
and  the  principal  inn,  being  the  most  conspicuous.  A  few 
handsome  old  ash  trees  about  one  of  the  residences  and  the 
burying-ground,  with  a  neat  harbour  and  breakwater,  form  the 
chief  adornments  of  the  place — the  post-office  and  all  the  princi- 
pal shops  and  houses  being  arranged  along  the  beach,  looking 
southwards,  and  extending  along  its  whole  length  ;  but  behind 
these,  three  parallel  and  spacious  streets,  with  ample  gardens, 
were  lined  off  for  the  poorer  fishermen,  though,  in  fact,  they 
have  only  been,  half  finished.  The  village  was  founded  by  the 
British  Fishery  Society  about  sixty  years  ago,  when  the  herring 
trade  was  at  its  height,  and  was  intended  to  be  a  beautiful 
town  on  a  spacious  and  regular  plan ;  but  the  herring  shoals 
having  for  many  years  abandoned  the  adjoining  loch,  the  pros- 
perity of  the  place  has  been  sealed  up,  and  now  "  ruin  greenly 
dwells  "  in  many  a  half-built  house  of  considerable  outward 
show,  the  one  end  only  being  occupied  as  a  dwelling,  and  the 
other  left  to  the  elements,  or  as  a  residence  to  the  cow  and  pig. 
A  more  delightful  bathing  beach  could  not  be  desired  than  that 
of  Ullapool — the  air,  in  summer,  is  soft  but  bracing — the 
splendid  mountain  scenery  is  generally  enlivened  and  set  off  by 
boats  and  vessels,  which  here  find  a  safe  anchorage  ;  and  should 
the  herring  fishery  revive,  and  the  land  communication  by  the 
Dirie  More  to  Dingwall,  and  Achall  to  Bonar  Bridge  and  Tain, 
be  again  properly  opened  up,  Ullapool  may  yet  revive,  and 
become,  more  efficiently  than  at  present,  the  emporium  and 
market-town  to  the  neighbouring  extensive  districts  of  Loch 
Broom,  Coigach,  and  Assynt. 

The  popolution  of  Ullapool  is  between  700  and  800  inhabi- 
tants.     They  held  their  tenements,  till  lately,  of  the  Fishery 
Society,  who  feued  the  ground  from  the  superiors,  the  Cromarty 
family,  and  sub-feued   it  again  at  one  penny  for  every  foot 
in  front,  and  sixty  feet  back,  the  arable  land  behind  which  is 
o.c.  --<nOqj.hr.  subdivided  as  the  area  of  the  town,  being  let  at 
g  Ki^er  acre.    James  Matheson,  Esq.  of  Achany  and  Lewis, 
Hoss-shire,  has  recently  purchased  the  village,  and 
ibstering  care  the  inns,  and  every  other  accommo- 


472  KINACHRYNE — LOCH   BROOM.  SECT.  VII. 

dation  in  and  about  the  place  have  already  been  immensely 
improved.* 

The  further  bank  of  the  river  beyond  Ullapool  is  occupied 
by  a  line  of  straggling  ugly  huts,  forming  the  fishing  hamlet 
of  Kinachryne.  We  trust  the  example  set  of  spirited  improve- 
ments on  Mr.  Matheson's  estate  may  soon  reach  it ;  and  to 
quicken  the  land,  the  people  have  close  at  hand  inexhaustible 
beds  of  limestone.  Coigach,  as  the  district  to  the  northward 
as  far  as  the  boundary  of  Sutherland  is  called,  is  an  exceed- 
ingly wild  and  uninteresting  district ;  but  it  has  several  very 
valuable  pasture  straths,  which  are  largely  stocked  with  the 
very  best  description  of  Cheviot  sheep.  The  shore  side  and 
the  northern  section  of  the  district  is  flat,  and,  like  the  adjoin- 
ing one  of  Assynt,  is  overspread  with  numerous  fresh-^* 
lakes. 

14.  A  walk  of  about  twenty  miles  by  Loch  Achall  (the 
Marquis  of  Stafford's  shooting  lodge  of  Rhidoroch)  and  Loch 
Damph,  through  beautiful  scenery,  by  a  road  which  does  not 
require  a  great  deal  to  make  it  a  good  one,  leads  to  the  Oikel 
Bridge  main  road,  between  Bonar  Bridge  and  Loch  Inver 
in  Sutherland  (described  Branch  E.  of  this  route);  and  we  re- 
commend the  pedestrian  by  all  means  to  take  this  round  rather 
than  to  pass  through  the  uninteresting  wilds  and  steppes  of 
Coigach.  Mr.  Matheson  has  lately  re-formed  two  miles  of 
this  road  ;  and  we  doubt  not  the  communication  will  soon  be 
completed  into  Sutherlandshire,  a  matter  of  the  greatest  local 
importance.  Whether  proceeding  to  Assynt  on  the  north,  or 
westward  to  the  districts  of  Dundonald,  on  Little  Loch 
Broom,  Greinord,  or  Gairloch,  it  is  preferable,  if  the  weather  is 
fine,  to  go  by  boat,  as  a  view  is  thereby  obtained  of  Isle 
Martin,  Tanera,  and  the  Horse  and  Summer  Isles,  as  well  as  of 
the  various  bays  and  headlands  of  the  coast ;  but  in  doing  so, 
we  would  caution  the  stranger  to  make  a  distinct  bargain 
before  he  sails,  and  for  a  crew  of  men  and  not  of  boys.t 

Loch  Broom  is  about  two  miles  wide  at  Ullapool.     The 

*  We  understand  that  Mr.  Matheson  is  about  to  have  a  mail  gig  .shed 

betwixt  Dingwall  and  Ullapool,  and  a  mail  packet  dispatched  from  Ullapool  to 
Stornoway. 

t  The  geologist  will  not  fail  to  remark,  in  the  hill  behind  Ullapool,  th»  <*radunl 
transition  of  the  red  arenaceous  sandstone  of  the  outer  coasts  into  light  gray  and 
pure  white  crystalline  quartz  rock,  but  still  preserving  its  horizontal  stratification, 
and  resting  on  vertical  strata  of  gneiss  and  mica  schist  j  and  he  will  also  be  struck 
with  the  innumerable  indications  of  glaciel  action  on  all  the  rocks  of  the  district. 


ROUTE  VI.  C.  LOCH  GREINORD — LOCH  TORRIDON.     473 

shores  at  the  entrance  are  bold  and  rocky,  crowned  with  heathy 
pasture.  The  opening  of  Little  Loch  Broom,  between  low 
level  sandstone  promontories,  reveals  a  fine  group  of  mountains 
with  a  peculiar  outline,  and  like  that  of  the  hills  around  the 
larger  loch,  and  distinguished  by  one  huge,  broad,  dome-shaped 
summit.  All  the  outlines  of  the  extensive  mountain  ranges 
here  are  very  varied  and  well  defined,  while  a  number  of  low 
islands  stretch  to  seaward  ;  but  the  object  to  which  the  eye 
ever  reverts  is  the  magnificent  Ben  More  of  Coigach. 

Loch  Greinord  is  a  spacious  bay,  encompassed  by  low  rocky 
eminences,  which,  especially  on  the  east  side,  form  numerous 
separate  rocky  knolls,  among  which  lie  little  inlets,  lined  with 
the  purest  sand,  opening  into  fairy,  rock-girt,  verdant  recesses, 
in  which  are  found  sheltered  several  snug  sheep-farm  houses, 
as  Moungestle,  Greinord,  and  Fisherfield.  The  opposite  shore 
is  more  stony,  and  the  coast  more  level  and  cultivated.  The 
bay  abounds  with  haddock,  cod,  whiting,  and  shell-fish  ;  the 
Greinord  river  with  salmon,  and  the  mountains  with  deer. 
Bathing,  the  finest  possible ;  everything  to  make  a  couple  of 
months'  summer  retirement,  even  in  this  remote  part  of  the 
world,  quite  enviable. 

A  good  road  leads  for  some  miles  from  Little  Greinord,  on 
the  south-west,  over  uninteresting  rocky  moorlands  to  the  pretty 
bay  and  low  promontory  of  Altbae,  opposite  Isle  Ewe,  a  low 
islet  on  which  are  considerable  arable  tracts.  From  hence  a 
rough  tract  crosses  the  hill  to  Tournay,  an  inlet  of  Loch  Ewe, 
where,  and  also  at  the  head  of  the  loch,  we  find  well-cultivated 
fields — the  whole  distance  from  Little  Greinord  to  Poolewe,  at 
the  head  of  Loch  Ewe,  being  eleven  miles. 

2D.  BRANCH  ROAD  PROM  AUCHNASHEEN  TO  LOCHS  MAREE, 
TORRIDON,  AND  GAIRLOCH. 

15.  This  road  strikes  off  at  Auchnasheen,  five  miles  from 
Auchnanault,  and  is  now  passable  for  carriages  all  the  way  to 
Poolewe  and  Gairloch.  From  the  new  inn  at  Kinloch  Ewe  on 
Lo<^  ^laree,  a  branch  road  turns  westward  to  Loch  Torridon, 
but  it  is  only  completed  as  far  as  Torridon  House  (ten  or  twelve 
mile?-);  where  a  boat  should  be  taken  to  the  inn  and  village  of 
Shieldaig,  in  preference  to  scrambling  on  by  the  rough  footpath. 
This  branch  conducts  to  most  magnificent  scenery,  at  the  head 
x  2 


174  LOCH  TORRIDON LOCH  MAREE.         SECT.  Til. 

of  Loch  Torridon,  where  the  lower  acclivities  of  the  peaked 
mountains  exhibit  vast  sheeted  precipices  ;  and  to  one  who  has 
not  time  to  proceed  to  the  further  end  of  Loch  Maree,  we  par- 
ticularly recommend  it,  as  Shieldaig  is  only  nine  miles  from 
Kishorn,  and  five  more  from  Jeantown  on  Loch  Carron,  from 
either  of  which  the  communication  with  Kyle  Akin,  the  point 
at  which  the  Glasgow  steamers  touch,  is  direct  and  easy,  or  from 
Jeantown  the  post-gig  can  be  had  three  times  a- week  (fare  12s.) 
to  Dingwall ;  and  we  hope  that  in  a  year  or  two  a  road  will  be 
formed  along  the  side  of  Loch  Torridon,  thereby,  with  the  other 
roads  in  progress,  forming  a  complete  line  of  communication 
from  the  Great  Glen  along  the  west  coasts  of  Inverness  and 
Ross  shires.  Loch  Torridon  forms  a  noble  arm  of  the  sea,  cha- 
racterised by  grandeur,  from  its  extent,  and  by  ruggedness,  but 
not  by  beauty.  It  consists  of  three  compartments,  connected 
by  narrow  straits,  the  innermost  basin  being  of  considerable  size. 
Long  low  headlands  line  the  entrance  of  Loch  Torridon,  and 
afterwards  rough,  broken  cliffs  and  rocks  skirt  the  water.  These, 
towards  the  upper  extremity,  rise  into  precipitous  acclivities  of 
imposing  height.  As  a  whole,  it  is  the  most  striking  sea  loch,  as 
Loch  Maree  is  the  most  imposing  fresh- water  lake,  on  this  side  of 
Ross-shire.  The  village  of  Shieldaig,  where  there  is  an  indiffer- 
ent inn,  and  which  is  situated  on  a  bay  of  the  middle  division  of 
Loch  Torridon,  and  at  the  base  of  a  stupendous  cliff  of  ascend- 
ing precipices,  piled  tier  upon  tier,  and  completely  screening  the 
inner  portion  of  the  loch,  contains  only  about  200  souls.  There 
is  no  sort  of  trade  or  manufacture  carried  on,  further  than  that 
the  generality  of  the  people  are  more  or  less  engaged  in  the 
herring  fishery.  The  inhabitants  are  very  poor,  and  all  the  vil- 
lages on  the  coast,  as  Dornie,  Plockton,  and  Ullapool,  are  simi- 
larly circumstanced.  Shieldaig  has  the  advantage  of  possess- 
ing one  of  the  new  parliamentary  churches,  which,  with  the 
society  schools,  have  here,  as  elsewhere  throughout  the  High- 
lands, proved  a  source  of  great  advantage  to  the  people. 

16.  To  resume  now  the  route  to  Loch  Maree,  the  road,  after 
passing  Auchnasheen,  proceeds  westward,  through  an  opening 
of  the  great  Fannich  group  of  mountains,  which  is  partly'  filled 
by  the  waters  of  Loch  Roshk.  Quitting  it,  the  magnificent 
cluster  of  high-peaked  mountains  round  the  head  of  Loch  Tor- 
ridon shoot  up  in  the  western  sky,  and  then,  descending  rapidly 
by  a  wild  and  narrow  pass,  called  Glen  Dochart,  the  whole  length 


ROUTE  VI.  C.  LOCH  MAREE.  475 

of  Loch  Maree  (St.  Mary's  Lake),  with  its  numerous  islands, 
projecting  headlands,  and  precipitous  gray  rocky  mountains, 
bursts  suddenly  on  the  sight.  This  lake  is  eighteen  miles  long, 
and  from  one  to  two  miles  broad ;  and  the  scenery  on  either  side 
of  it  is  about  the  most  utterly  savage  and  terrific,  in  its  barren- 
ness and  loneliness,  of  any  part  of  this  land  of  mountain  and 
flood.  A  range  of  lofty  mountains  stretches  along  the  northern 
shore,  sinking  sheer  upon  the  water,  and  of  a  singularly  bare 
hard  aspect,  with  but  a  very  few  alluvial  patches  along  the  lake, 
as  at  Letterewe  and  Ardlair,  which  are  pleasingly  fringed  with 
groups  of  trees.  Of  these  mountains  there  are  two  particularly 
conspicuous,  Sleugach  and  Ben  Lair — the  former,  which  lies 
towards  the  upper  end  (apparently  not  less  than  4000  feet  in 
height),  rises  majestically  from  the  water,  massive,  lofty,  and 
abrupt ;  and  it  uprears  nobly  and  proudly  above  its  shoulders 
an  irregularly  dome-shaped,  storm-shattered  head,  from  which 
it  sends  down  long  rocky  ridges  on  either  hand ;  and,  as  it  pre- 
sents a  precipitous  front  to  the  lake,  full  effect  is  given  to  its 
towering  proportions.  The  summit  of  Ben  Lair  has  a  long  curv- 
ing outline  nowise  decidedly  marked,  and  recedes  somewhat 
behind  its  conchoidal  corries.  On  the  south  the  lake  is  encom- 
passed by  a  spacious  circuit  of  mountains,  rising  range  above 
range — their  summits  much  independent  of  each  other,  and  also 
gray  and  hard-looking — of  most  varied  forms,  comprising  several 
peaks,  each  generally  seeming  to  terminate  a  particular  range, 
and  exceeding  3000  feet ;  of  graceful,  easy  outline,  mostly, 
however,  crenulated  and  serrated.  They  show  to  best  advan- 
tage from  the  spacious  sweep  at  Slatadale,  where  they  are 
exhibited  as  one  vast  amphitheatre,  and  where  the  lower  decli- 
vities are  more  clothed  with  heath  and  pasture  than  on  the 
opposite  shore.  Towards  the  middle  of  the  lake,  the  islands, 
twenty-four  in  number,  are  chiefly  clustered.  They  are  low, 
rocky,  heathy,  and  uncultivated ;  untenanted,  save  by  the  sea- 
mews  ;  and  but  partially  wooded  with  a  few  old  stunted  pine 
trees.  The  outlet  of  the  lake  becomes  narrow,  and  is  bordered 
by  copse-wooded  eminences,  and  half-shrouded  splintery  craggy 
heights,  backed  by  higher  rocky  hills ;  thus  possessing  much 
of  the  character  of  the  Trosachs.  In  proceeding  up  the  lake, 
the  view  of  it,  as  we  emerge  from  this  sweet  stripe,  is  truly 
magnificent ;  and  the  spectator  is  led  at  once  to  pronounce 
Loch  Maree  as  decidedly  superior  to  Loch  Lomond  and  Loch 


470  LOCH  MAREE.  SECT.  VII. 

Ness,  in  the  rugged  grandeur  and  extent  of  its  mountain 
groups,  as  it  falls  short  of  the  richness  of  the  former,  and 
the  woods  of  both.  Loch  Maree  takes  its  name,  according  to 
some,  from  St.  Maree,  a  Culdee  from  lona,  or  from  Applecross, 
where  some  of  St.  Columba's  disciples  settled,  who  took  up  his 
abode  in  the  most  northerly  (a  circular)  little  isle,  which,  if  in 
his  time  as  romantic  a  little  spot  as  now,  evinced  propriety  of 
choice ;  for,  with  its  pebbly  beach,  surmounted  by  a  thicket 
of  oak  coppice,  birch,  and  larch,  tangled  with  holly  shoots 
from  the  old  stems,  reputed  to  have  been  planted  by  the 
Saint,  and  carpet  beneath  of  moss,  oxalis,  blaeberry,  and  fern, 
it  forms  a  most  fitting  retreat  as  anchorite  could  desire. 
In  the  centre  of  the  thicket,  fit  locale  for  Druidical  ceme- 
tery, there  is  a  primitive  little  burying-ground,  marked  by 
narrow  undressed  flags  and  headstones,  the  resting-place  of 
some  families  about  Letterewe.  Hard  by  is  a  little  well,  cele- 
brated for  its  healing  virtues,  the  boughs  round  which  are  hung 
with  votive  rags,  and  the  waters  of  which,  with  the  additional 
operation  of  being  dragged  through  the  loch  to  an  adjoining 
isle,  are  deemed  sovereign  for  the  cure  of  insanity.  On  Eilan 
Rutich,  on  the  south  side,  on  which  several  of  the  Lairds  of 
Gairloch  are  said  to  have  resided,  there  are  the  remains  of  a  cir- 
cular subterannean  structure,  something  like  a  Pict's  house. 
The  woods  about  Loch  Maree  were  cut  down  about  ninety  years 
ago  for  the  smelting  of  iron  ore.  The  few  remains  of  the  forest 
are  found  on  the  islands,  and  towards  the  head  of  the  lake.  Be- 
fore quitting  its  shores,  we  must  not  forget  Ben  Eye,  at  the 
south-eastern  end,  remarkable  for  its  two  high  sharp  peaks  of 
pure  white  quartz-rock,  and  its  beautiful  and  stately  form.  Its 
corries,  and  the  solitudes  of  Glen  Logan  opposite  to  it,  are  favour- 
ite haunts  of  the  red  deer.  As  remarked  by  Dr.  Macculloch, 
the  rocks  of  Sleugach  contain  an  unexampled  number  of  vari- 
eties of  quartz,  and  the  view  from  its  top  is  unusually  grand  and 
extensive. 

In  general,  people  prefer  sailing  down  Loch  Maree  to  walk- 
ing along  either  of  its  banks,  and  a  four-oared  boat  can  always 
be  hired  for  any  distance  at  the  rate  of  a  shilling  a  mile,  and  a 
two-oared  one  at  half  that  price,  and  a  bottle  of  whisky  for  the 
whole  voyage.  The  tract  on  the  northern  shore,  by  Letterewe, 
is  scarcely  passable  at  all,  although  it  offered  the  best  line  for 
a  road. 


ROUTE  VI.  C.  FLOWEKDALE.  477 

The  distance  by  land  from  Kinloch  Ewe  to  Slatadale  is 
twelve  miles,  whence  the  road  is  continued  to  Poolewe,  at  the 
head  of  Loch  Ewe,  an  arm  of  the  sea,  into  which  Loch  Maree 
discharges  its  waters  six  miles  farther  on.  From  Slatadale, 
also,  a  good  carriage  road  deflects  westward  to  the  inn  and  vil- 
lage of  Gairloch,  distant  eight  miles  ;  but  it  was  intended 
chiefly  as  the  access  to  the  proprietor's  residence  of  Gairloch 
House,  or,  as  some  English  visitors  dubbed  it,  Flowerdale,  and 
to  the  parish  church,  from  which  the  road  is  continued,  of  the 
same  good  character  (five  miles  more),  to  Poolewe. 

This  road  from  Slatadale  passes  through  a  succession  of 
knolls  and  hills  of  mica  slate,  which  possess  all  the  irregularity 
and  tortuous  windings  so  characteristic  of  countries  formed  of 
that  rock.  It  abounds,  however,  as  at  Kerrisdale,  in  beautiful 
and  sheltered  dales  or  valleys,  which  in  general  greet  the  eye 
with  long  smiling  corn-fields  and  clumps  of  trees. 

17.  Flowerdale,  or  Gairloch  House,  the  seat  of  Sir  Kenneth 
Mackenzie,  Bart.,  the  proprietor  of  Gairloch,  is  a  commodious 
old-fashioned  chateau,  built  about  a  century  ago,  and  is  sur- 
rounded by  extensive  and  thriving  plantations,  its  lawn  also 
presenting  some  ancient  and  large-sized  oak,  pine,  ash,  ches- 
nut,  and  sycamore  trees.  Behind  the  house,  which  stands  on 
an  elevated  bank,  sloping  gently  to  the  south,  from  which  a 
narrow  cultivated  valley  proceeds  on  either  side,  a  very  steep 
frontlet  of  rock,  mantled  in  young  wood,  rises  up  to  a  consider- 
able height,  forming  a  most  imposing  object,  especially  when 
seen  from  the  sea  ;  and  from  it  several  higher  ridges  branch  off, 
screening  most  effectually  the  little  valley  from  the  northern 
and  eastern  winds.  A  lesser  ridge  protects  it  also  from  the 
great  power  of  the  western  sea  breeze,  which,  besides  the  orna- 
ment of  a  crown  of  pine  trees,  has  been  further  enlivened  by 
large  belts  of  furze  or  whins,  a  shrub  quite  foreign  to  this  dis- 
trict, but  which  has  been  successfully  introduced.  Altogether  the 
woodland  beauties  of  Gairloch  are  quite  unique  in  this  remote 
corner,  an  earnest  of  what  may  be  done  with  the  boundless 
waste  around,  which  of  late  have  been  extensively  brought  into 
culture  upon  a  new  cottar  system. 

Passing  the  sheltered  bowers  and  the  small  inn  of  Gairloch, 
the  road  immediately  ushers  us  on  a  tract  of  bent-covered  sand- 
banks thrown  up  by  the  sea,  and  on  the  inner  margin  of  which 
stands  the  church  of  the  parish,  with  the  ruins  of  an  older  fane 


478  POOLE\VE.  SECT.  VII. 

near  it,  now  used  as  a  burying- ground,  and  which  is  overspread 
with  rank  bushes  of  Atropa  Belladonna,  or  deadly  nightshade. 
In  the  offing  the  mountains  of  Skye  close  in  the  horizon.  Loch 
Ewe  is  lined  with  gray,  rocky  ridges  of  elongated  and  ragged 
outline.  A  cultivated  space  skirts  its  upper  extremity,  which 
is  about  a  mile  wide. 

Poolewe  is  a  small  collection  of  slated  houses,  and  black 
straggling  huts,  along  the  southern  bank  of  the  short,  rapid 
river,  which  here  discharges  the  waters  of  Loch  Maree  into  the 
sea,  each  of  them  surrounded  with  a  small  patch  of  cultivated 
ground.  The  place  also  possesses  two  shops,  a  high,  gaunt, 
passable  inn,  some  storehouses  for  salmon  and  herring  barrels, 
and  a  new  and  neat  church,  with  manse,  half  a  mile  up  the 
river.  The  adjoining  river  is  traversed  in  several  places  by 
piles  of  stones,  with  cruive  boxes  fixed  in  them  for  catching 
salmon,  of  which  it  yields  an  excellent  fishery.  Grouse  and 
ptarmigan  abound  in  the  mountains,  and  roe  and  red  deer 
are  also  still  numerous  ;  but  the  hunting  of  them  in  these  un- 
covered wilds  is  attended  with  unusual  fatigue,  and  requires 
much  caution  and  dexterity.  The  inhabitants  of  this  district 
are  numerous,  but  widely  scattered.  Yet,  notwithstanding  all 
their  disadvantages,  their  occasional  visits  to  the  south,  and 
intercourse  with  passing  seamen,  have  introduced  an  extensive 
knowledge  of  the  English  language  among  them,  and  no  parish 
in  the  Highlands  is  better  provided  with  schools  than  that  of 
Gairloch. 

From  Poolewe  the  packet  from  Stornoway  sails  once  a-week. 
If  he  keep  to  the  mainland,  the  tourist  will  find  a  country  road, 
which  leads  over  uninteresting  moors  to  Loch  Greinord,  and  by 
some  grand  mountain  scenery,  and  two  ferries  across  Little 
and  Big  Loch  Broom  to  Ullapool ;  but  as  there  is  no  scenery  by 
the  way  particularly  worthy  of  notice,  and  the  walk  is  a  very 
long  one,  it  will  be  better  for  him  to  proceed  by  boat  from  Loch 
Ewe  or  Greinord. 

There  is  a  remarkable  assemblage  of  mountains  around 
Loch  Fuin,  three  hours'  walk  north  of  Poolewe,  formed  by  the 
termination  of  several  converging  ranges  into  a  semicircle  of 
stupendous  precipices,  which  rise  perpendicularly  from  the 
water.  Should  the  tourist's  course  be  to  the  south,  a  long 
tedious  tramp  across  a  swampy  moorland  will  bring  him  from 
Gairloch  to  Shieldaig  ;  or  he  may  hire  a  boat  for  about  J  "<s. 


ROUTE  VI.  C.    SHIELDAIG  AND  APPLECROSS  ROADS.  479 

Either  route  is  quite  uninteresting  and  tiresome  ;  and  we 
would  recommend  instead,  that  he  return  to  Kinloch  Ewe,  and 
proceed  thence  by  Torridon. 

3D.    BRANCH  ROAD  FROM  JEANTOWN  TO  SHIELDAIG  AND 
APPLECBOSS. 

18.  We  particularly  recommend  at  least  part  of  this  way  to 
the  notice  of  tourists.  After  ascending  the  hill  behind  the 
village  of  Jeantown  (on  the  ridge  of  which  are  the  ruins  of  an 
old  dune  or  burgh),  the  road  passes  through  a  rocky  and 
prettily-wooded  defile,  and  five  miles  off  reaches  Courthill  on 
Loch  Kishorn,  the  approaches  to  which  are  vividly  green, 
owing  to  the  cropping  out  of  a  limestone  bed  ;  and  then  divid- 
ing into  two,  at  the  head  of  the  loch,  one  branch  proceeds  to 
Shieldaig  (nine  miles),  and  the  other,  turning  westwards,  passes 
up  the  steep  ascent  of  a  splendid  deer  corry,  which  it  scales  at 
a  height  of  nearly  1500  feet,  by  the  Beallach-na-ba,  or  the 
cattle's  pass,  so  called  in  contradistinction  to  another  pass 
farther  north,  the  Beallach-na-hara,  or  pass  of  the  ladder,  up 
which  the  deer  themselves  can  but  barely  scramble  ;  and  ter- 
minates (twelve  miles  on)  at  the  Milntown  and  mansion-house  of 
Applecross.  Both  these  roads  were  formed  by  direction  of  the 
parliamentary  commissioners  ;  and  the  pedestrian  can  shorten 
that  to  Applecross  nearly  two  miles,  should  he  pass  when  the  tide 
is  out,,  by  crossing  Loch  Kishom  on  a  set  of  large  stepping- 
stones  immediately  below  the  house  of  Courthill,  which  are 
entirely  visible  when  it  is  safe  to  take  that  way.  The  route 
onwards  to  Shieldaig  is  low,  moorish,  and  uninteresting,  but 
skirted  by  several  large  lochs  or  tarns,  over  which  the  high 
mountain  of  the  Bein  Bhain  of  Applecross  rises,  with  its  nearest 
front  scooped  out  into  six  or  eight  deer  corries,  flanked  by  stu- 
pendous precipices.*  The  other  route  should  be  explored,  at 
least  to  the  summit  level  of  the  road,  by  every  traveller,  how- 
ever pressed  for  time,  if  he  wishes  not  to  miss  one  of  the 
grandest  scenes  in  the  Highlands.  At  present  it  is  almost  un- 
known ;  but  it  will  scarcely  yield  in  sublime  and  savage 
characters  to  the  celebrated  gorge  of  Glencoe.  The  road  steals 
along  the  impending  precipices  on  the  north  side  of  the  corry, 
which  rise  so  steep  that  the  water-courses  have  had  to  be 
*  See  previous  part  of  this  Branch  for  description  of  Shieldaig  and  Loch  Torridon. 


480  ROAD  OVER  THE  BEALLACH  TO  APPLECROSS.  SECT.  VII. 

paved  for  many  yards  above  and  below,  to  prevent  the  materials 
being  swept  bodily  away  ;  and  as  it  attains  the  upper  rocky 
barriers  which  stretch  across  the  summit  of  the  pass,  it  winds 
and  twists  along  their  crevices  like  a  cork-screw,  and  is  upheld 
by  enormous  buttresses  and  breastworks  of  stone.  The  cliffs 
into  which  the  mountain  on  the  opposite  side  is  cut,  are  fully 
six  or  eight  hundred  feet  high,  quite  perpendicular,  yet  dis- 
posed in  great  horizontal  ledges  like  the  courses  of  gigantic 
masonry  ;  while  from  the  whole  being  formed  of  bare,  dark-red 
sandstone,  unrelieved  either  by  grass  or  heather,  and  almost 
constantly  shrouded  in  mist  and  rain,  the  scene  is  to  many 
quite  appalling.  The  gusts  of  wind,  accompanied  often  by 
sleet,  which  blow  down  this  pass,  frequently  render  it  difficult 
even  for  horses  to  keep  their  footing,  and  occasionally  the 
stoutest  Highlanders  are  fain  to  cower  down  among  the  stones 
for  shelter.  Deer  and  ptarmigan  are  often  seen  at  the  road 
side,  and  when  the  summit  of  the  corry  is  attained,  the  as- 
tonished traveller  finds  himself  on  one  of  the  higher  acclivities 
of  the  Bein  Bhain  ;  and  if  the  top  is  clear,  he  imagines  himself 
(though  erroneously)  at  no  great  distance  from  it.  In  fine 
weather,  the  view  from  this  point  is  of  course  extremely  grand 
and  extensive  ;  and  the  descent  thence  to  the  secluded,  pasto- 
ral, and  beautiful  glen  of  Applecross,  though  steep  and  tor- 
tuous, is  ever  welcomed  by  the  tired,  if  not  affrighted  wayfarer. 
Amidst  the  surrounding  bleakness  and  desolation  of  the 
sandstone  mountains  of  this  district,  which  attain  an  elevation 
of  upwards  of  2000  feet,  the  bay  and  homesteads  of  Applecross 
have  ever  been  as  an  oasis  in  the  desert ;  and  hence  they  were 
early  fixed  upon  by  the  monks  of  lona  as  a  proper  site  for  a 
supplementary  monastery,  whence  to  assail  the  darkness  of  "  rov- 
ing clans  and  savage  barbarians"  by  the  light  of  learning  and 
religion.  At  its  principal  natural  haven,  Camus-  Terrach,  or  the 
Boat  Cove,  the  land  was  claimed  for  the  "  Prince  of  Peace,"  by 
the  erection  of  a  large  stone  cross,  still  standing ;  several  other 
crosses  lined  the  approach  towards  the  sacred  buildings,  and  one 
curiously  carved,  of  a  very  antique  pattern,  occurs  in  the  church- 
yard. "  Fer-na-Comaraich,"  the  "  laird  of  the  sanctuary,  or  of 
the  land  of  safety,"  is  the  proprietor's  patronymic ;  and  the 
modern  name,  Applecross,  is  founded  on  a  tradition,  that  every 
apple  in  the  monk's  garden  was  marked  with  the  sign  of  the 
cross.  The  breviary  of  Aberdeen  relates,  in  accordance  with 


KOUTE  VI.  C.         CHUKCHES  —  APPLECROSS.  481 

what  Bede  writes  of  Lindisfarne  and  the  other  churches  in  Eng- 
land, erected  after  the  "  Mos  Scotorum"  that  the  church  of  St. 
Maolbrubha,  at  Urquhart,  on  the  western  bank  of  Loch  Ness, 
was  built  of  "  hewn  oak;"  and  according  to  the  learned  writer 
on  "  the  Scottish  Abbeys  and  Cathedrals,"  in  the  Quarterly 
Review  for  June  1849,  "  of  the  same  fashion,  doubtless,  was  the 
more  famous  church  which  St.  Maolbride  founded  at  Apple- 
cross,  in  the  western  wilds  of  Ross,  in  the  year  673,  and  which, 
a  century  later,  gave  an  abbot  to  the  great  house  of  Banchor,  in 
Ireland."  But  three  churches  have  been  erected  here  since  the 
Reformation;  the  remains  of  the  oldest  are  now  used  as  the 
laird's  cemetery,  the  next,  which  was  the  first  Presbyterian 
church,  is  used  as  a  hay  barn ;  and  the  third,  the  subsisting 
one,  is  much  too  large  for  the  congregation,  especially  since  the 
erection  of  the  government  church  at  Shieldaig.  The  present 
incumbent  is  only  the  fifth  Presbyterian  minister  of  the  parish ; 
and  so  obstinately  attached  were  the  rude  people  to  their  ancient 
Episcopal  faith,  that,  in  March  1725,  the  presbytery  of  Gair- 
loch  (now  Loch  Carron)  held  a  meeting  at  Kilmorack,  near 
Beauly,  because,  in  the  language  of  their  record,  "  they  had 
been  rabbled  at  Lochalsh  on  the  16th  September,  1724,"  a  day 
appointed  for  a  parochial  visitation ;  and  in  1731,  Mr.  Sage,  the 
first  Presbyterian  minister  of  Loch  Carron,  petitioned  the  pres- 
bytery to  remove  him,  as  his  life  was  often  in  danger  from  the 
lawlessness  of  the  inhabitants,  and  as  he  "  despaired "  of  being 
of  service  in  his  cure,  only  one  family  having  been  regular  at- 
tendants on  his  ministry. 

The  house  of  Applecross  is  a  fine  old  and  high  chateau,  and 
the  plain  about  it  not  only  bears  good  corn  crops,  and  some  mag- 
nificent trees  and  young  plantations,  but  in  the  garden  the  finest 
dahlias,  fuchsias,  geraniums,  and  hyderangeas,  flower,  and  are 
left  in  the  open  ground  all  the  year  over ;  while,  at  the  same 
time,  in  the  higher  grounds,  the  vegetation  is  quite  arctic,  and 
the  species  few,  and  even  the  hardy  juniper  becomes  a  short 
prostrate  plant,  instead  of  an  upright  bush.  In  the  low  strath, 
the  air  feels  always  mild,  though  moist ;  the  light,  in  some 
places,  is  so  subdued  that  the  bat  Hies  about  at  noon-day ;  but 
nothing  can  surpass  the  beauty  of  the  tints  on  the  adjoining  hill- 
slopes,  or  the  grandeur  and  variety  of  the  sea-coast  views,  espe- 
cially of  the  mountains  in  the  Isle  of  Skye. 

A  small  inn  will  be  found  at  Milntown  of  Applecross,  from 


482  ROSS-SHIRE  INNS — ROUTES.  SECT.  VII. 

which  the  tourist  can  either  return  by  the  Beallach,  or  north- 
wards through  the  glen  to  Shieldaig,  or  by  boat  to  Skye  or  Loch 
Ki  shorn. 

Now  that  the  roads  along  the  west  coast  of  Ross  are  being 
completed,  we  trust  the  local  proprietors  will  arrange  for  an 
immediate  improvement  of  the  inns.  Large  houses  are  not  at 
first  required ;  a  few  small  comfortable  rooms,  neatly  papered, 
and  with  good  ventilation,  but  free  of  cross  draughts,  are  what 
travellers  want.  And  every  bedroom  should  have  a  Kinnaird 
stove  grate,  and  every  kitchen  range  should  be  so  constructed 
as  to  have  a  boiler  with  hot  water  always  ready — a  cheap  luxury 
for  which  the  tourist  is  ever  thankful. 


ROUTE  FOURTBI.— BRANCH  D. 

BONAR  BRIDGE  TO  TONGUE,  DUIRNES8,  AND  CAPE  WRATH. 

General  Character  of  Sutherlandshire,  1. — Muir  of  Tulloch;  Kyle  of  Sutherland 
Cattle  Trysts,  2.— Strath  Shin ;  Achany;  Linn  of  Shin;  Strathfle'et;  Mail  Phaetons 
to  Loch  Shin,  3. — Ben  Clibrick ;  the  Crask ;  Line  of  policy  observed  in  Sutherland- 
shire  ;  Expenditure  on  improvements ;  Sutherlandshire  Inns ;  Social  state  of  the 
Peasantry ;  Projected  modifications  of  system ;  Progress  of  Agriculture,  4. — Na- 
tural features  of  the  county,  5. — Anltnaharra  to  Erriboll ;  Strathmore ;  Ben  Hope, 
6. — Rob  Donn,  the  Poet ;  Duncan  Ban  Maclntyre ;  Gaelic  Poetry,  7. — Dun  Dor- 
nadilla,  8.— Strathnaver;  Depopulation,  9.— BenLoval;  Loch  Loyal;  Lochs  Craggy 
and  Slam ;  Kyle  and  House  of  Tongue ;  KirkiboU  tillage,  10.— The  Moin;  Roads, 
11. — Ferries;  Chain  Boats,  12. — Ben  and  Loch  Hope;  Camusinduin  Bay;  Loch 
Erriboll ;  Rispond,  13. — Cave  of  Smoo,  or  Uaigh  Mhore ;  Cascade ;  Superstitions, 
14. — Farout  Head ;  Balna  Kiel-house ;  Rob  Donn's  Grave ;  Tombstone  of  Donald 
MacMorchie-ic-eoin-mh&ir;  Shipwreck;  Cave  of  Poul-a-Ghloup,  15. — Cape  Wrath; 
Lighthouse ;  View  from  Cape  ^Vrath,  16. 

Miles. 

Bridge  of  Shin 5 

Lairg 6 

Aultnaharra 21 

Tongue  18 

To  the  Ferry 2 

Ferry Of 

Ditto  on  River  Hope  „ 8 

Loch  Erriboll  at  Hoielim  Ferry 2 

Huelim  Ferry If 

Huelim,  round  the  head  of  the  Loch  by  Erriboll  to  Port 

Chamil.  opposite  side  of  the  Fern-   12 

Duirness  Inn " 7 

Cape  Wrath,  including  Ferry    4 

95} 


ROUTE  IV.  D.     GENERAL  CHARACTER  OF  SUTHERLAND.     483 

Miles. 

Aultnaharra  .........................................................  32 

Cashel  Dhu  .........................................................  13 

Erriboll  ...............................................................     5 

Huelim  ..............................................................    3£ 

Cape  Wrath  .........................................................  21 


Huelim  to  Cape  Wrath,  across  the  Ferry    .................  22f* 

1.  SUTHERLAND  possesses  several  peculiar  features,  and  is  a 
county  comparatively  little  known.  Its  fastnesses  have  been 
but  recently  rendered  accessible  by  connected  lines  of  road. 
Practised  visitors  of  the  Highlands  have  found  their  way  of 
late  in  considerable  numbers  to  Sutherlandshire  ;  but  to  the 
mass  of  tourists  it  is  yet  a  terra  incognita.  As  it  presents  all 
the  freshness  of  novelty,  though  remote,  its  wild  scenery,  how- 
ever, will  doubtless  soon  attract  the  attention  of  the  travelling 
public  in  general.  A  great  expanse  of  heathy,  mossy,  and  tree- 
less wastes  occupies  the  bulk  of  the  country,  and  the  habita- 
tions of  men  are  but  very  sparingly  indeed  scattered  over  its 
surface.  Lonely  wildness  is  thus  a  decided  characteristic  ;  but 
verdant  straths,  and  splendid  lakes  cheer  the  traveller  in  his  pro- 
gress, and  the  lofty  and  noble  forms  of  the  mountains  command 
his  admiration,  while  the  coasts,  and  the  numerous  salt-water 
lochs  which  break  in  and  lose  themselves  among  the  precipitous 
mountains,  present  every  variety  of  maritime  landscape. 

2.  Proceeding  westward  along  the  Kyle  of  Dornoch  from 
Bonar  Bridge,  the  tourist  passes  the  Muir  of  Tulloch,  within 
half-a-mile  of  Bonar,  where  was  fought  a  "  cruel  battell  "  be- 
tween a  party  of  Danes  and  the  men  of  Sutherland,  in  the 
eleventh  century  ;  and  many  tumuli  and  cairns  still  mark  where 
lie  the  remains  of  the  fallen  combatants.  The  heights,  till  we 
reach  Portinlick,  where  there  is  a  ferry  across  the  Kyle,  are,  like 

*  We  would  here  correct  an  inaccuracy  in  the  distances  between  Dingwall  and 
Invergordon  and  Bonar  Bridge.    The  correct  ones  are  — 

Mile.. 
Dingwall  to  Evanton  .........................................................    6 

Invergordon    ..................................................................    7 

13 

Dingwall  to  Evanton  .......................................................  6 

Toll-bar    ........................................................................  2 

Stittenham  Inn  ...............................................................  4$ 

Bonar  Bridge  ..................................................................  14 

1J6* 
Stittenham  being  nearly  eqiu-distant  from  Dingwall  and  Bonar. 


484  KYLE  OF  SUTHERLAND  CATTLE  TRYSTS.     SECT.    VII. 

the  hill  sides  for  several  miles  below  Bonar  Bridge,  on  the 
north  side — with  the  exception  of  the  small  estate  of  Creich, 
the  property  of  Mr.  Gilchrist  of  Ospisdale — covered  with  thriv- 
ing plantations  of  fir  and  larch.  On  the  hill  above  are  held  the 
"  Kyle  of  Sutherland  Cattle  Trysts  ;"  and  there  are  few  scenes 
more  enlivening  than  that  which  on  these  occasions  is  presented, 
in  the  numerous  herds  of  cattle,  horses,  sheep,  and  all  sorts  of 
four-footed  animals  ;  the  almost  equally  numerous  bipeds  of  all 
degrees,  in  the  persons  of  drovers,  gentlemen  farmers,  cottars, 
and  herdsmen,  and  the  hundred  and  one  party-coloured  tents  for 
refreshments,  formed,  some  of  old  field-tents,  much  the  worse 
for  the  wear,  others  of  the  gaily  chequered  home  made  blanket, 
and  many  of  a  nondescript  patchwork,  composed  of  a  mixture 
of  all  sorts  of  stuffs,  which,  though  not  exactly  fit  to  bear  part 
in  a  field-day  exhibition,  still,  when  viewed  from  a  little  dis- 
tance, add  to  the  general  effect  of  the  scene,  and  lend  to  it  not 
a  little  the  resemblance  of  a  martial  display.  Both  the  farmer 
and  the  drover  may  be  detected  at  a  glance  by  their  calculating 
faces  ;  having,  however,  this  material  difference  generally — that 
the  subject  of  the  poor  farmer's  calculation  is  the  amount  of 
loss  he  sustains,  and  according  to  the  result  is  his  countenance 
proportionally  elongated ;  whilst  the  drover,  whose  whole  trade 
is  gambling,  uniformly  calculates  his  prospects  of  gain.  The 
lowing  of  cattle,  the  neighing  of  horses,  the  bleating  of  sheep, 
and,  above  all,  the  peculiar  shout  of  the  herdsmen,  who  have 
enough  to  do  to  check  the  excursive  propensities  of  their  four- 
footed  charge,  help  to  render  the  scene  altogether  one  of  the 
most  exhilarating  description. 

3.  About  two  miles  beyond  Portinlick  is  the  Bridge  of  Shin, 
across  the  river  of  that  name,  and  five  miles  from  Bonar.  The 
road  here  divides,  one  branch  leading  directly  west,  to  Assynt, 
the  other  northwards,  to  Lairg.  This  latter  road  proceeds  along 
the  west  bank  of  the  river  of  Shin,*  through  a  narrow  strath 
of  heathy  slopes  rising  immediately  from  the  water,  and  to  some 
height.  On  the  west  side  lies  the  well-wooded  and  now  highly 
improved  and  beautiful  estate  of  Achany  (James  Matheson, 
Esq.  M.P.),  having  a  commodious  mansion-house.  Adjoining 
to  it,  on  Loch  Shin  side,  is  the  pretty  property  of  Gruids,  now 

*  Another  road  also  conducts  to  I^irg,  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  hut  the  first 
is  preferahle,  in  so  far  as  it  proceeds  through  the  woods  and  by  the  mansion  of  Achany, 
And  close  by  the  river,  while  the  other  commands  views  from  above  of  these  and  of 
Strathoikel,  and  on  the  former  the  river  has  to  be  crossed  at  a  ford. 


ROUTE  IV.  D.  LOCH  SHIN.  485 

also  acquired  by  him,  and  also  between  and  the  Oikel,  the  fine 
estate  of  Rosehall,  forming  together  a  very  nice  Highland 
estate.  At  a  distance  of  six  miles,  the  western  road  crosses  the 
river  at  a  ford  near  the  village  of  Lairg,  which  stands  on  the 
east  bank,  and  where  there  is  also  a  coble  and  piers  on  the  river. 
On  leaving  the  river  the  traveller  passes  the  Linn  of  Shin,  where, 
as  the  name  implies,  there  is  a  waterfall,  more  remarkable,  how- 
ever, as  a  salmon-leap  than  as  a  cascade.  The  salmon  proceed- 
ing up  the  river  may  here  be  seen  making  many  unsuccessful 
attempts  to  surmount  the  ledge  of  rock  that  forms  the  fall, 
which  is  about  eight  or  nine  feet  in  height,  and  many,  by  dint 
of  great  perseverance  and  strength,  do  succeed. 

From  the  Ferry  of  Lairg  a  road  leads  westerly,  which,  at  a 
distance  of  eight  miles,  over  very  dreary  elevated  moorland 
ground,  joins,  at  Rosehall,  the  Assynt  road  from  the  Bridge  of 
Shin.  The  few  miserable  huts  passed  at  the  commencement, 
with  their  scanty  shapeless  patches  of  cultivated  ground  par- 
tially encircled  by  caricature  dykes  of  multiformed  stones,  and 
most  precarious-looking  formation,  are  very  unpromising  indi- 
cations of  the  discomforts  and  poverty  of  the  people.  Another 
road,  crossing  the  hill  behind  Lairg,  proceeds  eastward  through 
Strathfleet,  by  the  valuable  farm  of  Morvich,  to  the  Mound, 
fourteen  miles  distant,  where  it  joins  the  great  north  road.  In 
the  lower  part  of  Strathfleet  there  is  a  considerable  collection 
of  smaller  tenants,  the  improvements  made  by  whom  are  very 
pleasing,  and  a  substantial  earnest  of  what  may,  and  we  doubt 
not  will,  soon  be  done,  much  more  extensively  than  hitherto  in 
that  direction.  Mail  phaetons,  as  has  been  already  mentioned, 
traverse  the  county  from  Golspie  to  Tongue,  and  to  Loch  Inver 
and  Scourie,  and  will,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  be  speedily  placed  on 
the  road  from  the  latter  place  to  Duirness  and  Tongue,  and 
the  communication  round  the  coast  be  thus  completed.  At 
Lairg  there  is  an  excellent  new  inn,  which  commands  a  sweet 
view  of  the  lower  section  of  Loch  Shin,  about  which  there  is  a 
good  deal  of  cultivated  land.  This  lake  is  about  eighteen  or 
twenty  miles  in  length,  stretching  to  the  north-west,  and  from 
one  to  two  miles  broad,  surrounded  by  very  low  hills,  rising  in 
lengthened  very  slightly-inclined  slopes.  The  inn-keeper  at 
Lairg  used  to  have  the  privilege  of  permitting  strangers  to  fish 
till  the  12th  of  August ;  but  now  the  fishings  are  let,  and  the 
charge  for  angling  is  so  high  as  10s.  6d.  a-day. 


486  LOCH  SHIN — NEW  LINE  OP  ROAD.  SECT.  VII. 

The  great  opening  intersecting  the  county  from  Loch  Fleet 
to  Laxford,  is  occupied  by  one  continued  series  of  lakes  and 
streams — Lochs  Shin,  Grism,  Merkland,  More,  and  Stack — and 
a  road  is  in  course  of  formation  from  Lairg  to  Laxford,  the  line 
of  which  is  almost  perfectly  level,  and  the  route  will  be  alto- 
gether one  of  the  finest  in  Sutherlandshire,  as  it  passes  alongst 
the  margin  of  the  celebrated  Reay  and  Foinnebhein  deer-forests, 
and  near  the  base  of  some  of  the  highest  mountains,  as  Ben 
Hee,  Ben  Liod,  Ben  Diraid,  Meal  Rynies,  Saval  More,  and  Foin- 
nebhein, while  various  portions  along  the  line  are  wooded  with 
dwarfish  birch.  The  lochs  and  streams  are  among  the  best  for 
white  fishing  and  salmon  in  Sutherlandshire.  Strangers  are 
generally  free  to  fish  for  salmon  and  trout  on  the  lochs,  and  for 
trout  in  the  streams  ;  and  in  those  of  the  latter  not  let,  the  inn- 
keepers have  also  the  privilege,  for  a  portion  of  the  year,  of  per- 
mitting persons  living  at  the  inns  to  fish  for  salmon  also.  We 
are  glad  to  find  that  this  roadway  is  a  couple  of  feet  wider  than 
the  roads  round  the  south  boundary,  and  the  west  and  north 
coasts,  which,  for  most  part,  are  only  eight  feet  wide,  with  an 
edging  of  one  foot  of  sward  on  each  side.  The  distance  to  Lax- 
ford  will  be  shortened  to  thirty-two  miles,  being  little  more 
than  one-half  the  present  circuit.  The  road  keeps  the  north 
side  of  Loch  Shin  and  the  south  side  of  the  other  lochs,  the 
forest  stretching  along  the  north. 

Having  enjoyed  the  scenery  which  the  waters  of  Loch  Shin, 
the  neat  cottages,  the  new  tasteful  church,  and  the  peaceful 
manse— all  pleasantly  situated  on  a  sloping  bank  of  the  lake, 
with  the  Free  Church  and  manse  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river — combine  to  present  to  the  eye,  we  proceed  along  the  margin 
of  the  loch  for  a  distance  of  about  two  miles,  when  the  road 
begins  to  recede  from  it,  till  at  last  it  hides  itself  from  view 
behind  the  mountains.  Here  the  tourist  may  look  upon  him- 
self as  entering  the  desert — such  it  may  well  be  called ;  for  in 
the  whole  tract  of  country  lying  between  Lairg  and  Tongue,  an 
extent  of  forty  miles,  and  a  succession  of  elevated  moorlands 
lying  between  Loch  Shin,  Loch  Naver,  Loch  Loyal,  Loch  Hope, 
and  the  Kyle  of  Tongue — along  the  whole  course  of  which  the 
eye  roams  over  miles  of  country,  in  all  directions,  of  smooth 
moorland  and  pasture,  either  in  great  plains,  or  gentle  and  ex- 
tensive inclinations — all  is  barrenness  and  waste ;  and  human 
habitations  are  so  "  few  and  far  between,"  that  only  some  three 


ROUTE  IV.  D.   DEPOPULATION  OF  SUTHERLANDSHIRE.   487 

or  four  exist  in  all  the  distance,  to  cheer  the  pilgrim  with  the 
assurance  that  he  is  not  alone  in  the  world. 

"  Yet  e'en  this  nakedness  has  power, 
And  aids  the  feeling  of  the  hour" — 

that  feeling  so  beautifully  described  by  Byron,  where  he  says — 

"  There  is  a  pleasure  in  the  pathless  woods, 

There  is  a  rapture  on  the  lonely  shore; 
There  is  society  where  none  intrudes, 

By  the  deep  sea,  and  music  in  its  roar." 

4.  There  is  certainly  nothing  within  the  circuit  of  the 
British  dominions  to  equal  the  intensity  and  magnitude  of  the 
desolation  of  this  vast  region ;  yet  is  it  but  a  more  expanded 
sample  of  what  is  to  be  found  in  most  parts  of  the  county.  We 
speak  of  those  portions  belonging  to  the  Sutherland  family,  who 
own  at  least  four-fifths,  or  more,  of  the  whole.  Every  conside- 
ration has  been  rigidly  made  to  bend  to  one  vast  scheme  of 
sheep-farming,  and  to  depopulation  as  a  supposed  necessary 
concomitant.  This  was  no  doubt  the  most  summary,  and  seem- 
ingly most  feasible  mode  of  dealing  with  the  million  acres  of 
Sutherlandshire.  The  task  devolving  on  the  proprietor  was, 
perhaps,  too  much  for  an  individual.  To  conceive  of  Sutherland- 
shire,  before  its  vast  fastnesses  were  made  accessible  by  roads, 
to  realize  the  consequent  backwardness  of  the  people,  and  to 
suppose  to  one's  self  the  opening  up  of  lines  of  communication, 
ameliorating  the  social  condition  of  the  people,  and  to  find  the 
means  of  turning  the  possession  of  this  great  tract  of  country 
to  profitable  account,  is  obviously  to  propose  a  problem  per- 
fectly anomalous  in  this  country  and  in  this  age.  The  duty 
was  herculean,  and  we  may  imagine  the  temptation  in  grappling 
with  it,  to  adopt  the  most  ready  mode  that  might  be  presented 
to  bring  it  within  more  manageable  compass.  This  it  may 
have  been  which  recommended  the  policy  which  has  directed 
the  course  of  events  in  Sutherlandshire.  We  would  make  no 
invidious  reflections.  The  position  of  the  noble  proprietors  and 
their  advisers  must  have  been  sufficiently  onerous — the  respon- 
sibility in  itself  weighty  enough.  But  the  passing  traveller 
cannot  but  ponder  these  things,  and  ask  himself,  Can  it  be  so 
that  thus  it  ought  to  be — that  sheep  should  dispossess  man,  and 
that  while  large  fertile  tracts  are  evidently  eminently  adapted 
for  agricultural  purposes  ?  It  seems  so  entire  a  reversal  of  the 
course  of  civilization,  and  would  lead  to  so  complete  a  reductio 
ad  absurdum;  for  no  doubt,  at  one  time  or  other,  the  same  rea- 


488     IMPROVEMENTS  IN  SUTHERLANDSHIRE.   SECT.  VII. 

soning  might  have  suggested  the  leaving  of  the  whole  of  Bri- 
tain in  like  manner  waste.  We  believe  Sutherlandshire  has 
proved  anything  but  a  profitable  possession.  The  greater  part 
of  the  income  has,  it  is  understood,  for  years,  been  expended  in 
the  course  of  the  great  public  improvements,  roads  and  bridges, 
buildings,  &c.,  which  have  been  carried  on.  Had  not  the  coun- 
try fallen  into  the  hands  of  so  opulent  a  family  as  that  of  Staf- 
ford, could  such  sacrifices  have  been  made,  and  public  benefits 
wrought  out  ?  In  twenty  years,  from  1811  to  1831,  there  were 
420  miles  of  road,  and  134  bridges  of  ten  feet  span,  and  upwards, 
formed  in  Sutherlandshire,  by  the  instrumentality  of  the  Marquis 
of  Stafford,  and  of  Mr.  James  Loch,  his  commissioner,  seconded 
by  Mr.  Horsburgh,  and  other  local  factors,  and  mainly  at  the 
Marquis's  expense,  though  the  other  heritors  bore  their  share 
of  greater  part,  according  to  their  rentals !  Considerable  addi- 
tional length  of  branch  roads  has  been  since  formed.  Yet  this 
is  but  one  item.  There  have  been  the  erection  of  inns,  harbours, 
and  others,  which  may  be  called  public  works,  in  addition  to  all 
the  details  of  erection  of  farm-steadings,  plantations,  taking  in 
of  land,  enclosures,  and  the  public  burdens  incidental  to  landed 
property.  Whatever  construction  there  may  be  given  to  the 
counsels  which  advised  the  schemes  of  improvement,  the  greed  of 
pecuniary  gain  cannot  be  attributed  to  the  Sutherland  family. 
It  is  but  justice  to  give  the  full  meed  of  praise,  where  there 
is  so  much  to  invite  censorious  remark.  The  roads  are  most 
extensive,  the  inns  are  really,  as  a  whole,  unequalled  in  the  High- 
lands, and  may  well  surprise  the  reasonable  Southron.  Every 
thing  is  clean,  even  in  the  humblest  inn,  and  comparatively  com- 
fortable, while  in  the  best  class — and  such  are  to  be  found  from 
point  to  point,  in  all  parts  of  the  county,  as  Dornoch,  Golspie, 
Helrnsdale,  Lairg,  Aultnaharra,  Tongue,  Duirness,  Scourie,  Loch 
Inver,  Innisindamff,  Melvich,  and  Auchintoul — the  conveniences 
and  style  are  perfectly  surprising.  They  may  well  serve  as 
models  to  the  Highland  inns.*  The  people  are  universally 

*  These  inns,  however,  cannot  be  expected  to  have  extensive  accommodation. 
Two  sitting-rooms,  and  from  three  to  six  bed-rooms,  is  about  the  extent  of  accommo- 
dation. A  few  have  shooting-lodges  attached,  in  which,  probably,  on  a  pinch,  a  bed 
for  a  night  might  be  given  to  a  party  not  able  to  rough  it  otherwise;  but  in  the  sea- 
son there  is  at  times  a  very  considerable  concourse  of  tourists  in  Sutherlandshire, 
and  this  cannot  fail  to  increase  yearly,  and,  no  doubt,  enlarged  accommodations  will 
be  the  result.  Meantime,  to  come  early  is  the  best  guarantee  for  room  enough — we 
would  say  from  the  10th  June  to  the  middle  of  July,  before  the  great  mass  of  health 
and  pleasure-seeking  Southrons  have  been  able  to  liberate  themselves.  This  period 
also  will  be  found  the  most  likely  for  a  course  of  steady  and  general  weather. 


ROUTE  IV.  D.     PEASANTRY AGRICULTURE.          489 

most  civil.  They  speak  better  English,  and  more  generally 
than  in  other  parts  of  the  Highlands  ;  and  everything  bears  tes- 
timony to  the  great  and  successful  efforts  for  the  amelioration 
of  the  population,  whatever  room  there  may  be  for  diversity  of 
opinion  as  to  the  line  of  policy,  and  however  more  gravely  the 
means  at  times  adopted  may  present  themselves  in  the  light  of 
religious  responsibility.  The  people  of  Sutherland  decidedly 
rank  with  the  best  class  of  Highland  peasantry.  They  are  uni- 
versally civil,  courteous,  and  obliging,  generally  cleanly  in  their 
habits,  inured  to  labour  and  industry ;  and  the  aspect  of  a  coun- 
try congregation,  in  point  of  neat  and  respectable  attire,  is  very 
gratifying.  We  also  happen  to  know,  that  the  present  noble 
proprietor  not  only  purposes  subdividing  his  sheep-farms  on  the 
expiry  of  the  current  leases,  but  also  has  projected  plans  of  im- 
provement, by  bringing  land  into  cultivation,  and  generally  by 
the  calling  into  action  the  energies  of  a  greater  number  of  ex- 
perienced tenants,  and  by  the  introduction,  at  the  same  time,  of 
agricultural  teachers  to  stimulate  and  foster  intelligent  indus- 
trial effort.  Much  has  been  done  on  the  larger  farms,  in  keep- 
ing progress  with  the  advancement  of  agricultural  skill  and 
knowledge,  and  some  of  the  larger  tenants,  as  we  have  already 
indicated,  have  gone  ahead.  Still,  we  believe  we  are  not  mis- 
taken in  saying  that,  generally,  pace  has  hardly  been  kept  on 
the  Sutherland  estates,  in  drainage  and  other  improvements, 
with  adjoining  counties  and  estates ;  but  Sutherlandshire  is  so 
unique,  so  gigantic  a  possession,  that  circumspection  is  required 
in  drawing  comparisons.  The  demands  on  the  Duke  are  neces- 
sarily so  excessive,  that  few  other  men  in  his  situation  but 
himself  could  contrive  to  face  them  at  all.  For  instance,  in 
the  first  year  of  the  recent  potato  failure,  he  actually  expended 
^£27,000  in  the  providing  means  of  subsistence,  by  employment 
and  provision  of  food,  for  the  starving  population  of  Assynt, 
Edderachillis,  and  Duirness  alone. 

Credit  is  now  unreservedly  given  to  the  good  intentions  by 
which  the  late  Duchess-Countess  and  her  noble  husband  were 

Here,  too,  we  would  correct  a  mistake  we  were  led  into,  page  401.  At  all  the  inns 
there  is  a  conveyance  of  some  sort  to  be  had  on  hire,  dog-cart  or  drosky,  and  even  at 
the  smaller  inns,  as  Kyle  Skou  and  Rhiconich,  if  nothing  better,  there  will  be  at  least 
a  good  spring-cart  forthcoming.  We  would  further  remark,  that  in  our  notice  of  the 
inn  of  Stittenham,  between  AUness  and  Bonar  Bridge,  our  notice  was  inadequate. 
It  was  also  built  by  the  Marquis  of  Stafford,  when  proprietor  of  Ardross,  though  since 
added  to  by  Mr.  Matheson,  the  present  proprietor.  It  is  like  the  best  Sutherland- 
shire  inns,  a  really  excellent  one,  and  forms  a  favourable  contrast  with,  we  regret  to 
say,  several  of  the  Ross-shire  inns. 


490      NATURAL  FEATURES  OF  THE  COUNTRY.  SECT.  VII. 

actuated,  and  the  liberal  spirit  of  the  present  Duke,  in  dealing 
with  these  his  northern  possessions  in  all  the  specialties  of  their 
position,  is  universally  acknowledged.  Let  us  hope  that  what 
has  been  done  may  prove  to  have  been  like  the  cutting  down  to 
the  roots  of  a  plant  or  tree,  overgrown  and  unproductive,  de- 
spoiling it  for  a  season  of  its  leafy  honours,  but  only  that,  after 
a  time,  it  may  spring  up  anew,  luxuriant  with  blossom  and  fruit. 
Let  us  believe  that  in  the  hand  of  providence  the  excision  was 
permitted,  and  brought  about  for  good  and  wise  purposes. 

But  enough  of  such  digression  which  we  have  been  led  into, 
because  this  vast  compass  of  country,  so  peculiar  in  its  aspects 
as  Sutherlandshire  is,  cannot  fail  to  excite  the  tourist's  specula- 
tion as  he  wends  along,  and  subject  the  noble  owners  to  critical 
comment. 

5.  The  unparalleled  moorland  expanse  of  country  interme- 
diate between  Lairg  and  Tongue,  treeless  and  all  but  houseless, 
presents  many  stretches  of  delightful  verdure,  and  generally  in 
Sutherlandshire,  except  in  the  deer  forests,  the  heath  is  kept 
very  short,  being  burnt  every  seven  years,  so  that  the  livery  of 
the  country  is  generally  pleasing. 

Advancing  northwards  from  Loch  Shin,  the  conical  height 
of  the  mighty  Ben  Clibrick,  on  the  south-east  side  of  Loch 
Naver,  right  a-head,  fills  the  eye.  To  the  west  and  northward 
the  expanded  circuit  is  occupied  by  Ben  More  of  Assynt,  Ben 
Liod,  Ben  Hee  (one  of  the  highest  mountains  in  Sutherlandshire), 
Ben  Hope,  and  Ben  Loyal,  while  behind  us  the  Ross-shire  hills 
make  a  continuous  mountain  outline.  A  striking  peculiarity 
distinguishes  the  mountain  scenery  of  Sutherlandshire.  The 
great  mass  of  the  country  is  considerably  raised,  forming  in 
most  quarters  an  elevated  table  land  of  smooth  moorland  or 
rocky  eminences.  On  this  universal  base,  diversified  by  river 
courses  and  straths,  and  inequalities  of  all  sorts,  are  piled  a 
great  array  of  generally  detached  mountains — huge  superstruc- 
tures towering,  each  in  isolated  grandeur,  from  3000  to  3500 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  In  consequence  there  is  less  of 
continuous  mountainous  screen  than  in  most  other  parts,  while 
each  giant-like  mass  stands  out  in  its  own  full  proportions,  al- 
ways, too,  in  some  of  its  corries  and  sides,  sheer  and  abrupt  from 
base  to  summit,  most  variously  modelled,  and  shaping  itself  dif- 
ferently, according  to  the  point  of  view ;  when  the  outlines  of 
different  mountains  comingle,  assuming  strongly-defined  ap- 


ROUTE  IV.  D.  BEN  CLIBRICK.  491 

pearances ;  and  the  terminal  aspects  of  the  different  masses 
repeatedly  presenting  themselves  in  cones,  peaks,  and  pyramids, 
comprising  the  full  elevation  of  the  hulk,  and  thus  of  a  magni- 
tude seldom  met  with  elsewhere,  and  nowhere  in  the  Highlands 
in  such  array. 

What  may  be  called  glen  and  valley  scenery  is  of  rare  oc- 
currence. The  river  and  stream  courses  are  open,  their  chan- 
nels generally  shallow,  and  it  is  among  the  lakes  and  inlets  of 
the  sea,  the  jutting  headlands,  and  the  upper  recesses  of  the 
mountains,  and  in  panoramic  amplitude  and  pervading  solitude 
and  silence,  that  we  are  to  look  for  the  characteristic  features 
of  the  country. 

As  we  advance  to  Aultnaharra,  Ben  Clibrick  rules  sole  mon- 
arch of  the  waste  to  the  eastward,  in  which  direction  the  country 
is  destitute  of  marked  elevations,  excepting  one  hill  on  the 
east  side  of  Loch  Loyal ;  but  in  the  distance,  the  two  well- 
known  pyramidal  hills,  called  the  Paps  of  Caithness,  are  de- 
scried. Ben  Clibrick,  as  marked  upon  the  map,  is  situated  as 
exactly  in  the  centre  of  the  county  as  if  a  pair  of  compasses 
had  been  applied  with  geometrical  precision  in  fixing  its  posi- 
tion ;  and  from  its  great  height,  upwards  of  3000  feet,  and  cen- 
trical situation,  the  view  from  its  summit  is  as  extensive  as  it 
is  grand  and  various,  embracing  the  German  Ocean,  the  great 
North  Sea,  portions  of  many  of  the  surrounding  counties,  and 
even,  with  the  advantage  of  a  clear  day,  the  Orkney  Islands. 

After  a  ride  of  twenty-one  miles  over  the  dreary  Crask  (a 
pass),  we  reach  the  solitary  inn  of  Aultnaharra,  or  Aultnaherve, 
near  the  head  of  Loch  Naver,  now  as  admirable  as  it  is  remote. 
At  a  little  half-way  house  a  feed  of  corn,  or  meal  and  water, 
can  be  had. 

6.  At  Aultnaharra,  a  branch  from  the  Tongue  road  diverges 
on  either  hand,  one  on  the  left  leading  to  Loch  Erriboll,  the 
other,  through  Strathnaver,  to  Farr.  Of  the  former,  the  ascent 
for  the  first  four  miles  is  constant  and  considerable ;  but  on 
pausing  and  looking  behind,  the  extensive  rich  green  Lonn 
(meadow  strath)  of  Moudale,  the  commanding  and  grand  view 
of  Ben  Clibrick,  and  a  peep  of  Strathnaver,  prove  quite  refresh- 
ing. Soon  the  prospect  opens  on  the  other  hand,  and  a  great 
stretch  of  wild  scenery  is  presented  to  view.  About  nine  miles 
from  Aultnaharra  we  enter  Strathmore.  Above  this  strath, 
which  forms  a  continuation  of  the  line  of  Loch  Hope  (a  fresh- 


492  AULTNACAILL1CH — ROB  DONN.  SECT.  VII. 

water  lake  running  parallel  with  Loch  Erriboll),  there  is  enjoyed 
an  interesting  and  varied  view  of  the  rugged  Ben  Hope,  at  the 
south  end  of  the  east  side  of  the  loch.  This  mountain,  which 
on  this  side  exhibits  a  perpendicular  precipice  almost  along  its 
whole  height,  is  said  to  be  distinguished  by  the  property  of 
emitting,  previous  to  tempestuous  weather,  a  hollow  sound 
indicative  of  the  approaching  storm,  such  as  sung  by  the  Man- 
tuan  bard  : — 


'Altis 


Montihus  audiri  fragor."1 

7.  Aultnacaillich,  in  Strathmore,  is  the  birthplace  of  Rob 
Bonn,  the  Gaelic  poet.  Robert  Calder  Mackay,  or,  as  he  is 
generally  called,  Rob  Donn,  is  regarded  as  the  Burns  of  the 
North,  as  Duncan  Ban  Maclntyre  is  of  the  South  Highlands  ; 
and,  indeed,  their  poems  form  the  only  two  miscellaneous  collec- 
tions of  note  of  Gaelic  poetry.  The  former  was  born  at  Ault- 
nacaillich in  Strathmore,  in  1714 ;  the  latter  in  1724,  at 
Drumlairhaig  in  Glen  Ogle,  Perthshire.  Both  were  uneducated 
men,  but  their  productions  bear  the  stamp  of  vigorous  genius. 
An  able  memoir  of  the  former,  by  one  of  the  first  Gaelic  scholars 
of  the  age,  has  been  published,  along  with  his  songs  and  poems. 
He  would  seem  to  have  been  a  man  of  no  common  grasp  of  in- 
tellect ;  a  shrewd  observer,  possessing  powers  of  caustic  satire, 
which,  however,  he  employed  always,  and  that  with  great  inde- 
pendence of  spirit,  on  the  side  of  truth  and  morality.  His 
compositions  are  all  extemporary,  struck  off  on  the  spur  of  the 
occasion ;  and  his  facility  in  building  the  lofty  rhyme  was  not 
a  little  remarkable.  There  is  much  playful  vivacity  and  keen 
sense  of  the  ludicrous  in  his  humorous  pieces  ;  and,  in  the  more 
serious  efforts  of  his  muse,  he  displays  justness  of  thought, 
propriety  of  sentiment,  tenderness  and  warmth  of  feeling,  and 
correctness  of  taste.  His  social  powers  made  him  a  great 
favourite  with  all  classes ;  but  though  he  would  appear  latterly 
to  have  in  some  degree  given  way  under  the  baneful  influence 
of  frequent  convivial  excitement,  his  character  generally  was 
unmarked  by  the  aberrations  which  too  frequently  stain  the 
career  of  genius ;  and,  indeed,  his  moral  deportment  was  such, 
that  he  was  nominated  an  elder  of  his  native  parish  at  a  time 
when  the  qualifications  for  that  office  were  rigorously  investi- 

*  The  same  phenomenon  is  said  to  be  characteristic  of  the  Cairngorm  mountains 
in  Inverness-shire. 


ROUTE  IV.  D.         ELEGIAC  POETRT.  493 

gated.  His  life  was  successively  spent  as  a  drover,  gamekeeper, 
superior  cowherd  or  bowman,  and  as  a  small  farmer ;  and,  for  a 
time,  he  joined  the  first  regiment  of  Sutherland  Highlanders, 
but  more  in  the  capacity  of  a  privileged  favourite,  than  of  a 
private  soldier.  Rob  Donn's  biographer  ranks  his  compositions 
as  inferior,  in  point  of  rhythmical  beauty,  to  those  of  some 
other  bards,  especially  of  Duncan  Maclntyre  ;  but  he  accounts 
for  this  from  the  peculiarities  of  the  dialect  in  which  he 
wrote. 

"  The  highest  efforts  of  our  bard's  rhythmical  powers  is 
undoubtedly  to  be  found  in  '  Piobaireachd  Iseabail  NicAoidh,' 
a  song  composed  in  praise  of  a  young  lady,  to  the  well-known 
air  of  the  pipe  tune,  '  The  Prince's  Salute.'  To  those  who  have 
attended  to  the  variations  of  that  air,  as  played  properly  upon 
the  great  Highland  bagpipe,  it  cannot  appear  but  as  a  very 
respectable  effort,  that  the  bard  has  met  all  its  variations,  quick 
and  slow,  with  words  and  with  sentiments  admirably  suited  both 
to  the  air  and  to  his  subject.  Duncan  Maclntyre's  '  Beinn 
D'oblorain,'  is  an  effort  of  the  same  kind,  which  we  grant  is 
superior,  indeed  almost  marvellous.  But  of  the  two,  and  we 
believe  of  some  others  of  the  same  kind,  we  may  claim  priority 
for  Rob  Donn." — "  If  Rob  Donn's  poetry  be  sometimes  found 
deficient  in  harmony,  and  its  phraseology  be  sometimes  pro- 
nounced by  Gaelic  critics  in  a  measure  uncouth,  it  will  not  be 
generally  denied  that  he  possesses  the  redeeming  qualities,  under 
these  disadvantages,  of  nerve,  and  strength  of  mind  and  senti- 
ment, a  manly  vigour  of  intellect,  a  soundness  and  perspicuity 
of  good  sense,  that  place  him  as  a  bard  beside  the  most  popular 
names  of  his  country's  minstrels.  In  the  properties  of  true 
poetic  fertility,  of  wit  and  humour  when  he  is  playful,  elevation 
of  sentiment  when  he  is  solemn,  soundness  of  principle  and 
moral  feeling  when  he  is  serious,  if  we  dare  not  say  that  he 
stands  the  first  of  Gaelic  bards,  we  may  say  with  his  contem- 
porary, Mr.  John  Mackay  of  Strathmelness — 

'  Leis  gach  breithearah  d'an  eoldau, 
Bidh  cuimhne  gu  brath  air  Rob  Bonn.' 

'  With  even-  judge  of  poet's  fame, 
Rob  Donn's  will  live  a  deathless  name.'  " 

We  subjoin  the  following  sensible  observations  from  the 
same  author,  on  the  elegiac  poetry  of  the  Highlands.  "  His 
solemn  compositions  may  be  said  to  present  the  bard's  charac- 


494  ELEGIAC  POETRY.          SECT.  VII. 

ter  in  its  strength.  By  these,  we  mean  principally  his  elegies. 
It  is  generally  known,  that  over  the  Highlands  of  Scotland, 
until  days  yet  not  long  gone  by,  every  district  had  its  bard  or 
bards  of  higher  or  lower  name  ;  and  when  any  individual  of 
provincial  or  public  celebrity  died,  it  was  customary  for  their 
death  to  be  followed  by  an  elegy,  or  some  poetic  praises  to  per- 
petuate the  remembrance  of  their  virtues.  That  such  praises 
should  always  be  justly  bestowed,  and  not  partake,  even  when 
merited,  of  poetic  exaggeration,  could  not  be  expected.  Feel- 
ings of  personal  regard,  of  partiality  to  the  dead,  and  hopes  of 
benefit  from  the  living,  would  frequently,  no  doubt,  enlist 
poetic  talent  to  say  the  best  that  could  well  be  said.  We  have 
good  authority  for  maintaining  it  as  beyond  controversy,  that 
our  author  on  such  occasions  never  once  was  hired  ;  never  was 
enlisted  by  any  prospect  of  interest  or  advantage,  to  eulogise 
where  he  could  not  conscientiously  commend.  And  his  com- 
mendations bestowed  in  elegy  will  evince,  we  conceive,  even  to 
readers  entirely  strangers  to  the  history  of  the  individuals  to 
whose  memory  they  are  devoted,  an  honesty  of  intention,  a  sin- 
cerity of  mind,  a  purity  of  sentiment,  that  cannot  fail  to  place 
the  author  himself  in  a  conspicuous  view,  as  an  upholder  of 
truth,  while  he  describes  the  virtues  of  those  whose  fame  he 
commemorates.  Even  the  admirers  of  Gaelic  song  will  allow 
that,  in  elegy  especially,  our  Highland  bards  introduced  almost 
universally  much  of  what  we  cannot  more  correctly  denomi- 
nate than  rant  and  bathos.  Imaginery  excellencies  and  virtues, 
factitious  distinctions  and  pretensions,  are  dwelt  upon  with  all 
the  solemnity  which  the  elegiac  muse  ought  to  devote  alone  to 
solid  and  substantial  virtues.  We  have  no  desire  to  detract 
from  the  reputation  of  his  brethren,  by  upholding  the  charac- 
ter of  our  author  ;  many  of  his  brethren's  compositions  of  this 
kind  are  excellent,  and  several  of  them,  abstractedly  considered 
as  poetical  effusions,  we  would  rank  fully  as  high  as  Rob 
Donn's  ;  but  we  cannot  but  feel  hurt  at  the  bombast,  and  sen- 
tences absolutely  without  meaning,  with  which  they  too  fre- 
quently abound,  and  by  which  they  lower,  in  the  reader's 
esteem,  the  character  they  designed  to  commend,  and  give  an 
air  of  littleness  to  their  author's  character  of  mind.  All  this 
may  seem  to  those  unacquainted  with  Gaelic  song  to  be  some- 
what like  falling  into  the  error  we  would  reprove ;  commending 
what  merits  not  either  censure  or  praise,  from  its  very  insignifi- 


ROUTE  IV.  D.       THE  OSSIAN1C  CONTROVERSY.  495 

cance.  What  can  be  the  pretensions  to  excellence  of  the 
'  unlettered  muse '  of  the  Highlander  ?  It  is  from  an  impartial 
conviction,  we  trust,  of  her  numerous  and  striking  excellencies, 
that  we  regret  the  blemishes  which  have  attached  to  her 
achievements.  We  are  well  aware,  and  can  never  cease  to 
lament  it,  that  the  entrance  of  the  native  muse  of  Scotland 
upon  the  literary  stage  was  singularly  unfortunate  ;  that  it 
excited  prejudices  in  the  public  mind  which  ages  may  not  re- 
move. The  Gael  and  their  friends  have  stormed  and  raved 
about  their  darling  Ossian.  The  Saxons  have  knit  their  brows, 
and  vented  their  spleen  at  pretensions  too  arrogantly  made,  and 
assuredly  not  supported  by  any  paramount  testimony.  Were 
we  called  upon  to  write  an  epitaph  for  the  Ossianic  controversy, 
it  would  be  a  short  one  :  '  Est  in  media  veritas.''  We  wish  it 
had  never  been  raised.  The  eliciting  of  truth,  not  to  speak  of 
the  stubborn  maintaining  of  error,  besides  the  establishment  of 
the  one,  or  the  just  downfall  of  the  other,  by  legitimate  argu- 
mentation, can  seldom  be  achieved  without  certain  other  effects 
following  the  excitement  of  party  feeling,  that  may  prove 
much  more  injurious  in  the  end,  than  if  the  actual  subject- 
matter  of  controversy  had  been  left  to  sleep  its  own  sleep. 
And  it  does  by  no  means  astonish  us  that,  from  the  character 
of  the  controversy  regarding  the  authenticity  of  Ossian,  mul- 
titudes of  our  Saxon  friends  should  both  experience  and  tes- 
tify a  prejudice  against  all  claims  to  excellence  put  forth  for 
the  native  poetry  of  our  northern  land.  But  while  we  wonder 
not  at  it,  we  cannot  but  lament  its  existence. 

"  But  to  return  to  our  author  :  we  conceive  that  we  arro- 
gate for  him  no  undue  place,  in  saying  that  in  elegiac  poetry 
he  is,  upon  the  whole,  peerless  among  his  fellows.  From  the 
local  circumstances  of  other  districts,  and  of  clans  in  the  genera- 
tions gone  by,  there  is  not  only  in  their  other  poetry,  but  also 
in  their  elegies,  a  martial  strain  observable  ;  a  spirit  bordering 
on  chivalry  pervades  them.  But  our  author  lived  in  a  region 
of  peacefulness  ;  he  was  not  brought  up  in  the  habit,  or  scarcely 
in  the  remembrance,  of  feud,  and  field,  and  battle  fray.  His 
elegies,  consequently,  will  be  found  of  a  different  complexion 
from  those  of  most  other  bards."  Rob  Donn  is  buried  in  the 
church-yard  of  Duirness. 

8.  At  Aultnacaillich  there  is  a  fine  waterfall  on  the  right,  and 
on  the  left  the  well-known  round  burgh  or  tower  of  Dornadilla, 


496  STRATHNAVER.  SECT.  VII. 

about  twenty  feet  of  a  segment  of  which  in  height  still  remains. 
It  is  just  about  the  size  of  the  Glenelg  Towers,  being  twenty- 
seven  feet  inside  diameter,  and  fifty  yards  external  circum- 
ference. Cordiner,  who  gives  a  view  of  this  burgh,  showing  it 
to  have  been  pretty  entire  in  his  day,  supposes  it  to  have  been 
erected  by  a  Scottish  prince,  Dornadilla.  At  Cashel  Dhu  (the 
Black  Ford),  thirteen  miles  from  Aultnaharra,  and  five  from 
Erriboll,  where  the  winding  river  is  crossed  by  a  little  flat- 
bottomed  boat  or  coble,  and  where  many  have  been  drowned  for 
want  of  such  a  shallop,  is  a  small  inn ;  commanding,  in  front  of 
it,  a  view  of  the  mountain  Ben  Hope,  nowhere  in  Scotland  sur- 
passed for  grandeur  and  sublimity.  From  Erriboll,  the  pedes- 
trian traveller  bound  for  the  westward  may  either  proceed  round 
Loch  Erriboll,  or  go  on  to  Huelim  ferry  (three  miles  and  a  half 
distant)  by  a  road  which  is  six  or  seven  miles  shorter.  * 

9.  The  distance  from  Aultnaharra,  through  Strathnaver  to 
the  inn  of  Bettyhill  of  Farr,  is  about  twenty-four  miles.     This 
road  has  not  been  completed,  being  carried  only  for  nine  miles 
down  the  strath,  beyond  which  there  is  as  yet  merely  a  "  bridle 
road."    Loch  Naver  is  about  eight  miles  long,  and  is  succeeded 
by  a  river,  one  of  the  best  in  the  north  for  salmon,  bordered  by 
extensive  tracts  of  luxuriant  meadow,  and  improvable  land, 
lined,  as  is  the  loch  side,  except  by  the  base  of  Ben  Clibrick, 
with  the  most  softly  inclined  slopes,  garnished  with  occasional 
copsewood  of  dwarf  birch.      Of  old  there  were  towers  in  sight 
of  each  other  all  along  the  strath.    Latterly,  in  every  township 
one  or  more  comfortable  tacksmen's  houses  were  to  be  seen  in 
close  succession,  and  upwards  of  1200  people  resided  in  this 
strath.    Now,  for  twenty  miles,  not  a  house  is  to  be  seen  except 
shepherds'  dwellings  at  measured  distances.      One  cannot  but 
regret  the  absence  of  living  beings  in  such  a  scene,  and  of  the 
want  of  those  little  hamlets  usually  seen  in  most  Highland 
glens,  and  by  the  sides  of  clear  mountain  rivulets.     Where  are 
these  ?      Wormwood,  and  a  little  raised  turf,  alone  mark  the 
places  where  they  stood  ;  the  down  of  the  thistle  comes  blow- 
ing from  the  sod  over  the  roof-tree,  the  fires  are  quenched,  and 
the  owners  are  far  from  the  land  of  their  fathers. 

10.  A  few  miles  beyond  the  inn  of  Aultnaharra  on  the  north 

*  On  the  sea  cliffs  near  Loch  Erriboll,  are  seen  Caret  capillaris,  Draba  ineana, 
Saxifraga  oppotitifolia,  and  Drytu  octopetala ;  the  last  three  being  found  equally  low 
at  Farr,  although  absent  at  Tongue. 


ROUTE  IV.  1>.         TONGUE  HOUSE.  497 

side  of  the  road,  commences  the  boundary  of  the  Reay  country, 
now  the  property  of  the  Duke  of  Sutherland.  Ben  Loyal's 
lofty  summit  here  begins  to  rear  itself  conspicuously,  presenting 
to  the  fancy  at  one  point  of  view  the  form  of  a  lion  couchant, 
and  at  another  a  close  resemblance  to  the  royal  arms,  "  the  lion 
and  the  unicorn  fighting  for  the  crown."  Beneath,  on  the  east, 
lie  the  still  waters  of  Loch  Loyal,  with  its  verdant  islands,  on 
the  margin  of  which  the  road  winds  around  the  foot  of  the 
mountain,  forming,  along  its  whole  extent  (of  about  six  miles), 
a  truly  beautiful  and  picturesque  ride  ;  but  as  the  road  keeps 
the  west  side  immediately  along  the  base  of  Ben  Loyal,  its  fan- 
tastic outline  is  almost  lost.  On  the  banks  of  Loch  Loyal, 
previous  to  the  sheep-farming  depopulation  system,  dwelt  some 
of  the  most  comfortable  tenants  in  the  county  of  Sutherland. 

This  loch  is  succeeded  by  two  others,  Craggy  and  Slam,  all 
abounding  in  trout,  char,  salmon,  and  large  pike. 

At  a  short  distance  from  Loch  Loyal,  the  Kyle  of  Tongue, 
a  long  arm  of  the  sea,  with  its  low  rabbit  islands  and  the  large 
rocky  isle  of  Rona  at  its  mouth,  greets  the  sight,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  the  woods  and  plantations  around  the  old  baronial 
residence  of  Tongue  present  themselves  in  full  view.  Tongue 
house  is  beautifully  situated  at  the  foot  of  a  lofty  craggy  moun- 
tain, on  the  neck  of  a  long  point  or  tongue  of  land  projecting 
into,  and  about  the  middle  of,  the  east  side  of  the  Kyle,  the 
waves  of  which  wash  the  very  walls  of  the  garden  ;  whilst  the 
"  tall  ancestral  trees"  that  surround  it  form  at  once  an  orna- 
ment and  a  shelter,  and  pretty  extensive  plantations  are  nourish- 
ing around,  a  peculiarity  to  be  noticed  where  trees  are  few  and 
far  between.  The  mansion  itself  is  an  old  structure,  no  ways 
distinguished  in  its  architecture,  but  interesting  as  a  specimen 
of  the  honest  simplicity  of  taste  of  our  forefathers,  and  although 
every  comfort  is  to  be  found  within  its  exterior,  the  work  of 
successive  generations.  This  fine  domain,  the  ancient  seat  of 
Lord  Reay,  chief  'of  the  clan  Mackay,  has  now  become  the 
property  of  the  Duke  of  Sutherland  ;  and  although  it  is  natural 
to  feel  regret  it  the  necessity  which  has  denuded  the  former 
owner  of  the  home  of  his  forefathers,  still  it  is  matter  of  rejoic- 
ing to  all  the  numerous  tenantry  of  the  estate,  that  his  succes- 
sor is  their  next  neighbour,  the  Duke  of  Sutherland,  than  whom 
they  could  scarcely  wish  a  more  liberal  landlord. 

On  an  eminence  near  the  sea,  projecting  from  the  foot  of 

T2 


498  TONGUE — KIRKIBOLL — THE  MOIN.        SECT.  VII. 

Ben  Loyal  stands  Caistil  Varrich,  the  ruins  of  an  old  watch- 
tower.  The  scenery  about  Tongue  is  altogether  very  grand,  an 
extensive  semicircle  of  mountains  stretching  around  ;  in  the 
centre  Ben  Loyal,  2508  feet  in  height,  spreading  widely  at  its 
base,  and  cleft  above  into  four  splintered  summits,  each  strongly 
defined,  and  receding  a  little,  one  behind  the  other,  and  the 
southern  extremity  of  the  western  limb  of  the  mountain  ranges, 
otherwise  somewhat  mountainous,  though  of  no  considerable 
elevation,  suddenly  shooting  up  in  the  huge  mass  of  Ben  Hope 
to  a  height  of  3061  feet.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  Kyle,  the 
receding  slopes  are  partially  occupied  with  cultivated  fields. 

So  much  is  the  surface  of  Sutherlandshire  interspersed  with 
sheets  of  water,  that  from  one  eminence  in  the  parish  of  Tongue, 
no  less  than  100  lochs  are  visible  at  once — a  peculiarity  still 
more  strikingly  exemplified  in  the  western  section  of  the 
county. 

The  village  of  Kirkiboll,  which  is  pleasantly  situated  upon 
the  slope  of  a  hill,  is  within  rather  more  than  a  mile  of  Tongue 
House,  and  contains  only,  besides  the  manse  and  a  commodious 
inn,  a  few  scattered  cottages.  Kirkiboll  is  about  four  miles 
north  of  Loch  Loyal,  and  eighteen  from  Aultnaharra. 

11.  Until  recently  there  was  no  regularly  made  road  west- 
ward from  Tongue  towards  Erriboll.  The  traveller  required  a 
guide  to  pilot  his  dubious  way  across  the  rugged  mountains, 
and  over  the  trackless  waste  of  the  Moin,  a  highly  elevated 
boggy  moorland,  stretching  from  the  base  of  Ben  Hope  and 
Ben  Loyal  to  the  sea,  and  between  Loch  Hope  and  the  Kyle 
of  Tongue,  a  width  of  eight  miles  ;  but  now,  thanks  to  the  late 
noble  duke,  (by  whom,  on  his  acquisition  of  the  Reay  country 
in  1829,  eighty  miles  of  road  were  formed  at  his  own  expense,) 
there  is  an  excellent  road  in  this  direction,  by  which  the  tra- 
veller may  proceed,  without  fear  of  broken  bones,  or  the  perils 
of  bogs  and  pitfalls,  as  formerly,  along  the  whole  west  coast  to 
Assynt.  Crossing,  therefore,  the  Tongue  Ferry,  about  a  mile 
wide,  the  passage  of  the  Moin,  which  formerly  was  the  labo- 
rious achievement  of  an  entire  day,  may  now  be  accomplished 
in  an  hour's  time  with  ease  and  comfort.  The  expense  attend- 
ing the  construction  of  this  piece  of  road  must  have  been  very 
great,  from  the  mossy  nature  of  the  ground  :  the  foundation 
was  formed  with  bundles  of  coppice  wood,  laid  in  courses  across 
one  another,  a  layer  of  turf  was  next  placed  over  these,  and 


ROUTE  IV.  D.        FERRY  BOATS,  ETC.  499 

the  whole  being  covered  with  gravel  forms  a  road  of  the  best 
description.  Great  ditches  and  numerous  smaller  drains  are 
excavated  in  different  parts  on  either  side  to  contain  the  moss 
water. 

12.  The  north  coast  of  Sutherland  is  deeply  indented  by 
three  arms  of  the  sea,  the  Kyle  of  Tongue,  Loch  Erriboll,  and 
the  Kyle  of  Duirness,  or  Grudie,  occasioning  as  many  ferries  to 
be  crossed  between  Tongue  and  Cape  Wrath.      The  river  Hope 
to  the  west,  and  the  Naver  and  Hallowdale  to  the  east,  of 
Tongue,  are  likewise  as  yet  unsupplied  with  bridges.      But 
these  rivers  are  crossed  by  a  large  flat  boat,  which  is  moved 
from  one  side  of  the  river  to  the  other  by  means  of  a  windlass 
and  chain,  attached  underneath  to  the  boat,  and  connected  also 
with  the  banks.      These  boats  admit  a  carriage,  without  the 
horses  being  unharnessed,  and  the  largest  is  capable  of  convey- 
ing nearly  two  hundred   passengers,  and   of  carrying   seven 
or  eight  tons'  weight  at  a  time.      About  the  best  views  of 
Ben  Loyal  and  Ben  Hope  are  obtained  in  crossing  the  Moin, 
the  castellated  summit  of  the  former  coming  laterally  under 
the  eye,   while    the   great    shelving    precipice    in    which    the 
rounded  highest  mass  of  Ben  Hope  terminates  on  the  north- 
west,  and   to   which   the  mountain   rises   in  long  successive 
stages,  is  displayed  in  its  whole  extent.     More  to  the  west, 
Foinnebhein  and  Benspionnadh,  south  of  the  head  of  Loch  Duii- 
ness,  uprear  their  extensive  and  varied  heads  and  precipitous 
corries   above   the   lower  ranges  which   immediately  encircle 
Loch  Erriboll. 

13.  From  the  banks  of  the  river  Hope,  which  is  crossed  at . 
its  outlet  from  the  lake,  and  in  the  descent  to  it,  and  again  as- 
cending the  eminence  forming  the  west  bank  of  the  river  Hope, 
one  of  Nature's  grandest  scenes,  lies  displayed  before  us.     The 
huge  Ben  Hope,  which  raises  its  shaggy  head  about  3000  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea,  stands  full  in  view  at  the  eastern 
head  of  the  lake  ;  in  the  intermediate  space  lies  the  wide  un- 
ruffled expanse  of  lone  Loch  Hope,  embossed  amid  long  ascend- 
ing slopes,  and  brightened  perhaps  by  the  "  yellow  radiance  " 
of  the  setting  s*n  to  the  appearance  of  one  unbroken  sheet  of 
burnished  gold. 

"  Nor  fen  nor  sedge 
Pdlute  the  pure  lake's  crystal  edge. 
Abmpt  and  shear,  the  mountains  sink 
At  <nce  upon  the  level  brink  ; 


500  BAT  OP  CAMUS1NDUIN.  SECT.  VII. 

And  just  a  trace  of  silver  sand 
Marks  where  the  water  meets  the  land  . 
For  in  the  mirror,  bright  and  blue, 
Each  hill's  huge  outline  you  may  view. 

There's  nothing  left  to  fancy's  guess, 
You  see  that  all  is  loveliness ; 
And  silence  adds,  though  these  steep  hills 
Send  to  the  lake  a  thousand  rills, 
In  summer  tide  so  soft  they  weep, 
The  sound  but  lulls  the  ear  to  sleep  ; 
Your  horse's  hoof-tread  sounds  too  rude, 
So  stilly  is  the  solitude." 

Leaving  this  scene,  at  a  distance  of  about  two  miles,  we 
reach  the  small  rather  out  of  the  way  inn  of  Heulim,  on  the 
banks  of  Loch  Erriboll,  in  descending  to  which,  and  again 
ascending  to  Erriboll,  the  view  is  exceedingly  fine. 

Immediately  below,  encircled  by  mountains,  lies  the  beau- 
tiful bay  of  Camusinduin,  a  sheltered  indentation  of  Loch 
Erriboll  (itself  an  arm  of  the  North  Sea,  running  about  ten  or 
twelve  miles  up  the  country),  further  protected  by  a  rocky 
eminence  connected  with  the  shore  by  a  gravelly  peninsula, 
and  celebrated  among  mariners  as  one  of  the  finest  and  safest 
harbours  in  the  kingdom,  deserving,  as  much  as  its  rival  of 
Cromarty  on  the  opposite  coast,  the  appellation  with  which  the 
ancients  honoured  the  latter  of  " Portus  Salutus"  Seldom, 
during  the  prevalence  of  a  northerly  wind,  does  this  haven 
want  the  embellishment  of  numerous  vessels  riding  safely  at 
anchor,  and  with  their  different  yawls  gliding  swiftly  along  in 
every  direction,  and  many  parties  of  sailors  enjoying  their 
rough  sports  on  the  beach,  giving  animation  to  a  scene  other- 
wise aa  sequestered  as  may  be. 

From  Heulim,  the  road  towards  Rispond  passes  Erriboll, 
three  miles  and  a  half  distant,  and  then  proceeds  along  the 
shore  of  Loch  Erriboll.  On  approaching  the  head  of  this  inlet 
of  the  sea,  the  scenery  becomes  wild  and  imposing.  Here 
stands  the  stupendous  rock  of  Craignefielin,  whose  frowning 
front  overhangs  the  road.  A  little  farther  on,  ihe  battlement- 
looking  heights  of  the  rocks  of  Strathbeg  come  into  view  in  a 
southerly  direction  ;  whilst  to  the  S.  W.  and  W.  are  the  hills 
of  Foinnebhein,  Cranstackie,  Benspionnadh ;  asd  to  N.W.  and  N. 
the  range  of  hills  called  Beauntichinbeg,  which  terminates 
above  Rispond,  in  the  hill  of  Benaheamnabein,  forming 
altogether  a  mighty  mountainous  amphitheatre.  This  road 
affords  many  beautiful  views,  both  of  the  loch  and  of  the  sur- 


RODTE  IV.  D.          RISPOND UAIGH  MHORE.  501 

rounding  scenery  ;  and  brings  us,  at  a  distance  of  fifteen  or 
sixteen  miles  from  Heulim,  to  Rispond,  at  the  western  corner 
of  the  opening  of  Loch  Erriboll,  an  extraordinary-looking  place, 
worth  turning  aside  for  a  few  minutes  to  inspect.  It  is  situ- 
ated on  a  small  creek,  on  all  sides  encompassed  by  one  continued 
series  of  naked  rocks,  and  is  altogether  an  out-of-the-world  sort 
of  spot.  Rispond  is,  however,  well  adapted  for  a  fishing-station, 
being  situated  at  the  mouth  of  Loch  Erriboll ;  and  of  its  advan- 
tages in  this  respect,  the  intelligent  gentleman  who  resides  there 
for  a  time  successfully  availed  himself.  Now,  unfortunately, 
it  has  been  discontinued,  and  as  there  is  no  curing  establish- 
ment on  this  part  of  the  north  coast,  and  as  that  at  Loch  Inver 
has  also  been  abandoned,  it  is  no  object  for  vessels  to  come  the 
way,  and  there  being  no  demand,  the  energies  of  the  fishing 
population  are  paralysed,  and  the  treasures  of  the  deep  are  to 
them  comparatively  as  if  they  were  not.  The  view  from  the 
summit  of  the  highest  rock,  towards  the  sea,  is  very  fine  :  in 
the  distance  the  eye  roams,  without  finding  a  resting-place, 
over  the  mighty  waters  of  the  great  Northern  Ocean,  which,  as 
they  recede  from  the  sight,  seem  to  mingle  with  the  horizon. 
Nearer  at  hand,  several  small  islands,  one  of  which  (Island  Hoan) 
is  inhabited,  with  the  numerous  vessels  that  here  spread  their 
white  wings  to  the  swelling  breeze,  give  variety  to  the  prospect ; 
whilst  the  high  perpendicular  cliff  of  Whiten  Head,  to  the  east, 
forms  a  prominent  object  among  the  many  wonders  of  this 
"iron-bound  coast." 

Instead  of  making  the  circuit  of  the  loch,  the  pedestrian 
tourist  may  cross  at  the  ferry  at  Ardneachdie  to  Port  Chamil. 
It  is  nearly  two  miles  in  width ;  but  the  boat  and  crew  are  good. 
The  road  to  Rispond  (half  a  mile)  turns  off  to  the  right  three 
miles  and  a  half  from  the  ferry,  at  Calleagag  bridge. 

14.  Two  and  a  half  miles  beyond  Rispond,  and  one  mile 
from  the  inn  of  Durin,  is  situated  the  creek  and  Cave  of  Smoo, 
or  the  Uaigh  Nkore,  a  very  remarkable  natural  excavation,  of 
gigantic  dimensions,  formed  in  the  face  of  the  solid  rock,  which 
is  composed  of  limestone.  Its  entrance  and  interior  are  of  nearly 
uniform  width,  tkus  affording  the  broad  light  of  day  to  its  far- 
thest extremity,  vhich  is  aided  by  a  circular  opening  at  the 
top,  after  the  fashim  of  a  cupola,  and  called  by  the  Gael  "  Na- 
falish,"  or  the  sun.  It  lies  at  the  inner  extremity  of  a  long 
narrow  inlet  of  the  sea,  and  a  little  way  up  the  course  of  a  bum, 


502  CAVE  OF  SMOO.  SECT.  VII. 

which,  instead  of  falling  over  the  face  of  the  cliff,  finds  its  way 
through  another  vertical  opening,  forming  a  remarkably  fine 
waterfall,  into  an  inner  spacious  compartment,  which  communi- 
cates with  the  outer  cave.  This  last  is  perfectly  dry.  Behind 
the  eastern  side  of  the  entrance  is  a  massive  spreading  pillar, 
that  supports  the  ponderous  projection,  and  forms  a  small  arch 
of  five  or  six  yards  wide  between  itself  and  the  interior  wall. 
The  vaulted  roof  of  the  cavern  reverberates,  with  loud  and  re- 
peated echo,  the  minutest  sounds,  and  gives  to  the  voice  a  ful- 
ness of  intonation  that  increases  its  power  many  fold.  Viewed 
from  the  inner  extremity,  the  spacious  archway,  of  a  span  wide 
for  its  height,  and  of  the  great  vaulted  roof,  is  exceedingly  im- 
posing. The  height  of  the  entrance  is  fifty-three  feet,  above 
which  there  is  a  space  of  twenty-seven  feet  of  precipitous  rock, 
making  the  total  height  of  the  rock  in  the  centre  eighty  feet, 
but  it  rises  higher  as  it  advances.  The  depth  of  the  cavern  is 
200  feet,  and  its  width  110  feet.  The  roof  projects  about  fifty 
feet  beyond  the  pillar,  and  of  this  portion  the  centre  has  given 
way.  On  the  west  side  is  an  opening  of  about  twenty  feet  in 
height  and  eight  feet  in  breadth,  that  leads  to  an  interior  cavern. 
The  access  to  it  is  over  a  low  ledge  of  rock  which  blocks  up  the 
lower  part  of  the  entrance,  and  before  which  there  is  a  deep  pool, 
formed  by  the  water  oozing  from  underneath  the  ledge.  A  par- 
tial and  obscure  view  of  the  interior  can  be  obtained  by  clam- 
bering up  the  rock,  as  the  roof  of  this  chamber  is  also  perforated. 
But  though  the  ledge  can  be  reached  with  a  little  scrambling, 
the  visitor  ought  not  to  content  himself  without  a  closer  inspec- 
tion, though  the  assistants  make  rather  an  unconscionable  de- 
mand for  their  services,  for  which  they  ask  fifteen  shillings  but 
take  less — a  rate  of  charge  which  the  intelligent  postmaster, 
who  lives  hard  by,  should  see  to  have  rectified.  The  further 
examination  is  achieved  by  having  a  boat  placed  in  the  outer 
pool,  from  which  to  step  on  the  barrier.  It  is  then  lifted  across 
with  some  little  trouble — as  the  only  boats  at  hand,  and  there 
are  several  generally  on  the  beach  of  the  little  inlet,  are  larger 
than  need  be  for  the  purpose  of  this  exploration — and  launched 
on  the  inner  pool,  which  entirely  fills  this  chtmber.  The  boat- 
men supply  candles  to  make  the  darkness  -risible.  Embarked 
on  this  subterranean  lake,  we  find  ourselve*  beneath  a  vaulted 
roof,  which  rises  high  overhead.  The  opeiing  mentioned  from 
above  is  in  the  roof  of  a  branch  at  the  further  end  of  the  exca- 


ROUTE  IV.  D.         CAVE  OF  SMOO.  503 

vation,  and  gives  admission  to  a  cataract  of  water,  formed  by 
the  burn  alluded  to,  which  comes  foaming  down  from  a  height 
of  rather  more  than  eighty  feet,  on  the  face  of  the  limestone 
rock.  This  is  really  a  fine  waterfall,  apart  from  the  peculiar 
circumstances  of  its  position,  and  forms  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able features  of  the  whole.  From  midway  of  the  wall  of  the 
gap  through  which  it  pours,  another  opening  slants  up  to  the 
surface,  giving  a  further  supply  of  light,  and  affording  means 
of  viewing  from  above  the  central  portion  of  the  cascade,  which, 
by  the  way,  is  not  discernible  from  the  entrance  to  this  second 
cavern.*  The  length  of  this  interior  apartment  is  seventy  feet, 
its  breadth  thirty  where  narrowest,  the  pool  seemingly  of  con- 
siderable depth. 

There  is  yet  a  third  cavern  extending  farther  into  the  bowels 
of  the  earth,  to  which  an  entrance  on  the  west  side  of  the  cata- 
ract we  have  just  mentioned  conducts.  This  entrance  is  formed 
by  an  opening  nine  or  ten  feet  high,  but  bridged  over  by  an  arch 
of  stone,  which  contracts  the  opening  under  which  the  boat  has 
to  be  pushed,  to  a  height  barely  sufficient  to  admit  the  passage 
of  a  small-sized  boat.  To  effect  this  transit,  it  is  necessary  for 
the  party  in  the  boat  to  dispose  themselves,  as  best  they  can,  in 
a  recumbent  posture,  else  they  run  the  risk  of  acquiring  bumps 
upon  their  craniums  not  recognised  in  the  nomenclature  of  phre- 
nology. This  inner  apartment  is  a  region  of  utter  darkness : 
with  the  aid  of  candles  or  torches,  however,  we  discover  our- 
selves in  a  narrow  cavern,  which  is  for  one-third  of  its  length 
occupied  with  water.  This  cave  gradually  decreases  from  a 
height  of  forty  to  twelve  feet,  is  about  eight  feet  in  breadth, 
and  extends  in  length  about  120  feet.  Not  far  from  the  extre- 
mity of  the  cave  is  a  deep  pool,  which  stretches  under  the  rock, 
and  no  doubt  communicates  underneath  with  the  waters  of  the 
second  cavern.  Here  terminates  the  exploratory  adventure,  and 
the  visitors  must  retrace  their  way  as  they  entered.  In  doing 
so,  the  outlook  through  the  orifices  to  the  increasing  brightness 
is  picturesque. 

Having  again  emerged  into  the  light  of  day,  and  ascending 
the  rock,  we  discover  the  brook  which  forms  the  cascade  in  the 
second  cavern ;  it  dashes  headlong  down  a  rocky  chasm,  meet- 
ing as  it  descends  several  projecting  shelves,  which  form  minor 
falls  ere  it  precipitates  itself  finally,  with  "  the  voice  of  many 
*  Dryas  Octopetata  will  be  found  at  the  top  of  the  slanting  aperture. 


504  DUIRNESS.  SECT.  VII. 

waters,"  into  the  gulf  beneath.  When  this  brook  is  flooded 
after  heavy  rains,  the  water  nearly  fills  the  aperture  of  the 
chasm,  and  if  there  happen  to  be  a  strong  northerly  wind,  the 
spray  is  driven  upwards,  forming  a  fine  natural  jet  d'eau. 

The  cave  is  immediately  below  the  public  road,  the  burn 
making  its  descent  on  the  left  hand,  while  the  pathway  down 
branches  off  on  the  right. 

Reviewing  the  effect  which  the  appearance  of  this  magnifi- 
cent cavern  has  upon  the  mind,  we  cease  to  wonder  that  the 
strange  tales  that  hang  by  it  find  implicit  believers  among  so 
many  of  the  country  people.  Its  solitude,  its  dark  recesses,  and 
deep  gulfs,  are  well  calculated  to  aid  the  suggestions  of  super- 
stition, for  which  there  is  naturally  an  aptitude,  if  not  a  good 
foundation,  in  the  mind  of  man :  this  cavern  has  been  accord- 
ingly peopled  with  spirits  embodied  in  all  the  forms,  and  en- 
dowed with  all  the  attributes,  that  distinguish  the  multifarious 
genii  of  Highland  mythology,  the  "  dainty  spirits"  that  knew 
"  to  swim,  to  dive  into  the  earth,  to  ride  on  the  curled  clouds." 
But  those  spirits  are  now  departed  spirits :  they  have  evanished 
before  the  meridian  of  our  intellectual  day,  and  have  scarce  left 
a  "  local  habitation  or  a  name"  by  which  to  be  known,  should 
they  again  revisit  "  the  glimpses  of  the  moon." 

15.  Leaving  Smoo,  the  road  lies  through  what,  compared 
with  the  ground  over  which  we  have  already  passed,  may  be 
called  a  corn  country,  being  more  open  and  level,  and  having 
numerous  fine  fields ;  the  district  between  the  opening  of  Loch 
Erriboll  and  the  lower  portion  of  the  Kyle  of  Duirness  being  a 
table-land  of  fine  limestone. 

Seven  miles  from  the  ferry  of  Heulim,  we  reach  the  excel- 
lent inn  of  Durin.  Farout  Head,  the  most  northerly  promon- 
tory on  this  part  of  the  coast,  stretches  out  for  about  three 
miles,  forming  a  fine  bay  on  either  side.  On  the  shores  of  the 
western  bight — the  bay  of  Duirness — stands  the  old  house  of 
Balnakiel,  the  chosen  summer  residence,  in  times  of  yore,  of  the 
Bishops  of  Sutherland  and  Caithness,  and  latterly  of  the  Lords 
of  Reay  ;  and  the  small  parish  church  of  Duirness,  an  old  struc- 
ture, formerly  a  cell  of  the  Augustine  monastery  at  Dornoch, 
which  was  an  offset  of  that  at  Beauly.  The  interior  of  this  edi- 
fice is  at  present  in  a  state  of  untidiness,  quite  discreditable  for 
a  place  of  worship  to  be.  On  the  further  side  of  a  broad  penin- 
sula, which  landlocks  the  upper  part  of  the  Kyle,  Keoldale  farm- 


ROUTE  IV.  D.  DUIRNESS.  505 

house  is  pleasantly  situated.  All  around  Balnakiel  and  Keol- 
dale  are  fine  arable  fields  and  the  richest  pasture  land,  and  the 
promontory  of  Farout  Head  is,  to  a  large  extent,  covered  with 
luxuriant  pasture  to  the  summit  of  the  lofty  cliffs  at  the  point. 
These,  with  Balnakiel,  and  the  church  and  churchyard,  are 
worthy  of  a  four  miles'  walk  from  the  inn.  Prom  the  highest 
point  of  the  headland,  the  lighthouse  and  terminal  outlines  of 
Cape  Wrath  meet  the  eye ;  in  one  direction  Whitten  Head,  the 
lofty  and  precipitous  termination  of  the  east  side  of  Loch  Erri- 
boll,  forming  a  prominent  object  in  the  long  line  of  coast  in 
sight,  as  far  as  Strathy  point  to  the  east ;  while  the  hill  of 
Fashbein,  near  the  cape,  with  Foinnebhein  and  Ben  Spionnadh — 
lofty  mountains  south-west  of  the  Kyle — with  Ben  Hope  and 
Ben  Loyal  in  the  distance,  to  the  south-east,  form  a  fine  moun- 
tain screen  on  one  hand — the  boundless  ocean  expanding  all  to 
the  north  of  the  coast  on  the  other,  with  the  Orkneys  looming  in 
the  north-eastern  horizon.  The  cliffs  of  Farout  Head  attain 
an  elevation  of  300  to  400  feet.*  In  the  churchyard  of  Duir- 
ness  lie  the  remains  of  that  highly  gifted  son  of  song,  already 
spoken  of,  Robert  Calder,  better  known  as  Robert  Donn,  or 
Mackay,  which  latter  surname,  however,  some  maintain  to  be 
erroneous :  a  monument  of  neat  design,  and  with  appropriate 
inscriptions  in  Gaelic,  English,  Latin,  and  Greek,  has  lately  been 
erected  here  to  his  memory  by  the  admirers  of  his  genius.  This 
cemetery  also  contains  some  quaint  inscriptions :  One  on  a  sculp- 
tured tombstone  within  the  church,  over  the  remains  of  a  per- 
son distinguished  in  the  local  history  of  the  district,  as  a  noted 
freebooter,  and  by  the  appellative  of  Donald  Mac-Mhorchie- ic- 
evin-mhoir,  abbreviated  Donald  Mac-Corachie,  and  said  to  have 
been  inscribed  by  himself,  runs  thus : — 

"DONALD  MACK,  heir  lyis  lo; 

vas  ill  to  his  frend  and  var  to  his  fo,  true  to  his  maister 

in  veird  and  vo.    1623." 

In  August  1847,  a  vessel  was  wrecked  on  a  Sunday  morning 
on  the  high  isolated  rocks  on  the  east  side  of  Farout  Head, 
when  all  hands  perished. 

About  three  quarters  of  a  mile  west  of  the  church,  near  the 
sea,  is  the  cave,  as  it  is  called,  of  Poul-a-ghloup,  which  is,  pro- 
perly speaking,  only  an  immense  gap  or  cavity  in  the  earth,  of 
great  depth,  and  communicating  by  a  long,  subterraneous  pas- 

*  Scilla  verna  and  Primula  Scotica  occur  in  abundance  on  the  most  elevated  emi- 
nence. 

z 


506  CAPE  WRATH — STACKO-CHLO.  SECT.  VII. 

sage  with  the  sea,  whose  waves,  as  they  roll,  first  into  a  long 
narrow  seaward  fissure  in  the  limestone  cliffs,  which  are  here 
much  and  sharply  indented,  and  then  along  the  passage  to  its 
inmost  extremity,  resound  with  a  terror-striking  growl. 

16.  Cape  Wrath — the  Parph  of  ancient  geography — distant 
eleven  miles  from  Duirness  Ferry,  which  is  two  and  a-half 
miles  from  the  inn,  is  a  remarkably  bold  headland,  forming  the 
marked  and  angular  north-west  extremity  of  Great  Britain ;  it 
is,  consequently,  one  of  the  extreme  points  of  our  island,  and 
on  that  account — like  John-o'-Groat's  or  the  Land's  End — stran- 
gers desire  to  visit  it.  Cape  Wrath,  with  its  stupendous  gran- 
itic front,  its  extensive  and  splendid  ocean  scenery,  and  the 
peculiarly  wild  character  of  the  country  by  which  it  is  ap- 
proached, is  invested  with  an  interest  which  few  promontories 
on  the  British  coast  can  equal. 

The  greater  part  of  the  shore  is  here  so  very  precipitous  and 
steep,  and  many  of  the  cliffs  so  overhanging,  that  it  cannot 
with  safety  be  viewed  to  advantage  from  the  land,  without  great 
trouble  and  difficulty  ;  so  that,  with  favourable  weather,  the 
survey  of  this  magnificent  headland  is  generally  attempted  by 
sea ;  but  the  strong  currents  and  high- swollen  waves  that  at  all 
times  roll  at  the  Cape,  joined  to  the  risk  of  one  of  those  sudden 
storms  or  squalls  that  characterize  this  coast,  frequently  deter 
persons  unaccustomed  to  boating  from  making  the  attempt. 
There  is  no  boat  to  be  had  nearer  than  Duirness,  and  the  de- 
mand for  one  is  30s.  The  outermost  point  of  the  rock  consists 
of  a  granitic  gneiss,  waved  in  structure,  and  greatly  contorted 
by  the  intrusion  of  granite  veins. 

Proceeding  by  land,  we  cross  the  Duirness  Ferry.  This  road, 
from  one  of  the  ascents  of  which  the  views  of  Foinnebhein  and 
Spionnadh  are  particularly  fine,  does  not  keep  by  the  coast,  but 
winds  through  a  high  moorland  country,  the  lofty  mountain 
of  Fashbein  being  on  the  left  hand,  and  Skrisbein  on  the  right, 
for  about  four  or  five  miles,  when  a  valley  leading  down  to 
Kerwick  affords  a  view  of  the  sea  and  of  the  very  singular 
pinnacle  of  Stacko-Chlo.  This  is  a  high  pillar,  rising  probably 
to  the  height  of  200  feet  out  of  the  sea,  but  so  far  below  the 
height  of  the  neighbouring  cliffs,  as  to  be  remarkable  only 
from  its  detached  position,  and  the  regularity  of  the  old  red 
sandstone  strata  of  which  it  is  composed.  From  this  valley 
the  road  takes  several  wide  curves,  and,  when  within  two  miles 


ROUTE  IY.  D.         VIEW  FROM  CAPE  WRATH.  507 

of  the  lighthouse,  branches  off  to  a  small  boat  harbour  in  the 
deep  and  rocky  bay  of  Clash  Carnoch ;  then,  winding  up  a  steep 
hill,  we  suddenly,  but  not  until  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of 
the  buildings,  come  in  sight  of  the  lighthouse,  which,  with  its 
regular  outer  walls  and  turreted  buildings,  resembles  a  small 
fortification.  On  a  near  approach,  the  perfect  order  and  cleanli- 
ness that  pervade  the  whole  establishment  are  experienced  as 
quite  delightful  and  refreshing ;  the  stones  used  are  all  of  the 
durable  and  beautiful  granite,  dug  with  much  trouble  out  of 
Clash  Carnoch ;  but  so  difficult  of  access  and  remote  was  the 
situation,  that  the  expense  of  procuring  the  other  materials 
was  very  great,  and  it  is  understood  that  the  whole  original 
expense  was  nearly  £14,000  sterling.  The  view  obtained  from 
the  top  of  the  tower  more  than  repays  the  trouble  of  the  journey 
from  Duirness.  To  the  south-west,  the  distant  Butt  of  Lewis 
is  seen  in  clear  weather,  while  the  wide  expanse  of  ocean  that 
rolls  in  the  same  direction  against  the  rocky  shores  at  the 
mouth  of  Loch  Inchard,  or  on  the  sandy  bay  of  Sandwood,  is, 
from  this  elevation,  accompanied  with  an  idea  of  magnitude 
and  vastness  unknown  at  other  points  of  the  coast.  To  the 
east,  again,  the  tall  Hoyhead  of  Orkney,  and,  in  fine  weather, 
even  the  island  of  North  Rona,  at  a  distance  of  fifty  miles,  is 
distinctly  visible,  and  also  a  long  range  of  bluff,  iron-bound 
coast,  on  the  mainland,  as  far  as  Strathy  Head.  Several  small 
rocky  islands  start  up  at  different  points,  of  which  Balque, 

"  An  island  salt  and  bare, 
The  haunt  of  seals  and  auks,  and  sea-mews'  clang," 

is  the  largest.  It  lies  at  some  distance  from  the  shore,  and 
appears  a  lumpish  mass  on  the  breast  of  Ocean.  Nearer  the 
shore  is  the  pinnacle  of  Buachil  (or  the  Herd),  of  considerable 
altitude,  and  which,  having  a  wide  base  and  sharp  point,  might 
at  this  distance  be  mistaken  for  a  large  ship  under  full  sail. 
Immediately  out  from  the  cape  are  several  sunken  rocks,  over 
which  the  sea  foams  and  rages  in  the  mildest  weather  with 
appalling  fury.  A  reef  of  perforated  rocks,  which  juts  out 
into  the  sea,  is  very  striking.  The  highest  precipice  is  not  less 
than  600  feet,  and,  in  one  place,  a  steep  declivity  of  red  granite, 
remarkably  imposing,  terminates  in  a  precipice  of  great  height. 
But  the  wonders  and  magnificent  front  of  the  cliffs  in  this 
quarter  can  only  be  seen  in  their  true  character  from  the  sea. 
From  that  direction,  abrupt  and  threatening  precipices,  vast 


508  ROADS  IN  THE  WEST  OF  SUTHERLAND.       SECT.  VII. 

and  huge  fissures,  caverns,  and  subterranean  openings,  alter- 
nately appear  in  the  utmost  confusion,  while  the  deep-sounding 
rush  of  the  mighty  waters,  agitated  by  the  tides  among  their 
resounding  openings,  the  screams  and  never-ceasing  flight  of 
innumerable  sea-fowl,  and  often  the  spoutings  of  a  stray  whale 
in  his  unwieldy  gambols  in  the  ocean,  form  altogether  a  scene 
which  none  who  has  witnessed  it  can  ever  forget. 


ROUTE  FOURTH.— BRANCH  E. 

FROM  BONAR  BRIDGE  TO  LOCH  INVER  OF  ASSTNT,  AND  FROM 
ASSYNT  TO  DTJIRNESS. 

Sutherlandslure  Roads,  1. — Strath  Oikel;  Rosehall;  Cassley  River  and  Waterfall; 
Castle-na-Coir,  2. — Burial  Ground ;  Clan  Conflict  at  Tutumtarvach ;  Bridge  of 
Oikel ;  Cascades ;  Oikel  Bridge  to  Ullapool ;  Glen  Enic ;  Loch  Damph ;  Achall, 
foot-note,  3. — Lubcroy ;  Conical  Mountains ;  Leeches ;  Loch  Boarlan  ;  Boundary 
of  Ross  and  Sutherland ;  Ledbeg  Marble  Quarries,  4. — Glen  of  Assynt ;  Loch  Awe; 
Clearness  of  Water  in  Assynt ;  Stronchrubie ;  Limestone  Rock,  5. — General  fea- 
tures of  the  country,  6. — Loch  Assynt;  Ardvrock  Castle;  Defeat  and  Capture  of 
Montrose,  7- — Aclminore  Spring;  Bull  Trout;  Cunaig,  8. — Loch  Assynt;  River 
Inver,  9. — Loch  Inver;  Sulbhem  (Sulvein),  10.— Western  Coast  of  Sutherland; 
Loch  Inver  to  Stprr;  Olney  and  Kyle  Skou,  11. — Loch  Assynt  to  Kyle  Skou; 
Storehouse ;  Herring  Fishery,  12. — Peculiarity  in  Walls  of  Round  Tower ;  Glen 
Dhu  and  Glen  Coul,  foot-note;  Eddraclullis  Parish;  Small  Lakes;  Badcaul; 
Scourie,  13. — Hauda,  14. — Condition  of  the  Peasantry ;  Reay  Deer  Forest ;  Gene- 
ral Hugh  Mackay,  15.— Loch  Laxford  and  River;  Inchard  Loch  and  River;  Ach- 
risgill  River ;  The  Gualin ;  Bay  of  Duirness,  16. 

Honar  to  Shin  Bridge 5 

Cassley  Bridge 8 

Bridge  of  Oikel 7 

Aultnanghalagach  Burn 10 

Innisindamff 8 

Loch  Inver (14) 52 

Kyle  Skou 12 

Scourie  11 

Laxford  Bridge 7 

Rhiconich  Inn 5 

Duirness    14 

87 


1.  FROM  Bonar  Bridge,  a  road  proceeds,  in  a  north-west  direc- 
tion, to  Loch  Inver,  in  Assynt,  which  leads  through  Strath 
Oikel,  the  boundary  between  the  shires  of  Ross  and  Sutherland, 
and  through  the  glen  of  Assynt,  which  is  occupied  for  a  space 
of  ten  miles  by  the  waters  of  Loch  Assynt,  besides  which  there 


ROUTE  IV.  E.  STRATH  OIKEL.  509 

are  one  or  two  other  small  lakes  on  the  way.  From  Loch 
Assynt,  and  about  twelve  miles  from  Loch  Inver,  a  road  strikes 
northward  to  Kyle  Skou,  a  narrow  arm  of  the  sea,  which  is 
crossed  by  a  ferry,  from  which  the  road  is  continued  through 
the  peculiarly  rugged  district  of  Eddrachillis  to  Scourie,  on 
the  west  coast,  whence  it  conducts  by  the  head  of  Lochs  Lax- 
ford  and  Inchard,  two  other  salt-water  lochs,  to  the  Kyle  of 
Duirness,  an  inlet  indenting  the  north  coast,  and  here  it  joins 
the  line  of  road  from  Tongue.  The  Eddrachillis  road  has  been 
but  a  few  years  finished ;  it  completes  the  communication 
round  Sutherland  shire,  and  invites  attention  to  an  expanse  of 
scenery  singularly  wild  and  grand,  and  to  districts  compara- 
tively untrodden  by  the  foot  of  the  stranger.  As  already 
mentioned,  too,  one  can  be  conveyed  from  Golspie,  on  the  south- 
east of  the 'county,  to  the  west  coast  at  Loch  Inver  (arid  also 
to  Scourie),  or  the  north  at  Tongue,  in  ten  or  twelve  hours  by 
the  mail-gig — (see  page  401).  Having  traversed  the  distance 
between  these  points,  he  can,  by  the  like  conveyance,  regain 
the  east  coast  in  the  course  of  a  few  days,  or,  finding  his  way 
between  Scourie  and  Tongue  on  foot,  or  by  the  conveyances, 
such  as  spring  or  dog  carts,  to  be  had,  one  at  least  of  either,  at 
each  stage,  make  the  whole  circuit. 

2.  Having  crossed  Shin  Bridge,  five  miles  from  Bonar,  the 
road  towards  Assynt  runs  due  west,  through  the  beautiful  valley, 
anciently  part  of  the  district  known  by  the  name  of  Ferrin- 
busklyne,  and  thereafter  of  Sleischillis,  and  which  was  gifted 
by  the  Earls  of  Sutherland,  in  the  twelfth  century,  to  the  Bishop 
of  Caithness.  The  united  waters  of  the  Cassley  and  Oikel 
(which  effect  a  junction  eight  miles  up  the  valley),  swelled  with 
many  a  tributary  mountain  torrent,  become  here  a  fine  large 
river,  and  form  the  well-marked  boundary  between  the  counties 
of  Sutherland  and  Ross.  The  valley  on  the  Ross  side  is  beau- 
tified by  several  clumps  of  natural  copsewood,  whilst,  on  the 
Sutherland  side,  the  townships  of  Inveran,  Linsidemore,  and 
Linsidebeg,  display  a  number  of  snug-looking  stone  cottages, 
picturesquely  situated  on  rocky  eminences,  and  commanding  a 
view  of  the  extensive  meadows  that  skirt  the  river  on  either 
side.  Three  miles  above  Shin  Bridge,  the  road  winds  at  the 
foot  of  the  craggy  barrier  that  bounds  the  valley  on  the  right, 
having  a  low  wooded  swamp  on  the  left  ;  and  this  character  is 
retained  for  some  miles,  until  we  reach  the  enclosures  of  Rose- 


510  ROSEHALL.  SECT.  VII. 

hall.*  To  this  point  the  tide  flows,  being  a  distance  from 
Bonar  of  twelve  miles.  The  road  here  recedes  from  the  banks 
of  the  river,  and,  ascending  the  rising  ground  on  the  right, 
crosses  a  very  handsome  bridge  over  a  deep  rocky  dell,  of  the 
most  picturesque  character.  The  property  of  Rosehall,  now 
belonging  to  Mr.  James  Matheson,  used  to  be  distinguished  by 
the  extent  of  its  plantations,  chiefly  of  firs,  and  by  the  lofty 
protecting  walls  with  which  the  late  Lord  Ashburton  invested 
them.  Great  part  of  the  wood  has  been  cut  down  ;  still  there 
are  extensive  plantations  and  woods  to  the  fore.  Since  Mr. 
Matheson  became  proprietor,  the  condition  of  the  crofters  and 
small  tenants  on  this  property  has  been  much  improved,  and 
now  rendered  self-supporting.  At  this  place  has  been  dis- 
covered a  vein  of  manganese,  in  the  state  of  black  oxide.t 

A  short  distance  beyond  the  avenue  leading  to  Rosehall 
House,  and  after  passing  a  missionary  chapel  on  the  right,  we 
reach  the  river  Cassley — provided  we  pass  unhurt  the  very 
steep  descent  of  this  part  of  the  road.  This  river  is  an  excel- 
lent angling  stream ;  and,  nearly  a  mile  above  the  bridge,  we 
come  to  a  remarkable  waterfall,  forming  a  salmon  leap,  such  as 
that  upon  the  Shin  already  described,  but  of  greater  altitude, 
and  consequently  of  more  difficult  and  rare  achievement.  From 
the  Bridge  of  Cassley  the  road  sweeps  again  to  the  southward, 
towards  the  river  Oikel  (which  here  unites  with  the  Cassley), 
affording  a  fine  view  of  the  front  elevation  of  Rosehall  House, 
encircled  with  its  luxuriant  plantations — 

"  A  stately  progeny  of  pines, 
With  all  their  floating  foliage  richly  robed." 

From  this  point,  too,  are  seen  the  old  walls  of  Castle-na-Coir, 
situated  on  a  low  flat  meadow  on  the  Sutherland  side  of  the 
Oikel.  The  road  then  again  takes  a  westerly  direction  up  the 
valley,  keeping  chiefly  along  and  close  to  the  banks  of  the 
river.  The  lofty  hill  on  the  right  is  clothed  with  full-grown 
firs  to  its  summit,  and  contributes,  with  the  natural  birch  and 
alder  trees  that  stud  the  low  ground,  to  give  a  pleasing  wood- 
land character  to  the  otherwise  marked  Highland  features  of 

*  From  Shin  Bridge  on  towards  Rosehall,  the  road-side  is  adorned  with  Pinguicula 
lusitanica  and  Drpsera  anglica  in  great  profusion;  and  in  the  "low  wooded  swamp" 
are  found  Malaxis  paludosa,  Pilularia  globulifera,  and  Nymphcea  alba. 

t  The  wilds  of  Sutherland  contain  many  rare  species  of  insects,  some  of  them  not 
elsewhere  found  in  Britain ;  and  some  uncommon  species  of  fish,  denizens  chiefly  of 
the  fresh-water  lakes.  Three  miles  east  of  Rosehall,  and  close  by  the  road-side,  Dr. 
Greville  found  the  very  rare  plant  Ribes  petrawm. 


ROUTE  IV.  E.          CONFLICT  OF  TDTUMTARVACH.  511 

the  strath.  The  river,  too,  with  the  many  graceful  windings 
formed  in  its  rapid  course,  adds  its  own  share  of  beauty  to  the 
scene,  being  seen  to  much  advantage  from  the  elevated  bank 
along  which  the  road  passes  for  some  miles.  Continued  fine 
level  meadow  ground,  of  considerable  extent,  lines  the  firth  and 
river  for  several  miles  above,  as  below  Invercastle.  The  hills 
are  somewhat  higher  than  at  Invershin  ;  the  strath  wide  and 
open. 

3.  Three  miles  from  Cassley  Bridge,  and  opposite  to  the 
township  of  Brae,  on  the  Ross  side  of  the  river,  we  reach 
Tutumtarvach,  with  its  headlong  burn ;  a  little  to  the  east  of 
which,  there  is  a  sequestered  unenclosed  burial-ground,  pic- 
turesquely situated  on  an  elevated  bank — a  verdant  sunny  spot 
— but  withal  sad  and  melancholy  ;  its  lonely  site,  its  gray  flat 
stones,  the  humble  chronicles  of  this  hamlet  of  the  dead,  and 
its  nameless  graves,  roofed  with  the  green  sod,  all  combine  in 
increasing  the  natural  solemnising  influence  of  such  a  scene. 
After  leaving  it,  the  road  ascends  abruptly  a  reach  of  broad 
heathy  heights  occupying  the  middle  of  the  valley,  where  a 
desperate  and  bloody  conflict  was  fought,  about  the  beginning 
of  the  fifteenth  century,  between  a  party  of  Macleods  from 
the  island  of  Lewis  (who  had  made  a  foray  on  the  mainland, 
and  driven  off  a  number  of  cattle)  and  a  body  of  Sutherland 
men  ;  and  from  the  heavy  slaughter  on  this  occasion,  the  place 
is  said  to  have  derived  its  name  of  Tutumtarvach,  significant 
of  the  natives  of  the  district  having  had  great  advantage  from 
it.  In  this  conflict  a  touching  incident  occurred  similar  to  that 
in  the  Fair  Maid  of  Perth,  where  is  recorded  the  devoted  sacri- 
fice by  the  brave  old  Torquil,  in  the  noted  contest  on  the  North 
Inch,  of  his  various  sons  to  save  his  foster-son  Hector.  Seven 
brothers  on  this  occasion  fell  beneath  the  sword  of  a  redoubted 
champion  of  the  invading  force.  But  here  it  was  the  voice  of 
a  mother  that  shouted  once  and  again — "  Another  to  stand 
against  Kenneth  ! "  Attaining  the  top  of  the  rising  ground,  the 
former  features  and  scenery  of  the  valley  undergo  a  change  ; 
the  hills  appear  more  barren  and  rugged  ;  deep  glens  are  seen 
opening  inland  at  a  distance  ;  and  the  country  is  now  all  clad  in 
brown  heath,  intermixed  with  deers'-hair  moss  (Pleocharis  ccespi- 
tosa),  relieved  only  by  occasional  clumps  of  stunted  birch,  and 
a  few  green  meadows  along  the  course  of  the  river,  which  cha- 
racter it  retains  until  we  reach  the  Bridge  of  Oikel  (distant 


512  BRIDGE  OF  OIKEL.          SECT.  VII. 

seven  miles  from  Cassley),  without  anything  worthy  of  notice, 
if  we  except  the  remarkably  rocky  water-course  of  the  stream 
of  Baderguiny,  which  is  crossed  by  a  high  single-arched  bridge, 
about  half-way  between  Tutum  and  Oikel.  *  A  new  inn  has 
been  built  at  Oikel  Bridge,  but  not  on  the  Duke's  property,  nor 
in  Sutherlandshire,  and  not  at  all  equal  to  the  Sutherlandshire 
inns,  but  it  has  good  stabling.  Some  hundred  yards  above  the 
inn  is  a  linn  or  waterfall,  presenting  a  continued  series  of  cata- 
racts tumbling  over  a  particularly  rugged  channel,  which  ter- 
minate in  one  greater  and  very  formidable-looking  fall. 

"  Moor"d  in  the  rifted  rocks," 

that  form  the  precipitous  banks  of  the  river  at  this  point,  are 
several  full-sized  fir-trees,  having  their  roots  fixed,  or  rather 
twisted,  in  the  most  singular  manner  in  the  crevices,  and  where 
no  soil  whatever  can  be  discovered,  t  On  the  brink  of  the 
north  bank  of  this  river,  just  over  the  fall,  is  a  small  turf-cot. 
During  the  salmon-fishing  season  it  is  tenanted  by  a  short 
athletic  Highlander,  who  sits  all  day  long  at  the  door,  with  his 
feet  hanging  over  the  bank,  watching  the  fall  most  intently. 
The  traveller  may  do  so  likewise,  and  see  the  fish  leap  over. 
This  is  no  sooner  accomplished,  than  the  Highlander  has  his 
bag-net  in  the  "  pot,"  immediately  above  the  fall,  and  he  almost 
invariably  succeeds  in  bringing  out  the  fish. 

Beyond  this  spot  the  tourist  should,  in  the  hot  season,  make 
use  of  his  thin  veil,  with  which  he  ought  to  be  provided,  to 
protect  himself  from  the  attacks  of  the  myriads  of  mosquitoes, 
or  midges,  which  infest  the  central  and  western  coasts  of  Suther- 
land more  than  any  other  county  in  Britain.  Accustomed  as 
the  natives  are  to  their  annoying  bites,  their  patience  is  often 
sorely  tried  by  them ;  and  to  strangers  the  pain  inflicted  by  these 
little  creatures  is  at  first  quite  excruciating.^ 

*  On  the  mossy  height  to  the  left,  before  descending  to  the  Bridge  of  Oikel,  grows 
Eriophorum  pnbescens. 

T  Among  these  trees  the  Hieracium  denticvlatum  occurs  in  great  luxuriance 
sometimes  upwards  of  four  feet  high. 

J  A  rough  district  road  conducts  from  Oikel  Bridge  to  Ullapool  on  Loch  Broom, 
a  distance  of  twenty-one  miles,  through  a  very  beautiful  tract  of  country.  It  first 
passes  through  Glen  Enic,  a  wide  shelving  glen,  rising  at  once  from  the  rocky  channel 
of  the  river  in  swelling  slopes,  wooded  with  small  birch,  and  which  undulate  away  to 
the  higher  acclivities.  The  hills  are  of  elongated  outline,  and  covered  with  tine  pas- 
ture and  short  heath,  and  the  glen  forms  a  tine  piece  of  scenery,  wide,  wooded,  and 
secluded.  As  we  advance,  some  of  the  singularly  outlined  mountain  groups  of  the 
west  coast  attract  admiring  notice.  About  four  miles  from  Oikel  Bridge,  the  glen 
forks  into  two— southerly  aud  westerly.  The  way  to  Ullapool  lies  along  the  westerly 


ROUTE  IV.  E.  LOCH  ACHALL.  513 

4.  Leaving  Oikel  Bridge,  the  traveller  shortly  afterwards 
passes  through  a  small  township,  where  some  huts,  and  a  few 
patches  of  arable  land,  help  to  diversify  the  monotonous  appear- 
ance of  the  heath-clad  hills.  Here,  if  the  weather  be  clear,  the 
first  sight  is  obtained  of  the  lofty  mountain  of  Cannishb,  in  As- 
synt,  which  may  be  distinguished  by  its  singularly  sharp  coni- 
cal shape.  About  two  miles  from  Oikel  Bridge  is  the  farm- 
house of  Lubcroy,  pleasantly  situated  on  a  green  holm  where 
the  river  Conchar  flows  into  the  Oikel ;  opposite  to  which,  on 
the  Sutherland  side,  is  a  steep  lofty  hill,  finely  wooded  to  its 
summit.  From  Lubcroy,  the  road  proceeds  with  a  gradual 
ascent  along  the  side  of  a  wide-stretched  hill  for  three  miles, 
from  which  the  valley  on  the  right  is  seen  for  a  considerable 
way,  backed  in  the  distance  by  the  rugged  tops  of  Ben  More  of 
Assynt,  the  highest  mountain  in  this  part  of  the  country,  and 
in  the  distance  by  the  summit  of  Ben  Liod  in  Duchily.  On 

opening.  The  distance,  for  half  a  dozen  of  miles  from  the  inn,  may  be  shortened  by 
keeping  the  north  instead  of  the  south  side  of  Glen  Enic,  along  which  latter  the  road 
is  carried.  Loch  Daniph,  about  half-way  to  Ullapool,  is  a  peculiarly  and  softly  beau- 
tiful and  pleasing  sheet  of  pellucid,  green-margined  water,  about  three  miles  long, 
and  half  a  mile  broad,  lined  by  unbroken  hills  of  nearly  level  outline,  about  1000  feet 
high ;  likewise  carpeted  with  a  rich  heathy  pasture,  the  lower  half  of  those  on  the 
south  side  well  covered  with  masses  of  birch.  The  water  flows  in  opposite  directions 
from  the  ends  of  Loch  Damph.  Ascending  from  the  shores,  we  soon  attain  the  sum- 
mit level,  and  then  descend  somewhat  rapidly  the  shelving  valley,  through  which  the 
Achall  river  first  holds  its  way,  and  cannot  fail  to  be  struck  with  the  beauty  of  the 
glen,  as  it  comes  suddenly  in  view — the  clear  alder-studded  stream,  seen  beyond  the 
wooded  declivities  which  stretch  down  on  either  hand,  winding  away  before  us 
through  fine  meadow  land,  and  the  plain  beyond  between  the  circling  heights,  oc- 
cupied by  birch  woods.  On  the  meadow  ground  below,  the  Marquis  of  Stafford,  now 
proprietor  in  right  of  the  Marchioness,  has  a  shooting-lodge,  his  deer  forest  ex- 
tending from  the  east  end  of  Loch  Damph  for  some  miles  below  the  lodge.  On  the 
north  side  here,  a  long  mural  frontlet  of  dark-gray  limestone,  about  300  feet  high, 
crowning  the  acclivity,  gives  a  peculiar  character  to  the  scenery.  Loch  Achall,  a 
singularly  sweet  piece  of  water,  next  attracts  our  admiration.  It  is  about  three  miles 
below  the  lodge,  is  about  two  and  a  half  miles  in  length,  and  swells  out  to  rather 
better  than  a  mile  in  width,  and  succeeds  a  fine  meadow  dotted  with  alders.  Con- 
tinuous green  hills,  with  gray  protruding  rocky  spaces  interspersed,  and  of  elongated 
outline,  skirt  the  water.  At  the  lower  end,  successive  circling  and  somewhat  raggedly 
outlined  heights  subside  and  converge  almost  to  the  water  line ;  but  beyond  a  long 
unequally  tabular  mountain,  with  very  abrupt  terminations,  one  of  the  strongly- 
featured  range,  on  the  west  side  of  Loch  Broom,  hems  in  the  landscape.  A  wooded 
promontory  projects  from  one  side  into  the  lake.  Under  some  aspects,  especially  as 
we  have  seen  it  of  a  summer  evening,  a  scene  more  sweet  cannot  be  looked  upon  than 
Loch  Achall.  About  three  miles  further,  above  the  deep  channel  which  the  river  has 
worked  through  the  bright  emerald-tinted  limestone  rocks,  we  descend  to  the  consi- 
derable village  of  Ullapool,  beautifully  situated  on  an  alluvial  promontory  about  half 
a  mile  square,  at  the  base  of  high  abrupt  hills,  which  closely  flank  the  lengthened 
waters  of  Loch  Broom.  Mr.  Matheson,  now  superior  of  Ullapool,  has  formed  two 
miles  of  new  road  towards  Oikel,  and  we  trust  the  Marquis  of  Stafford  will  complete 
the  line  of  communication.  We  believe  the  obstacle  to  be  apprehension  of  disturbing 
the  deer,  on  which  point,  the  effect  of  a  road-way,  instead  of  a  number  of  hill-tracks, 
there  is  a  difference  of  opinion.  The  inn  at  Ullapool  has  partaken  of  the  improve- 
ments in  progress  on  the  roads. 


514  LOCHS  CRAGGY  AND  BOARLAN.          SECT.  VII. 

gaining  the  summit  of  the  rising  ground,  a  stranger  is  particu- 
larly struck  with  the  sudden  and  singular  appearance  of  seve- 
ral lofty  conical-shaped  mountains  to  the  west,  which,  perfectly 
detached  from  each  other,  start  up  from  the  elevated  table-land 
on  which  they  rest,  sheer  and  steep  from  their  base — 

"  Catching  the  clouds  of  heaven." 

The  largest  and  farthest  south  of  these  strange-looking 
mountains  is  Coulmore  in  Coigach:  the  centre  one,  with  its 
forked  head  and  hanging  side,  is  Sulbhein,  or  "  The  Sugarloaf ;" 
and  the  most  northern  is  Cannishb,  already  mentioned.  When 
seen  from  the  slopes  adjoining  the  Ross-shire  hills,  these  moun- 
tains have  a  particularly  grand  appearance,  no  less  than  seven 
conical  peaks  being,  in  some  instances,  visible  at  the  same  time. 
Here  we  pass  for  several  miles  over  a  great  expanse  of  elevated 
moorland.*  The  country  merely  presents  one  uninteresting  sur- 
face of  deers'-hair  moss  and  heathery  pasture,  the  uncommon 
appearance  and  shapes  of  the  distant  mountains  being  the  only 
interesting  objects.  Two  small  lochs,  Craggy  and  Loch-na-helac, 
are  found  on  the  moorland  waste.  The  former  is  noted  for  its 
leeches,  the  latter  as  a  resort  of  the  wild  swan.  Ten  miles  from 
Bridge  of  Oikel  we  reach  a  long  lake,  with  low  and  uninteresting 
banks,  called  Loch  Boarlan,  into  which  flows  the  rivulet  of  Ault- 
naghalagach,  the  boundary  between  Ross  and  Sutherland  in  this 
quarter :  so  that,  arrived  on  the  west  side  of  this  burn  we  are 
again  in  the  county  of  Sutherland,  and  in  the  parish  of  Assynt. 
The  name  of  Aultnaghalagach  signifies  "  burn  of  deceivers," 
and  arose  from  witnesses,  in  determining  the  boundary  between 
Assynt  and  Kincardine,  encroaching  considerably  on  the  Assynt 
side,  and  making  oath  they  stood  on  Ross-shire  ground,  having 
earth  from  Balnagown  in  their  shoes !  Out  of  Lake  Boarlan, 
to  the  west,  runs  a  small  river,  along  which  the  road  passes, 
having  steep  hills  to  the  right,  the  sides  of  which  are  furrowed 
into  many  a  deep  chasm  by  the  winter  torrents ;  and  these, 
when  flooded,  are  very  picturesque.  The  road,  after  passing  the 
small  farm-house  of  Ledmore  on  the  left,  winds  towards  the 
north,  and  while  it  and  the  surface  of  the  ground  appear  to  de- 
cline to  that  direction,  the  river  of  Ledbeg,  on  the  left  hand,  is 
seen  flowing  to  the  south,  and,  to  a  stranger,  presents  the  ano- 
malous appearance  of  forcing  its  way  against  the  ascent  of  the 

*  A  little  farther  on,  the  road  passes  over  a  bridge ;  and  on  the  moor,  to  the  left  of 
the  road,  between  these  lochs  and  the  bridge,  Card  uniflora  occurs  in  great  abundance. 


ROUTE  IV.  E.         LEDBEG  MARBLE  QUARRIES.  515 

country.  At  Ledmore  a  road  branches  off  south-west  to  Cnoc- 
kan,  the  extreme  boundary  of  Assynt  towards  Loch  Broom, 
which  has  now  been  continued  to  Ullapool,  sixteen  miles  dis- 
tant. Farther  on,  we  pass  the  farm-house  of  Ledbeg  on  the 
left.  Here  are  inexhaustible  quarries  of  beautiful  marble,  one 
perfectly  white  and  pure  as  alabaster,  another  of  a  variegated 
colour,  veined  gray,  blue,  and  red,  and  capable  of  receiving  the 
finest  polish.  These  were  worked,  some  years  ago,  by  a  Mr. 
Jopling  from  Newcastle ;  but,  owing  principally  to  the  disad- 
vantages arising  from  the  want  of  roads  fit  for  the  conveyance 
to  the  coast  of  the  weighty  blocks,  the  speculation  did  not  suc- 
ceed ;  and,  although  this  chief  obstacle  has  now  been  removed, 
no  attempt  has  been  made  to  renew  the  undertaking. 

5.  After  leaving  Ledbeg,  the  road,  still  going  northward, 
proceeds  along  the  sloping  side  of  a  wide  and  great  valley,  called 
the  Glen  of  Assynt,  formed  among  large  rounded  mountains  ; 
Cannishb,  on  the  left  hand,  towering  high  above  all  others.  The 
tops  of  these  mountains,  from  being  thickly  studded  with  white- 
bleached  stones  and  portions  of  protruding  rock,  appear  as  if 
covered  with  a  sprinkling  of  snow  or  hoar-frost,  and  thus  create 
a  chill  feeling  even  in  the  hottest  period  of  summer.  About 
three  miles  farther  down  this  valley,  in  which  Loch  Awe,  a  long 
narrow  lake,  with  several  small  islets,  ornamented  with  natural 
wood,  is  the  only  object  to  diversify  the  scene,  we  come  in  sight 
of  the  upper  or  east  end  of  Loch  Assynt ;  and,  still  farther  on, 
arrive  at  the  farm  of  Stronchrubie.  The  road  is  often  inter- 
sected with  watercourses  and  small  rivulets,  that  tumble  noisily 
down  the  steep  sides  of  the  hills,  forming  many  small  cataracts. 
The  water  is  of  the  purest  quality,  cold  as  ice  in  the  hottest 
weather,  and  beautifully  clear,  displaying  its  pebbly  or  marble 
bed,  blanched  by  its  action  into  Parian  whiteness.  The  greater 
part  of  these  streams,  many  of  which  are  of  sufficient  body  to 
turn  the  largest  mill  wheel,  proceed  from  a  single  spring ;  the 
springs  of  Assynt  being  proverbial  for  their  extraordinary  size, 
and  the  delightful  quality  of  the  water.  After  leaving  the  farm- 
house of  Stronchrubie,  the  road  passes  into  the  lowest  part  of 
the  valley ;  and  on  the  right  hand  a  splendid  range  of  the  lime- 
stone rock  presents  itself  to  view,  and  nearly  facing  the  east  end 
of  Loch  Assynt.  It  is  here  composed  entirely  of  blue  limestone, 
with  only  occasional  thin  strata  of  foreign  matters :  its  height 
is  about  three  hundred  feet,  rising  in  successive  steps,  the  top 


M6  GENERAL  FEATURES  OF  THE  COUNTRY.     SECT.  VII. 

part  forming  a  perpendicular  cliff  of  great  beauty,  close  and 
thick  ivy  being  seen  ornamenting  its  front  in  several  places, 
with  here  and  there  a  bush  of  the  broad-leaved  or  Wych  elm 
(Ulmus  montana),  and  a  stunted  stick  of  the  white  beam  tree 
(Pyrus  aria).  About  a  hundred  feet  above  the  base  issue  three 
springs  of  excellent  water.  Below  the  precipice,  it  may  be  men- 
tioned, the  Dryas  octopetala  covers  large  patches  of  the  hill 
slope.  The  road  proceeds  along  the  foot  of  this  range  for  up- 
wards of  a  mile,  when  we  arrive  at  the  inn  of  Innisindamff,  dis- 
tant eight  miles  from  Aultnaghalagach.  Here  also  are  the 
parish  church  of  Assynt,  a  small  lonely  building,  and  the  manse, 
beautifully  situated  on  a  moderately  rising  ground,  and  com- 
manding one  of  the  finest  views  in  this  part  of  the  country. 
The  highest  limb  of  Ben  More  is  seen  towering  in  great  majesty 
through  a  craggy  glen  to  the  east,  and  surrounded  on  all  sides 
by  very  imposing  mountains :  to  the  west  is  the  beautiful  ex- 
panse of  Loch  Assynt,  having  the  singular  mountain  of  Cunaig 
on  the  north ;  and  the  solid  mass  called  Bengarrow,  with  the 
summit  of  Camisve,  or  Camisbhe,  rising  high  above  on  the 
south. 

6.  The  whole  district  of  country  through  which  we  have 
conducted  the  reader  from  Lairg,  is  one  vast  succession  of  sheep 
walks,  unbroken  by  almost  a  single  human  habitation.     Several 
of  the  Sutherlandshire  tenants  farm  to  the  extent  of  20,000  to 
30,000  sheep.     The  general  surface  of  the  hill  ground,  leaving 
out  of  account  the  more  lofty  mountains,  is  smooth — covered 
for  the  most  part  with  a  deep  stratum  of  peat,  clothed  with 
heath  and  moss — the  low  grounds,  however,  and  occasional 
spaces  on  the  hill  face,  bearing  a  luxuriant  vegetation — that  is, 
of  pasture,  for  of  tree  or  shrub  there  is  hardly  a  specimen  till 
we  reach  Loch  Inver,  where  there  is  some  extent  of  young  plan- 
tation.    The  inclination  of  the  lower  hills  is  gentle,  and  their 
sides  far  reaching,  and  the  glens  or  straths  wide  spreading. 
There  are  few  individually  picturesque  features.     It  is  the  pre- 
vailing sense  of  almost  utter  solitude,  and  of  pathless  space, 
impressing  itself  on,  and  colouring  the  thoughts,  that  forms  the 
peculiar  characteristic  of  the  central  wilds  of  Sutherlandshire. 

There  is  a  good  inn  at  Innisindamff  at  the  head  of  Loch  As- 
synt. 

7.  The  road  passes  along  the  north  shore  of  Loch  Assynt, 
which  at  every  turn  presents  some  new  feature  in  the  landscape. 


ROUTE  IV.  E.  ARDVROCK  CASTLE.  517 

The  lake,  like  most  of  the  Sutherlandshire  lochs,  abounds  in  fine 
trout ;  and  no  obstruction  is  offered  in  most  of  them  to  the  angler ; 
but  now  several  of  the  river  fishings  are  rented  by  the  inn- 
keepers and  others,  who  charge  pretty  high  for  the  privilege  of 
salmon  fishing.  About  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  inn,  is  the 
shell  of  a  large  double  or  twin  house,  built  by  the  Mackenzies, 
Lairds  of  Assynt,  about  the  beginning  of  last  century.  This 
place  is  called  Eddrachalda.  Some  hundred  yards  farther  on 
are  seen  the  ruins  of  Ardvrock  Castle,  beautifully  situated  on  a 
peninsula  jutting  out  into  the  lake.  It  is  supposed  to  have  been 
built  prior  to  the  sixteenth  century,  and  was  long  the  residence, 
the  "  bannered  place,"  of  the  Macleods,  who  possessed  Assynt 
before  the  Mackenzies,  until  the  latter  obtained  a  footing  in 
the  district,  at  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  after  seve- 
ral intrigues  and  attempts  to  storm  the  castle.  This  castle  was 
three  storeys  high  (the  lowest  being  vaulted),  with  one  circular 
tower,  and  is  noted  as  having  been  the  place  of  confinement  of 
the  celebrated  Marquis  of  Montrose,  when  taken  prisoner  by  the 
Laird  of  Assynt,  in  1650.  It  was  also  the  scene  of  "  many  a 
wassail  wild,  and  deed  of  blood,"  commemorated  by  song  and 
story ;  but  now — 

"  No  more  its  arches  echo  to  the  noise 
Of  joy  and  festive  mirth.    No  inore'the  glance 
Of  blazing  taper  through  its  windows  beams, 
And  quivers  on  the  undulating  wave. 
But  naked  stand  the  melancholy  walls, 
Lash'd  by  the  wintry  tempests,  cold  and  bleak, 
That  whistle  mournful  through  the  empty  halls, 
And  piecemeal  crumble  down  the  towers  to  dust." 

It  was  in  great  part  destroyed,  in  1795,  by  lightning.  Mon- 
trose, in  prosecution  of  his  adventurous  enterprise  in  behalf  of 
Charles  II.,  as  calamitous  as  his  expedition  for  his  father  had 
been  brilliant,  had  sent  1200  foreign  troops  before  him  to  the 
Orkneys,  of  whom  no  less  than  1000  perished  by  shipwreck. 
The  remainder  he  joined  with  500  more,  to  whom  he  succeeded 
in  adding  800  Orcadians  ;  and  with  his  little  army  of  1500  men 
he  landed  in  Caithness,  near  John-o-Groat's.  He  had  calculated 
on  collecting  a  considerable  force  in  this  county,  but  completely 
failed ;  succeeding,  however,  in  securing  the  passes  of  the  Ord, 
leading  into  Sutherland,  and  possessing  himself  of  the  Castle  of 
Dunbeath.  The  Earl  of  Sutherland  retired  before  him  as  he 
advanced,  and  Montrose  reached  Strath  Oikel,  but  with  a  force 
of  only  1200  men.  The  Earl  was  met  at  Tain  by  the  Rosses  and 


518  CAPTURE  OF  MONTROSE.        SECT.  VII. 

Munroes,  and  by  Colonel  Strachan,  who  had  hurried  forward 
with  a  party  of  horse,  while  General  Leslie  was  pressing  on 
with  3000  foot.  It  was  resolved  that  the  Earl  should  cross  into 
Sutherland  to  intercept  Montrose's  retreat  to  the  north,  while 
Strachan  advanced  with  230  horse  and  170  foot  in  search  of 
him.  Under  cover  of  some  broom,  they  succeeded  in  sur- 
prising him  at  disadvantage,  on  level  ground,  near  Fearn,  on 
the  27th  April  1650,  having  diverted  his  attention  by  the 
display  of  merely  a  small  body  of  horse.  He  immediately 
endeavoured,  in  vain,  to  reach  a  rugged  hill  with  his  infantry ; 
but  they  were  overtaken,  and  almost  to  a  man  slain  or  taken 
prisoners,  their  commander  and  a  few  gentlemen  escaping  on 
horseback.  They  directed  their  flight  up  Strath  Oikel,  and, 
Montrose,  betaking  himself  to  the  disguise  of  a  peasant,  and 
dismounting,  in  company  of  an  officer  of  the  name  of  Sinclair, 
toiled  his  heartless  and  aimless  way  on  foot  through  these  wilds, 
for  nearly  a  couple  of  days  and  nights,  and  was  reduced  to 
such  extremity  as  to  be  fain  to  eat  his  very  gloves.  The  Laird 
of  Assynt,  being  apprised  that  the  fugitive  was  suspected  of 
having  bent  his  steps  in  the  direction  of  his  country,  and  a 
reward  being  held  out  for  his  capture,  had  a  search  made,  and 
soon  succeeded  in  having  him  securely  lodged  in  his  castle  of 
Assynt,  though,  before  this  reverse  of  fortune,  he  had  been  on 
the  eve  of  joining  his  standard.  Local  tradition  says  that  the 
recompense  which  the  laird  obtained  for  this  exploit  was  the 
mighty  one  of  forty  bolls  of  oatmeal ! 

8.  At  this  place  a  noisy  stream  tumbles  down  the  rocky 
side  of  the  hill  into  the  lake,  and  issues  from  a  single  spring  at 
Achumore,  which  is  seen  on  the  high  ground.  This  spring 
constantly  discharges  a  current  of  four  cubic  feet  of  the  purest 
water.  Still  proceeding  downward,  we  pass  close  to  the  southern 
rugged  base  of  the  mountain  Cunaig,  and  here  the  limestone  of 
the  upper  part  of  the  lake  terminates,  and  to  the  west  shape- 
less masses  of  gneiss  predominate.  In  Loch  Assynt,  and  in 
some  of  the  small  lochs  which  discharge  their  waters  into  it, 
bull  trout  (Salmo  Hucho)*  of  the  finest  flavour,  and  of  a  large 

*  We  have  been  since  informed  that  the  trout  here  caught  are  not  the  real  Still 
trout,  but  Salmo  Eriox,  or  "  Grey."  The  larger  specimens  have  large,  really  fierce- 
looking  heads,  with  formidable  rows  of  sharp  teeth.  They  are  sometimes  met  with 
as  large  as  twenty  pounds.  The  head  is  disproportionately  large.  Luzula  arcuata  is 
found  on  Ben  More  of  Assynt,  being  one  of  only  three  stations  where  it  occurs  in 
Britain.  The  other  two  habitats  are  Foinnebhein  in  J harness,  and  the  summit  of  the 
mountains  at  the  source  of  the  Dee. 


ROUTE  IV.  E.  LOCH  ASSYNT.  519 

size,  are  caught.  A  small  rivulet,  which,  about  a  mile  from 
Innisindamff,  joins  another  running  into  the  loch  from  the  east, 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  before  joining  the  main  stream  in  the  glen, 
disappears,  flowing  into  a  cave  in  the  limestone ;  but  it  can  be 
traced  by  its  rumbling  noise  for  some  hundred  yards,  until  it 
appears  again  on  the  surface,  a  little  before  it  joins  the  larger 
burn.  In  the  course  of  its  subterranean  journey,  the  roof  of 
its  tunnel  has  fallen  in  in  two  or  three  places,  where  the  water 
is  visible.  In  one  of  these  openings  grows  the  beautiful  Scolo- 
pendrium  vulgare,  and  in  the  neighbourhood  (on  the  east 
shoulder  of  Cunaig)  we  also  find  the  delicate  Scottish  filmy 
fern,  Hymenophyllum  Wilsonii.  A  road  here  strikes  off  to  the 
north,  being  the  commencement  of  the  important  line  of  road 
to  the  Kyle  Skou  of  Assynt,  and  thence,  through  Eddrachillis, 
to  the  North  Sea.  The  road  to  Loch  Inver  still  follows  the 
north  shore  of  the  loch,  near  the  end  of  which  is  passed  a  pic- 
turesque little  loch  on  the  right,  close  to  Loch  Assynt ;  and  at 
this  point  the  steep  and  lengthened  west  side  of  Cunaig  appears 
strikingly  to  view,  its  summit  singularly  broken  and  serrated, 
and  spiring  into  all  the  forms  of  alpine  wildness. 

9.  Loch  Assynt  is  a  remarkably  fine  sheet  of  water.     It  is 
distinguished  by  a  considerable  diversity  of  character  between 
the  upper  and  lower  portions,  the  former  being  lined  by  lofty 
and  rugged  mountains,  and  terminated,  at  the  head,  by  the 
noble  limestone  frontlet  of  Strone  Chrubie  ;  while,  at  the  other 
end,  the  bounding  hills  decline  in  height — rough  and  rocky, 
but  here  and  there  partially  wooded  with  dwarf  birch.     Nume- 
rous short  rocky  points  project  from  the  shore,  and  the  loch  is 
further  marked  by  a  bend  towards  the  lower  end,  at  right 
angles  to  the  main  body.     The  road  keeps  close  alongside  the 
water,  and  immediately  ushers  us  into  the  midst  of  a  maze  of 
rocky  gneiss  hillocks,  through  which  the  river  Inver  threads 
its  way,  of  varying  breadth  of  channel,  the  road  following  its 
banks ;  and,  after  a  course  of  from  four  to  five  miles,  it  dis- 
charges its  waters  at  the  head  of  Loch  Inver,  a  land-locked 
inlet  of  the  Atlantic,  encircled  by  the  like  description  of  rugged 
gneiss  hills. 

10.  The  village  of  Loch  Inver  consists  of  only  a  few  scat- 
tered houses  and  cottages,  but  it  possesses  the  advantage  of 
having  one  of  the  best  inns  in  the  county.     Mr.  Dunbar,  the 
landlord,  is  well  known  as  a  zealous  naturalist,  sportsman,  and 


;>Z(>  LOCH  INTER SUIL  VEINX.  SECT.  VII. 

angler.  His  collection  of  stuffed  animals,  particularly  birds,  is 
indeed  most  valuable  and  interesting,  more  especially  as  con- 
taining specimens  of  all  the  different  varieties  of  eagles,  hawks, 
owls,  and  other  birds  of  prey  found  in  Sutherlandshire.  The 
eagle  is  to  be  found  in  greater  abundance  in  Sutherland  than 
elsewhere.  Some  keepers  have  killed  as  many  as  forty  in  a 
season.  Eagle's  eggs  fetch  as  high  as  fifteen  shillings  a-piece. 
A  boat-car  is  kept  at  Loch  Inver  for  loch-fishing,  and  a  dog- 
cart is  also  to  be  had  at  the  inn.  Loch  Inver  is  pleasantly 
situated  at  the  head  of  the  loch,  at  the  foot  of  a  zone  of  craggy 
hills,  and  during  the  herring-fishing  season  it  is  the  resort  of  a 
great  number  of  those  adventurers,  from  all  parts,  who  obtain 
their  bread  upon  "  the  waters."  There  is  likewise  a  good 
salmon-fishery  here.  A  pier  of  some  size  has  been  built  by 
Donald  Macdonald,  Esq.,  sometime  of  Culaig,  who  erected 
houses  sufficient  to  cure  800  barrels  of  herrings  at  a  time,  and 
who  also  used  to  carry  on  here  extensively  the  preparation  of 
preserved  meat,  fish,  and  vegetables ;  but  this  establishment 
is  now  discontinued,  and  the  buildings  have  been  converted 
into  a  residence  for  the  Duke  of  Sutherland  when  he  may  visit 
this  part  of  his  estates. 

The  extent  and  majesty  of  the  mountain  screens  about  Loch 
Inver,  the  conical  detached  forms  of  some  of  the  hills,  and  the 
boundless  reach  from  the  adjoining  heights,  of  "  the  dark  and 
deep  blue  ocean,"  streaked  only  in  one  or  two  directions  by  the 
dim  chains  of  Skye  and  the  Long  Island,  bestow  on  this  village 
a  most  peculiar  interest.  Even  Dr.  Macculloch  himself  seemed 
at  a  loss  how  to  describe  the  scene.  Yet,  in  his  own  most 
graphic  style,  he  has  thus  sketched  some  of  its  bolder  features : — 
"  Round  about  there  are  four  mountains,  which  seem  as  if  they 
had  tumbled  down  from  the  clouds ;  having  nothing  to  do  with 
the  country  or  each  other,  either  in  shape,  materials,  position, 
or  character,  and  which  look  very  much  as  if  they  were  won- 
dering how  they  got  there.  Which  of  them  all  is  the  most 
rocky  and  useless,  is  probably  known  to  the  sheep  ;  human 
organs  distinguish  little  but  stone  ;  black  precipices,  when  the 
storm  and  rain  are  drifting  by,  and,  when  the  sun  shines,  cold 
bright  summits  that  seem  to  rival  the  snow.  Suil  Veinn  loses 
no  part  of  its  strangely  incongruous  character  on  a  near 
approach.  It  remains  as  lofty,  as  independent,  and  as  much 
like  a  sugarloaf,  (really,  not  metaphorically,)  when  at  its  foot, 


ROUTE  IV.  E.  SUIL  VEINN.  521 

as  when  far  off  at  sea.  In  one  respect  it  gains  ;  or  rather  the 
spectator  does,  by  a  more  intimate  acquaintance.  It  might 
have  been  covered  with  grass  to  the  imagination  ;  but  the  eye 
sees,  and  the  hand  feels,  that  it  is  rock,  above,  below,  and  round 
about.  The  narrow  front,  that  which  possesses  the  conical 
outline,  has  the  air  of  a  precipice,  although  not  rigidly  so  ; 
since  it  consists  of  a  series  of  rocky  cliffs  piled  in  terraced  suc- 
cession above  each  other  ;  the  grassy  surfaces  of  which,  being 
invisible  from  beneath,  the  whole  seems  one  rude  and  broken 
cliff,  rising  suddenly  and  abruptly,  from  the  irregular  table- 
land below,  to  the  height  of  1000  feet.  The  effect  of  a 
mountain  thus  seen  is  always  striking  ;  because,  towering  aloft 
into  the  sky,  it  fills  the  eye  and  the  imagination.  Here  it  is 
doubly  impressive,  from  the  wide  and  open  range  around,  in 
the  midst  of  which  this  gigantic  mass  stands  alone  and  unri- 
valled ;  a  solitary  and  enormous  beacon,  rising  to  the  clouds 
from  the  far-extended  ocean-like  waste  of  rocks  and  rudeness. 
The  conical  appearance  of  Suil  Veinn  vanishes  on  a  side  view. 
Thus  seen,  it  displays  a  prolonged  ridge  with  an  irregular 
summit,  but  the  sides  all  around  are  precipitous,  like  the 
western  extremity  ;  and  at  the  east  end,  it  terminates  in  a 
similar  manner,  looking  wide  over  an  open  rocky  country,  and 
thus  preserving  its  independence  in  every  part.  The  lateral 
outline  is  varied  and  graceful ;  the  whole  mountain  in  every 
direction,  presenting  an  object  no  less  picturesque  than  it  is 
uncommon  and  striking  in  effect :  combining,  in  some  positions, 
with  the  distant  and  elegant  forms  of  Canasp,  Coul  Beg,  and 
Ben  More  (3230  feet  high),  it  also  offers  more  variety  than 
would  be  expected  ;  while  even  the  general  landscape  is  varied 
by  the  multiplicity  of  rocks  and  small  lakes  with  which  the 
whole  country  is  interspersed.  The  total  altitude  from  the  sea- 
line  is  probably  about  2500  feet  ;  the  table-land  whence  this 
and  most  other  of  the  mountains  of  this  coast  rise,  appearing  to 
have  an  extreme  elevation  of  1500  feet.  To  almost  all  but  the 
shepherds,  Suil  Veinn  is  inaccessible :  one  of  our  sailors,  well 
used  to  climbing,  reached  the  summit  with  difficulty,  and  had 
much  more  in  descending.  Sheep  scramble  about  it  in  search 
of  the  grass  that  grows  in  the  intervals  of  the  rocks  ;  but  so 
perilous  is  this  trade  to  them,  that  this  mountain,  with  its  pas- 
ture, which,  notwithstanding  its  rocky  aspect,  is  considerable, 
is  a  negative  possession,  causing  a  deduction  of  fifteen  or 
z2 


522  SUIL  VEINN FALL  OF  KIRKAIG.          SECT.    VII. 

twenty  pounds  a-year  from  the  value  of  the  farm  to  which  it 
belongs,  instead  of  adding  to  its  rent." 

To  aid  the  reader's  ideas,  we  must  observe  that  these  moun- 
tain-tops are  some  miles  inland,  and  that  between  them  and  the 
spectator  extends  that  agglomeration  of  gneiss  eminences  which 
we  have  mentioned.  Suil  Veinn  is  quite  unique  among  the 
mountains  of  Scotland  ;  the  cone  rises  quite  by  itself,  nearly  2000 
feet,  we  should  say,  instead  of  1000,  according  to  the  foregoing 
extract,  above  the  rugged  table-land  of  gneiss  hills,  which  may 
rise  about  800  or  1000  feet  above  the  sea-level.  One  of  the 
best  points  of  view  is  about  a  mile  from  the  inn,  on  a  road  lead- 
ing up  from  the  loch,  a  little  south  of  the  inn.  Here  a  limb  of 
the  mountain,  on  the  east,  shews  as  a  wart-like  excrescence  on 
the  acclivity.  But  the  tourist  ought  not  to  omit  to  take  boat 
out  for  a  mile  or  more.  Thence  a  whole  series  of  huge  moun- 
tain masses,  of  the  most  varied  shape  and  outline,  are  seen  at 
different  points  rising  from  the  rugged  table-land,  as  Cunaig, 
Ben  More  of  Assynt  (in  the  distance),  Canishp,  and  Suil  Veinn 
(forming  the  central  points),  Coul  More,  Coul  Beg,  Stack  Pollie, 
Ben  lone,  Ben  More  of  Coigach  (in  the  distance),  all  ranging 
about  3000  to  3500  feet,  or  more,  above  the  sea.  From  the 
water,  Suil  Veinn  looks  first  like  a  huge  glass-house,  and  as  one 
gets  out  more  from  the  land,  it  assumes  more  of  the  "  sugar- 
loaf"  aspect.  The  tourist  will  also  be  repaid  by  a  walk  of  five 
miles  along  the  road  leading  from  Loch-Inver  House  to  the 
Fall  of  Kirkaig,  on  the  river  of  that  name — a  stream  of  consi- 
derable volume,  the  boundary,  on  this  side,  between  Ross  and 
Sutherland  shires. 

FROM   ASSYNT   TO   DTTIENESS. 

11.  Instead  of  retracing  his  steps,  and  crossing  from  near 
Innisindamff,  by  the  east  shoulder  of  Cunaig,  to  Kyle  Skou,  on 
his  way  further  north,  the  traveller  may  vary  the  route  by  pro- 
ceeding to  Stoir  and  Oldney,  fourteen  miles  from  Loch  Inver, 
to  which  a  branch  road  has  been  made,  and  there  taking  boat 
for  the  Kyle.  The  road  winds  at  first  rapidly  up  and  down, 
and  among  gneiss  hillocks  deeply  divided,  and  containing  in 
their  bowl-shaped  hollows  several  small  tarns  covered  with 
water-lilies,  and  from  the  elevations  commanding  views  of  Suil 
Veinn  and  Canishp  to  their  very  base.  The  former  here  presents 


ROUTE  IV.  E.  KYLE  SKOU  INLET.  523 

two  distinct  summits,  the  lowest  reaching  about  three-fourth? 
of  the  height  of  the  principal  mass,  with  which  it  connects  by 
a  narrow  ligature — the  whole,  perhaps,  having  as  much  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  helmet  as  any  other  object  which  can  be  instanced. 
About  six  miles  from  Loch  Inver  we  reach  the  township  of 
Stoir,  a  group  of  fishermen's  huts  upon  a  spot  of  sandy 
downs.  Ascending  the  further  hill  face,  we  pass  the  Church 
and  manse,  and  shortly  after  the  Free  Church  and  manse  of 
Stoir.  Here  the  whole  summits,  Canishp,  Suil  Veinn,  Coul 
More,  and  Coul  Beg,  with  numerous  successive  ranges,  come 
under  the  eye — the  Corgach  and  Loch  Broom  mountains,  with 
those  of  Skye  beyond,  while  the  Lewis  is  seen  stretching  sea- 
ward. Some  three  miles  further,  another  considerable  collec- 
tion of  huts,  called  Clachanessy,  occupies  the  head  of  a  shel- 
tered bay. 

The  distance  from  Oldney  to  the  entrance  of  the  inlet  to 
Kyle  Skou  may  be  six  or  seven  miles.  The  hills  of  Eddera- 
chillis  are  spread  out  before  us,  rising  stage  behind  stage  of 
gneiss  ranges,  on  which  the  naked  rock,  and  the  scanty  heath 
and  pasture  are  pretty  nearly  equally  intermixed,  forming  one 
continuous  rocky  band — the  only  marked  deviation  from  the 
mean  elevation  being,  as  seen  from  hence,  the  tabular  summit 
of  Stack,  on  the  south  side  of  Loch  Shin.  Near  hand,  Cunaig, 
lying  between  Loch  Assynt  and  Kyle  Skou,  presents  itself  in 
various  aspects — the  central  point  of  the  panorama,  which,  from 
the  point  of  Stoir,  on  the  south,  to  the  perpendicular  cliffs  of 
llanda,  on  the  north,  a  circuit  of  upwards  of  twenty  miles  of 
coast — shews  only  one  at  a  time  of  the  half-dozen  of  isolated 
houses,  all,  with  the  exception  of  the  little  township  of  Clach- 
anessy, to  be  found  along  its  iron-bound  shores ;  so  scattered, 
even  on  the  coast,  are  the  scanty  population  of  this  vast  county. 
The  inlet  to  the  Kyle,  and  to  Loch  Dhu  and  Loch  Coul  beyond, 
is  as  grand  a  sea  loch  as  can  be  imagined.  There  are  two  or 
three  successive  compartments,  the  largest  about  a  mile  and 
a-half  wide,  completely  land-locked  by  barriers  of  low  rocky 
hills,  behind  which  are  upreared  the  lofty  bare  hills  which  en- 
viron the  two  branches  of  Glen  Dhu  and  Glen  Coul,  into  which 
the  inlet  forks ;  while,  on  the  right  hand,  Cunaig  presents  two 
enormous  mountain  masses  at  right  angles  to  each  other,  one 
of  which  descends  from  the  summit  in  a  segment  of  precipices 
of  the  most  imposing  grandeur. 


524  LETTER-CARRYING — KYLE  SKOU.  SECT.  VII. 

12.  Until  the  year  1831,  there  was  no  proper  road,  excepting 
that  from  Golspie,  to  Loch  Inver,  just  described,  through  any 
part  of  this  very  rugged  district ;  and  the  traveller  desirous  of 
proceeding  northwards,  had  only  the  alternative  of  threading 
his  dubious  and  weary  way  over  rocks  and  bogs,  under  the  pilot- 
age of  a  guide,  or  of  hiring  a  boat  and  coasting  it  along  the 
singularly  torn  rocky  shores  that  gird  the  district  of  country 
between  the  great  Promontory  of  Stoir  and  Cape  Wrath. 
These  shores  are  covered  with  jagged  and  stupendous  rocks, 
with  huge  promontories  projecting  into  the  sea,  stoutly  braving 
the  fury  of  the  waves.  The  lofty  and  impending  cliffs  are  the 
home  of  the  eagle  and  numberless  aquatic  birds ;  while  the  deep 
caverns  below  are  the  habitations  only  of  the  seal  and  the  otter. 
Previous  to  the  formation  of  the  road,  a  foot-runner  penetrated 
to  the  north  with  the  letters  once  in  six  weeks  !  He  served  as 
a  walking  chronicle,  putting  up  for  the  night  at  set  houses, 
whither  the  people  gathered  on  his  arrival  to  learn  the  news. 

Now,  however,  an  excellent  road  (though  very  narrow,  like 
most  of  the  roads  in  Sutherlandshire,  excepting  the  Great 
North  Road,  being  only  eight  feet  wide,  with  an  edging  of 
sward  of  a  foot  broad  on  each  side)  to  the  northward  has  been 
formed,  through  the  parish  of  Eddrachillis,  to  the  North  Sea, 
at  the  church  of  Duirness,  which  completes  the  communication 
round  the  coasts  of  the  county  of  Sutherland.  It  strikes  off 
from  the  Loch  Inver  road,  near  the  base  of  the  mountain  Cunaig, 
at  Loch  Assynt,  and  about  three  miles  from  Innisiridamff. 
Proceeding  across  the  high  ground  between  this  lake  and  the 
Kyle  Skou,  this  line  of  road  is,  in  consequence,  somewhat  steep 
in  several  parts,  although  by  no  means  so  much  so  as  the  ele- 
vated appearance  of  the  country  on  all  hands  would  lead  a 
stranger  to  expect.  The  aspect  of  the  scenery  along  its  course 
is  that  of  utter  wildness,  joined  to  the  most  uninterrupted  soli- 
tude and  seclusion.  From  the  length  of  the  ascent  from  Loch 
Assynt,  the  interminable  ranges  of  hills  become  somewhat 
monotonous  ;  but  at  the  top  a  magical  change  of  scene  occurs, 
as  the  magnificent  expanse  of  the  Atlantic,  with  numerous 
islands,  presents  itself,  and  a  deep,  but  narrow,  arm  of  the 
ocean,  and  in  several  compartments  connected  by  very  confined 
straits,  penetrates  among  the  mountains,  while  Cunaig,  on  the 
left,  uprears  above  a  tremendous  craggy  front.  Nine  miles 
from  Loch  Assynt  we  arrive  at  the  township  of  Unapool,  and  at 


ROUTE  IV.  E.  GLEN  COUL.  525 

the  narrow,  and  very  rapid,  but  well-regulated  ferry  across  the 
Kyle  Skou  to  Kyle  Strome,  in  the  parish  of  Eddrachillis.  The 
small  public-house  is  on  the  south  side.  A  spring-cart  is  kept 
here.  The  Kyle  at  this  point  is  seen  dividing  into  two  branches, 
near  its  termination  at  the  east ;  one  branch  passing  into  Glen 
Dhu,  the  Dark  Glen,  and  the  other  into  Glen  Coul — two  of  the 
wildest  and  most  romantic  glens  in  this  part  of  the  Highlands, 
the  hills  rising  on  all  hands  to  a  great  height,  interspersed  with 
formidable  cliffs,  and  the  water  of  great  depth.*  At  the  Kyle 
the  scenery  alternates  at  every  turn  from  soft  to  wild  and  ro- 
mantic. The  north  front  of  Cunaig  is  also  here  beheld  rising  in 
great  majesty,  and  in  two  huge  masses,  faced  from  summit  to 
base,  sheeted,  and  deeply  furrowed  precipices.  From  Kyle 
Skou  a  road  is  proposed  to  be  formed  in  a  southerly  direction 
along  the  coast  to  Oldney,  from  which  a  road  is  already  made  to 
Stoir  and  Loch  Inver.  The  north  side  of  the  ferry  consists 
of  a  small  peninsula,  which  at  first  sight  is  mistaken  for  an 
island,  on  which  there  is  a  tall  prison-like  storehouse,  said  to 
have  been  erected  upwards  of  200  years  ago.  The  Kyle  at  this 
place  is  one  of  the  best  frequented  fishing-stations  in  this 
quarter,  in  consequence  of  the  safety  of  the  anchorage,  and  the 
almost  incredible  shoals  of  fish  that  may  be  said  to  fill  up  this 
little  channel — their  young  being  found  in  abundance  in  it  in 
winter,  as  well  as  early  in  summer.  So  many  as  100  herring- 
busses  have  resorted  to  it  at  once ;  and  the  value  of  the  herrings 
killed  here  in  1829  was  estimated  at  .£30,000.  The  take  of 
herrings  was  also  very  large  in  1849.  The  communication  now 
opened  by  land  along  the  coast  will,  it  is  hoped,  encourage  the 
establishment  of  a  chain  of  regular  fishing-stations  from  Loch 
Inver  northwards  to  Wick  ;  by  which  means  the  capitalist,  fol- 
lowing the  migratory  course  pursued  by  the  fish,  will  be  enabled 
to  turn  both  this  rich  marine  treasury  and  his  own  resources  to 
the  best  advantage.  Meantime,  however,  we  regret  to  say,  that 

*  Should  the  tourist  wish  to  penetrate  to  the  extremities  of  the  lochs  of  Glen  Dhu 
and  Glen  Coul,  we  recommend  him  to  procure  a  boat  from  the  ferry,  as  the  footing 
by  land  is  undecided,  easily  lost,  and  not  easily  found.  The  scenery  up  Glen  Coul  is 
wild  and  savage  in  the  extreme.  It  consists  of  three  compartments,  up  the  two 
lowest  of  which  the  salt-water  flows.  Between  these  is  a  very  narrow  strait,  flanked 
by  lofty  rocks,  and  the  land  communication  is  along  a  ledge  on  the  face  of  one  of 
these,  exceedingly  narrow  and  dangerous.  The  water  below  is  of  great  depth,  and  a 
false  step  were  certain  destruction.  Glen  Coul  is,  in  wet  weather,  distinguished  by 
one  very  high  fall — that  of  Egg  Coul  Awlan,  the  beautiful  back-lying  waterfall — in 
the  course  of  a  burn  which  comes  down  the  face  of  a  rock  about  700  feet  in  height. 


526  EDDRACHILLIS.  SECT.  VII. 

the  two  there  were  at  Loch  Inver  and  Rispond  have  been  dis- 
continued, and  thus  the  people  have  no  means  of  getting  the 
fish  cured  and  disposed  of  in  any  quantity. 

Before  quitting  the  Kyle,  we  must  not  omit  to  notice  an 
unusual  appearance,  and,  as  far  as  we  are  aware,  peculiar  to 
itself,  excepting  a  similar  occurrence  in  the  south  of  Arran,  in 
the  walls  of  the  ruins  of  a  round  dune  or  tower  on  a  little 
tongue  of  rock  near  the  Kyle,  which  is  isolated  at  high-water. 
These  uncemented  walls  remaining  are  about  eight  feet  high, 
and  at  the  top  about  four  feet  thick.  In  the  middle  of  the 
thickness  of  the  wall,  for  about  two  feet,  and  extending  all 
round,  the  stones  are  mingled  with  bones,  which  are  decidedly 
human,  but  rather  under  the  usual  size.  Their  occurrence  and 
preservation,  supposing,  as  we  needs  must,  the  building  to  be  of 
any  considerable  antiquity,  are  alike  unaccountable,  though  the 
salt  of  the  sea  air  and  spray  may  be  conceived  to  have  had 
some  influence. 

13.  Having  crossed  the  Kyle  Skou,  we  enter  the  parish  of 
Eddrachillis,  which  is  justly  reputed  the  wildest  and  most 
rugged  district  in  Scotland.  The  whole  face  of  the  district  of 
Eddrachillis,  as  far  as  Rheconich,  is  composed  of  ranges  and 
knolls  of  gneiss,  only  partially  covered  with  vegetation,  but 
still  valuable  to  the  sheep  farmer  from  the  sheltered  nature  of 
the  ground.  The  hollows  are  more  roomy,  the  masses  of 
hilly  rock  larger,  and  the  appearance  less  intricate  than  about 
Loch  Inver.  After  leaving  the  ferry,  the  road  proceeds  with  a 
long  but  not  very  steep  ascent,  until,  rounding  the  shoulder  of 
the  hill,  it  declines  gently  along  the  high  side  of  a  deep  valley. 
For  a  considerable  distance  the  road  winds  up  and  down  in 
many  a  tortuous  flexure  through  narrow  defiles,  the  view 
being  limited  by  the  surrounding  masses  of  rock  and  hill ;  but 
several  small  tarns  and  lochs,  occasionally  of  some  size,  each, 
completely  girdled  round  with  rocky  eminences,  and  frequently 
adorned  with  beautiful  aquatic  plants,  appear  at  almost  every 
bend  of  the  road.  The  number  of  these  lakes  here,  as  in  Assynt, 
especially  in  the  north-west  division,  is  incredible  ;  and,  being 
distinguished  either  by  dark,  still  water,  indicative  of  great  depth, 
at  the  foot  of  rugged  rocks,  or  by  green  sedgy  banks  and  shallow 
margins,  beautifully  ornamented  with  the  stately  bulrush,  and 
the  elegant  flowers  and  handsome  leaves  of  the  white  water 


ROUTE  IV.  E.      BADCAUL SCODRIE.  527 

lily,  (Nymphcea  alba),  are  very  pleasing  features  amid  the 
singular  scenery  of  the  district.*  The  road  is  generally  pretty 
much  elevated,  but  here  and  there  it  descends  to  the  coast. 
From  the  top  of  the  mountains,  many  of  which  attain  an  ele- 
vation of  3000  feet,  the  country,  intersected  by  arms  of  the  sea, 
and  chequered  with  lakes,  rivers,  and  ravines,  presents  a  pecu- 
liar aspect.  Viewed  from  some  miles'  distance  at  sea,  the 
landboard  is  considered  to  bear  a  close  resemblance  to  the 
Norwegian  coast. 

A  few  miles  further  on,  the  road  passes  through  a  small 
wild  glen,  along  a  noisy  stream  that  foams  down  its  rocky  bed 
into  the  sea  at  the  safe  harbour  of  Loch  Colva.  The  projecting 
and  angular  ledges  of  rock  that  form  the  south  side  of  this  glen 
are  very  striking,  and  form  a  marked  and  beautiful  variety  in 
the  scenery. 

Beyond  this  glen,  the  scenery  retains  a  similar  character 
until  we  reach  the  sheltered  bay  of  Badcaul  ;  improved,  how- 
ever, at  a  few  points,  by  occasional  vistas  of  the  ocean.  Bad- 
caul,  where  the  manse  and  parish  church  are  situated,  and  a 
large  establishment  for  the  preserving  of  the  salmon  caught  all 
along  the  coast,  is  distant  nine  miles  from  the  ferry  at  Kyle 
Strome.  Here  a  great  many  small  islands  attract  attention 
from  their  number  and  grouping.  About  three  miles  farther 
on,  through  the  same  description  of  country,  we  reach  the  inn 
(now  a  very  good  though  small  one,  and  at  which  a  phaeton  is 
kept)  and  township  of  Scourie,  surrounded  on  all  sides,  except 
the  west,  by  an  amphitheatre  of  rugged  ledges  of  rock,  backed 
by  the  pyramidal  summit  of  Stack,  and  having  in  front  a  bay, 
wide  at  the  opening,  but  receding  at  its  upper  extremity 
behind  sheltering  rocks.  This  place  is  comparatively  verdant 
and  arable,  though  the  arable  ground  is  of  small  extent ;  but 
then  in  Eddrachillis  there  is  no  such  thing  as  ground  capable 
of  cultivation,  except  on  the  most  confined  scale,  and  it  derives 
additional  attractions  from  the  contrast  it  presents  to  the 
sterile  and  rocky  surface  that  encompasses  it. 

14.  Nearly  opposite  to  Scourie,  and  at  no  great  distance,  is 
the  large,  but  of  late,  uninhabited  island  of  Handa.  This  island 
forms  the  most  wonderful  object  along  this  coast,  from  its  tower- 

*  In  a  marsh  on  the  right  of  the  road,  about  half-way  between  Kyle  Strome  and 
Badcaul,  the  prickly  twig  rush,  Cladium  Mariscus,  grows.  'Until  its  discovery  here, 
(1833,)  it  was  said  to  be  extinct  in  Scotland  since  the.draining  of  the  moss  of  Restenet, 
near  Forfar. 


528  HANDA.  SECT.  VII. 

ing  and  majestic  cliffs,  and  the  immense  number  of  wild  sea-fowl 
that  inhabit  every  crevice  of  its  rocks. 

No  tourist  ought  to  omit  a  visit  to  Handa.  The  island  is 
formed  of  red  sandstone,  on  which  a  highly  comminuted  and 
beautifully  grained  conglomerate  overlies.  The  strata  dip  on 
the  landward  side,  and  the  seaward  front,  is  a  range  of  preci- 
pices perfectly  perpendicular,  and  for  most  as  smooth  and  mural 
as  the  most  perfect  masonry,  and  washed  by  the  ocean  depths. 
They  form  a  line  of  about  two  miles,  ranging  from  perhaps 
600  to  fully  700  feet.  This  is  so  stupendous  as  to  be  almost 
unequalled  in  the  British  islands.  Happily  for  the  view  hun- 
ter, they  are  admirably  disposed  for  being  seen  to  the  best  possi- 
ble advantage  from  the  summit,  though  in  fine  weather,  when 
they  can  be  approached  by  boat,  new  and,  in  some  respects,  most 
striking  effects  may  be  obtained  from  beneath.  But  they  are 
widely  indented,  so  that  from  opposing  ends  the  eye  commands 
the  various  sections,  and  as  the  ground  slopes  upwards  to  the 
very  verge,  the  spectator  can  approach  them  without  apprehen- 
sion. In  one  of  these  indentations  two  detached  columns  rise, 
at  the  distance  of  a  stone  throw,  and  near  each  other— one  about 
a  fourth  of  the  height,  the  other  of  the  full  height  of  the  ad- 
joining cliff.  A  fissure  in  the  rock  exhibits  the  sides  of  the 
larger  one,  which  is  perforated  underneath — its  upright  lines 
seemingly  at  a  few  yards'  distance  from  the  perfectly  perpen- 
dicular parted  lines  of  the  contiguous  cliff.  At  another,  the 
highest  spot  of  all,  a  mural  face  of  prodigious  length  demands 
undivided  admiration  of  its  truly  majestic  dimensions.  Again, 
an  enormous  perforation  reaches  down  to  the  level  of  the  ocean, 
which  makes  its  flux  and  reflux  by  two  natural  arches,  on  either 
side  of  a  huge  supporting  block,  underneath  the  seaward  wall 
of  the  perpendicular  aperture.  The  tour  of  inspection  ought 
to  be  commenced  on  the  north  side,  as  the  precipice  attains  the 
greatest  elevation  towards  the  opposite  extremity  of  the  range. 
On  the  narrow  horizontal  ledges  of  the  cliffs  and  detached  co- 
lumns, and  on  the  top  of  the  larger  one,  are  ranged  and  grouped, 
at  the  breeding  season,  myriads  of  beautiful  black-backed  guil- 
lemots, and  other  sea-fowl,  as  close  as  they  can  sit,  while  thou- 
sands are  flying  swiftly  about.  A  shot  fired  sets  inconceivable 
numbers  of  birds  on  the  wing.  But  the  pertinacity  with  which 
others  stick  to  their  roos ting-places  is  quite  as  extraordinary  ; 
stones,  and  even  repeated  shots  among  them,  fail  to  displace  them. 


ROUTE  IV.  E.  HANDA.  529 

A  gun  will  be  found  a  desirable  accessory.  It  is  a  common 
thing  for  the  adventurous  fowlers,  who  hesitate  not  to  descend, 
with  the  utmost  unconcern,  crevices  where  it  can  hardly  be  cre- 
dited that  man  would  venture,  to  take  the  birds  with  the  hand. 
They  are  frequently,  too,  let  down  by  a  rope  from  above,  when 
they  capture  their  prey  by  a  noose  fastened  to  a  short  stick. 
In  this  manner  a  man  will  at  times  make  free  with  eighteen  or 
twenty  score  at  a  time.  The  eggs,  too,  large,  richly-tinted,  and 
spotted,  are  an  object  of  spoliation.  These  chiefly  lie  singly  on 
the  naked  rock.  The  nestling  season  is  from  the  middle  of  May 
till  the  middle  of  July,  at  which  time  a  visit  has  the  additional 
attraction  of  the  seafowl,  which  at  other  times  do  not  congre- 
gate here  in  any  great  number.  Handa  is  covered  with  a  fine 
sward,  but  it  is  unsuited  for  raising  any  sort  of  grain  ;  and  the 
few  families  who  tenanted  it,  not  long  ago,  voluntarily  aban- 
doned it.  It  is  now  pastured  by  a  few  sheep,  and  a  flock  of 
patriarchal-looking  pure  white  goats.  Some  years  ago  a  vessel 
went  to  pieces  on  the  terrific  western  precipices,  when  three  or 
four  of  the  seamen  succeeded  in  reaching,  from  the  yards,  a  cre- 
vice in  the  face  of  the  cliffs.  Here  they  were  detected,  after  a 
lapse  of  some  days,  and  rescued  with  life  still  flickering  in  them, 
attention  being  directed  to  them  by  parts  of  the  wreck  floating 
round  the  island.  What  a  situation  of  hopeless  suspense  and 
of  protracted  peril,  and  suffering  from  hunger,  cold,  and  the 
raging  deep,  and  what  a  miraculous  preservation  from  the  very 
jaws  of  death !  The  cliff  scenery  is  not  alone  what  distinguishes 
Handa.  It  stands  so  high,  and  far  enough  from  the  land,  to 
command  a  most  comprehensive  view  of  the  coast  from  Rustoir 
past  Loch  Inchard,  and  of  the  huge  mountain  masses  which, 
throughout  this  wide  circuit,  uprear  their  gigantic  and  varied 
forms,  each  apart  from  the  other,  above  the  encircling  zone 
of  rocky  hills,  which  form,  as  it  were,  a  common  base  to  the 
whole — beginning  at  Ben  Calva  and  Ben  Spionnadh  in  Duir- 
ness,  succeeded  by  Poinnebhein,  Arkle,  Stack,  Ben  More  of  As- 
synt,  Cunaig,  Cannisp,  Suilvein,  Coulmore,  Coulbeg,  Stackpollie, 
and  the  other  Coigach  and  Loch  Broom  mountains,  and  various 
other  more  remote  summits,  with  Skye  and  the  Lewis.  Such 
a  magnificent  mountain  panorama  can  hardly  be  surpassed,  for 
the  mountains  here  are  all  giants.  These,  it  may  be  remarked, 
generally  range  towards  the  east  and  west,  so  that  in  progress- 
ing from  north  to  south,  they  assume  an  infinite  variety  of  ap- 
A  2 


530  HANDA RED   DEER.  SECT.  VII. 

pearance.  The  sea  to  landward,  all  around,  is  diversified  by  long 
projecting  rugged  headlands,  and  lines  of  rocky  islands,  while 
to  the  west  extends  the  boundless  surface  of  the  Atlantic,  one 
glorious  expanse  of  cserulsean  hue,  patched  with  shifting  masses 
of  brown,  produced  simply  by  the  shade  of  the  varying  sky.  The 
most  striking-looking  mountain  from  this  quarter  is  Stack,  the 
terminal  aspect  of  which  is  that  of  an  enormous  pyramid,  rising 
to  a  perfect  point.  Suilvein  appears  under  quite  a  new  charac- 
ter, the  two  summits  being  far  removed,  and  it  shews  itself  to 
be  in  reality  a  long  mountain,  instead  of  the  terminal  sugar-loaf 
figure  from  which  it  is  so  well  known.  On  the  way  to  Handa  a 
detached  pillar  of  rock,  at  the  point  of  Rustoir,  from  200  to  300 
feet  high — broader  above  than  below — shews,  in  the  distance, 
exactly  like  a  large  ship  under  studding  sails. 

15.  The  holdings  of  the  poor  tenants  on  the  west  coast  of 
Sutherlandshire  average  from  £2  to  £5  of  rent.  The  crop  of 
a  £3  croft,  of  which  the  stocking  consists  of  three  small  High- 
land cows,  eight  sheep,  and  one  horse,  will,  in  a  favourable  sea- 
son, with  milk  and  fish,  support  a  family  of  four  for  eight 
months.  An  almost  neglected  mine  of  wealth  lies  at  the  door, 
in  the  cod  and  ling  fishery,  which  hitherto  have  been  but  little 
attended  to.  However,  the  deep-sea  fishing  is  said  to  be  pre- 
carious on  the  coast ;  but  abundance  of  the  finest  lobsters  are 
sent  to  the  London  market.  A  lobster  smack  calls  every  ten 
days,  and  on  the  north  coast  every  week,  during  three  months, 
from  the  middle  of  April  to  the  middle  of  July,  carrying  away 
each  time  from  2000  to  5000  lobsters.  The  disinclination  to 
round  Cape  Wrath  makes  a  difference  of  one-third  (3d.  and  4£d. 
a-piece)  on  the  price  at  Scourie  and  Duirness.  Salmon  vessels 
call  twice  a-week  for  the  fish  of  the  whole  coast  northwards 
from  Skye,  collected  and  packed  chiefly  at  Badcaul.  They  are 
caught  in  bag-nets  off  the  headlands,  net-fishing  on  the  rivers 
on  this  coast  being  discontinued.  The  destruction  by  the  bag- 
nets  is  so  great,  as  to  have  a  palpable  effect  in  diminishing  the 
numbers  of  the  fish.  Substantial  cottages  of  stone  and  lime 
have  pretty  generally  been  substituted  for  the  comfortless  High- 
land hut,  under  the  auspices  of  the  noble  proprietors. 

About  60,000  acres  of  the  parishes  of  Eddrachillis  and 
Duirness  are  allotted  exclusively  to  the  red  deer ;  of  which  ani- 
mal, the  Foinnebhein  and  Reay  Forests — amongst  the  principal 
in  Scotland — support  some  thousands,  under  the  charge  of 


ROUTE  IV.  E.   LOCH  LAXFORD — -LAWSON'g  ROCK.      531 

several  foresters.  The  numbers  in  Reay  and  Foinnebhein  are 
computed  at  about  5000.  The  deer  of  Sutherlandshire  (and 
they  are  numerous  in  other  parts  of  the  country)  are  considered 
to  surpass  any  in  Scotland,  averaging  fifteen  stone  Dutch  in 
weight,  and  at  times  exceeding  eighteen  stone.  Those  of  the 
Reay  country  have  long  been  distinguished  by  a  peculiarity  of 
forked  tails. 

The  family  of  "Mackay  of  Scourie"  gave  birth  to  Lieute- 
nant-general Hugh  Mackay,  commander-in-chief  at  the  Revo- 
lution, and  Dundee's  unsuccessful  opponent  at  Killiecrankie, 
but  a  brave  and  able  military,  and  otherwise  excellent  character. 

16.  From  Scourie  the  road  leads  along  the  south  side  of 
Baddyndarroch ;  then,  winding  through  several  rocky  passes, 
and  over  a  considerable  tract  of  deep  moss,  and  by  a  shepherd's 
house  at  Baddynabay,  the  wayfarer  arrives  at  an  arm  of  the 
salt-water  loch  of  Laxford,  which  is  of  very  irregular  outline, 
with  many  projecting  points  of  rocky  eminences,  and  at  the  con- 
siderable river  Laxford,  which  is  crossed  by  a  large  substantial 
bridge  seven  miles  distant  from  Scourie.  In  this  neighbourhood, 
some  of  the  large  mountains  to  the  east — particularly  the  huge 
pyramidal  Stack,  Arkle,  also  detached  and  tapering,  and  the 
ponderous-looking  and  extensive  Foinnebhein  (pronounced  Fou- 
niven) — form  very  grand  and  picturesque  objects.  The  Laxford 
is  esteemed  among  the  best  angling  rivers  in  the  north,  both 
for  salmon  and  trout,  and  used  to  be  of  great  resort  to  the 
angler ;  but  it  is  now  rented  by  Lord  Grosvenor — still  free,  how- 
ever, we  believe,  for  trout-fishing.  The  word  Laxford  is  a  good 
example  of  the  Scandinavian  derivation  of  a  great  many  of  the 
names  of  abiding  features  of  the  country — Laxfiord,  the  salmon- 
firth.  Stac  and  Merkland  are  also  Scandinavian  words,  descrip- 
tive of  the  form  of  the  mountain  and  situation  of  the  lake.  Of 
the  Scandinavian  Dune  or  Burgh  there  are  traces  of  a  great 
number  along  the  west  and  north  coast,  although  Dune  Dorna- 
dilla  is  the  only  one  generally  known.  The  names  of  places 
and  townships  are  Celtic.  In  many  instances,  a  Celtic  prefix  is 
found  where  the  Scandinavian  word  is  entire — thus,  Helmsdale 
is  now  Strath-Helmsdale. 

After  leaving  Laxford,  the  road  is  formed  along  the  face  of 
an  extensive  and  formidable  rock,  now  called  Lawson's  Rock, 
from  the  engineer  who  lined  out  the  road,  so  situated  and  over- 
hanging the  water  as  to  have  required  great  labour  and  expense 


532  TIIK  KERRNGARBH KINLOCH-BERVIE.       SECT.  VII. 

in  its  formation.  Hence  the  road  still  proceeds  through  nar- 
row and  lonely  openings,  formed  by  nature  amidst  the  innume- 
rable masses  of  rock — which  from  their  ruggedness  have  pro- 
cured this  piece  of  country  the  appropriate  name  of  the  Kerrn- 
garbh — as  far  as  Rhiconich  Inn,  at  the  head  of  Loch  Inchard. 
another  extensive  salt-water  loch,  distant  six  miles  from  the 
Bridge  of  Laxford.  There  is  also  another  large  bridge  here 
over  the  river  Inchard,  the  country  beyond  which  appears  more 
open.  Intricate  rocky  hills,  however,  are  still  for  a  little  fur- 
ther the  principal  features  of  the  scenery ;  on  the  summits  of 
which  numerous  large  detached  blocks  of  stone,  resulting  from 
disintegration,  are  seen  marking  the  outlines  of  the  ridges.  The 
pasture  of  this  rugged  district  is  composed  of  deers'-hair-moss 
and  coarse  grass,  with  little  or  no  heather ;  and,  in  fact,  it  may 
be  stated  generally  of  the  pastures  of  Sutherland,  that  great 
tracts  of  them,  especially  in  the  lower  valleys,  are  more  adapted 
for  the  rearing  of  cattle  than  of  sheep,  the  latter  preferring  to 
browse  on  the  tender  grasses  of  the  uplands,  where  they  are 
also  in  the  summer  season  less  annoyed  by  insects  than  in  the 
plains.  Indeed,  the  meadow-grasses  are  becoming  so  strong, 
from  want  of  being  pastured,  as  to  choke  up  the  waters  and  in- 
crease the  extent  of  marshy  ground.  The  shores  of  Loch  Inchard 
are  pretty  numerously  inhabited ;  and  near  the  mouth  of  the 
loch  stand  the  new  Government  Church  and  manse,  and  also 
the  Free  Church  and  manse  of  Kinloch-Bervie,  to  which  a 
branch  road  strikes  off  from  Rhiconich.  At  Rhiconich  there  is 
a  better  sort  of  public-house,  where  two  or  three  beds  can  be  had, 
should  tourists  have  occasion  to  remain ;  but  they  will  gene- 
rally push  on  for  Durin  or  Scourie.* 

After  leaving  Rhiconich,  the  road  passes  northward,  and  for 
a  considerable  distance  proceeds  along  and  overhangs  the  river 
of  Achrisgill,  which  is  sometimes  seen  forming  pleasing  cas- 
cades over  the  high  rocks  that  cross  its  channel.  But  the  sides 
and  bottom  of  the  little  strath  through  which  it  flows,  are  co- 
vered with  heath  and  pasture,  and  we  now  find  ourselves  in 
quite  a  different  character  of  country,  the  surface  uniformly 
covered,  except  in  the  mountain  masses,  with  peat,  heath,  and 
pasture.  The  road  still  ascending — but  very  gradually  for 
some  miles — reaches  the  shoulder  of  a  lofty  hill,  proverbial  for 

*  A  spring-cart,  carrying  three,  is  kept  by  the  inn-keeper  at  Rhiconich,  and  a 
.  diicle  of  the  same  description  at  Kyle  Skou. 


ROUTE  IV.  E.  THE  GUAI.IN — DUIRNESS  INN.  538 

its  open  exposure,  and  the  consequent  severity  with  which  the 
storm  beats  upon  it.  This  tract  is  called  the  Gualin,  signifying 
"  the  shoulder ;"  and  here,  on  its  most  exposed  part,  a  house 
has  been  erected,  where  a  dram  is  sold,  which,  like  the  cara- 
vansaries of  the  East,  may  serve  to  shelter  the  luckless  traveller 
who  may  chance  to  encounter  tempestuous  weather  while  pass- 
ing along.  The  Gualin  looks  down  upon  the  bend  of  a  widety- 
extended  valley,  stretching  down  from  between  Foinnebhein 
and  Ben  Spionnadh,  on  the  west  side  of  which  it  descends  to 
the  head  of  the  Kyle  of  Duirness.  At  each  end  of  the  Gualin 
House,  and  also  of  the  Mom  House,  between  the  Kyle  of 
Tongue  and  Loch  Hope,  there  is  a  large  slab  inserted,  with  a 
long  inscription  commemorative  of  the  completion,  in  1831,  of 
the  great  chain  of  Sutherlandshire  roads — an  allowable  expres  - 
sion  of  natural  complacency  in  the  contemplation  of  the  suc- 
cessful achievement  of  a  very  arduous  and  highly-useful  under- 
taking. About  half-way  to  the  Inn  of  Durin,  which  is  ten  miles 
from  the  Gualin,  we  reach  the  Kyle,  a  fine  wide  land-locked 
inlet,  bordered  by  heathy  granite  hills  on  the  west ;  but  the 
mountains  on  the  east  decline  into  an  elevated  table-land  of 
limestone  rocks,  stretching  across  to  Loch  Erriboll,  and  affording 
the  most  fertile,  beautiful  pasture,  and  fine  arable  land,  subdi- 
vided by  high  and  substantial  stone  dykes.  The  road,  crossing 
the  river  Grudie,  which  discharges  itself  into  the  Bay  of  Duir- 
ness, passes  along  the  shores  of  the  bay  to  the  farm  of  Keoldale  ; 
immediately  to  the  north  of  which,  and  distant  fourteen  miles 
from  Rhiconich,  the  wearied  tourist  will  gladly  hail  the  green 
knolls  and  modest  church,  and  to  him  the  more  immediately 
interesting  comforts  of  the  excellent  Inn  of  Duirness. 


ROUTE  FOURTH.— BRANCH  F. 

TONGUE  TO  THURSO. 

Strath  Tongue;  Strathnaver ;  Farr  Church,  &c.,  1.— Port  Skerry;  Glen  Hallowdalc 
and  Melvich;  Keay  Village;  Forss,  2.— Scrabster  Roadstead;  Murder  of  two 
Bishops,  3. 

Miles. 

BettyhUl  of  Farr  Inn  12 

Strathy  Village  and  Inn 8 

Melvich  Inn  in  Glen  Hallowdale  8 

Reay  Kirk  and  Inn 4 

Thurso   12 

44 


534  STRATHNAVER.  SECT.  VII. 

1.  THIS  line  of  road,  from  Tongue  to  Thurso,  possesses  consi- 
derable variety  of  surface,  the  ground  being  intersected  by 
several  cross  ridges  and  valleys.  Cheerless  moors  occupy  the 
greater  part  of  the  intermediate  spaces,  many  portions  of  which, 
however,  seem  susceptible  of  cultivation  with  comparatively 
little  labour  and  expense. 

From  the  house  and  highly  ornamented  grounds  of  Tongue, 
the  road  makes  a  rapid  ascent,  and  winds  along  the  high 
ground  above.  Passing  Strath  Tongue  and  Coldbackie,  a  con- 
fined but  fertile  valley,  with  a  birch-wooded  rivulet  at  the  base 
of  the  bold  Crockreikdun  (the  Watch  Hill),  a  singular  rock, 
entirely  destitute  of  vegetation,  and  presenting  a  lofty  perpen- 
dicular front ;  it  leads  for  several  miles  through  a  long  and 
uninteresting  tract  of  moor  to  the  river  of  Borgie,  whence, 
having  gained  the  high  ground,  it  proceeds  down  a  deep  ravine, 
alongside  a  mountain  torrent  (whose  course  presents  a  con- 
tinued series  of  small  cascades),  into  Strathnaver  and  to  the 
ferry  station  on  the  river,  which  is  crossed  by  one  of  the  chain- 
boats  alluded  to  in  a  preceding  branch. 

Through  this  extensive  and  beautiful  valley  an  ample  river 
winds  among  rich  holms  and  meadows.  Its  mouth  is  sandy, 
and  the  hill  bounding  the  valley  to  the  west  also  appears  as 
one  great  sandbank,  with  masses  of  rock  protruding  out  at  in- 
tervals. On  the  rising  ground  on  the  farther  side  of  the  river, 
a  little  way  down  the  strath,  we  reach  (twelve  miles  from 
Tongue)  the  inn  of  Bettyhill  of  Fair,  a  comfortable  house,  in 
an  airy  and  exposed  situation  ;  and  beneath  are  the  church  and 
manse  of  Farr,  with  its  fine  green  downs  stretching  to  the  bay.* 
Between  the  valley  of  the  Naver  and  that  of  Hallowdale  the 
country  is,  for  the  most  part,  barren  and  moorland.  The  rocky 
shores  of  the  coast  are  the  most  marked  objects  in  the  scenery  ; 
the  surrounding  country  being  by  no  means  mountainous, 
though  sufficiently  rugged  and  hilly.  Intermediate  are  several 
small  glens,  as  Swordle,  Armadale,  and  Strathy.  Swordle  is 
steep  and  rocky  ;  Armadale  remarkable  for  the  deep  rocky 
shores  of  its  bay.  At  Strathy,  about  half  way  between  Farr 
and  Melvich  Inns,  there  is  a  populous  hamlet,  a  government 
church  and  manse,  a  small  neat  inn,  and  good  limestone  and 
sandstone  quarries.  Strathy  Head  stretches  far  into  the  North 
Sea. 

*  Ilieraciiim  umbellatvm  grows  abundantly  on  the  knolls  behind  Farr  Kirk. 


ROUTE  IV.  F.   GLEN  HALLOWDALE — SANDSIDE.        535 

2.  Approaching    Glen    Hallowdale,    a  road    branches    off 
towards  the  sea,  which  leads  to  the  romantic  and  superior  boat 
harbour  of  Port  Skerry,  one  of  the  best  and  most  successful 
fishing  creeks  in  the  North.      The  Hallowdale  is  a  considerable 
river,  entering  the  sea  at  the  Bay  of  Melvich,  and  along  which 
are  seen  large  and  extensive  embankments,  recently  erected,  at 
a  great  expense,  to  protect  a  valuable  and  fertile  meadow.    On 
the  west  side  of  the  river  is  the  township  of  Melvich,  with 
several  scattered  cottages  on  the  sloping  side  of  the  valley ;  and 
conspicuous  towards  its  mouth,  on  the  opposite  side,  close  to 
the  river  and  the  sea,  the  House  of  Bighouse,  the  seat  of  an 
ancient  and  respectable  branch  of  the  clan  Mackay,  recently 
added  by  purchase  to  the  ducal  territories  of  Sutherland.     The 
Hallowdale,  like  the  other  rivers  we  have  mentioned,  is  at 
present  crossed  by  a  chain-boat. 

Ascending  gradually  from  Hallowdale  towards  the  top  of 
the  bleak  and  lonesome  hill  of  Drumholstein,  the  boundary  be- 
tween Sutherland  and  Caithness  (no  very  definable  line)  is 
passed,  and,  traversing  several  tracts  of  moss,  the  road  descends 
to  the  small  village  of  Reay,  four  miles  from  Bighouse,  passing 
the  venerable  mansion  of  Sandside  (Innes,  Esq.),  pleasantly 
situated  amidst  wood.  The  bay  of  Sandside,  flanked  by  dark 
frowning  rocks,  the  sandy  banks  in  front,  the  church  detached 
from  the  village,  and  seated  prominently  on  a  green  rising 
ground,  with  the  round-headed  hills  which  girdle  in  the  place, 
form  altogether  a  very  unusual  scene,  and  one  which  the 
stranger  generally  feels  as  peculiarly  secluded. 

Proceeding  eastward,  past  Isauld  (Capt.  Macdonald),  and 
the  ruins  of  Castle  Down  Reay,  the  ancient  seat  of  the  Mac- 
kays  of  Reay,  a  tract  of  barren  heath  is  crossed,  when  we  reach 
(six  miles  from  Reay),  the  handsome  though  rather  heavy- 
looking  residence  of  Forss  (Sinclair,  Esq.),  romantically  situ- 
ated beside  a  meandering  and  rocky  stream,  and  surrounded  by 
several  belts  of  young  trees  judiciously  arranged. 

Beyond  Forss  the  country  again  assumes  a  bleak  aspect,  and 
the  road  conducts  almost  due  east,  parallel  to,  but  at  a  dis- 
tance from,  the  shore,  passing  the  House  of  Brinns. 

3.  Approaching   the   safe  and    commodious  roadstead   of 
Scrabster,  in  Thurso  Bay,  which  is  protected  from  the  swell  of 
the  stormy  Northern  Sea  by  the  great  promontory  of  Holburn 
Head,  well-cultivated  and  extensive  corn-fields  greet  the  eye, 


536  THURSO  BAY DUNROBIN  CASTLE.         SECT.  VII. 

occupying  the  remaining  distance  to  Thurso,  which  lies  south- 
east. 

In  the  distance,  and  lying  north  of  Dunnet  Head,  the  ma- 
jestic niural  western  termination  of  Hoy  is  in  full  view,  while 
the  shores  of  the  Bay  of  Thurso,  and  their  fine  sandy  beach, 
extend  before  us  with  an  ample  and  graceful  sweep. 

Not  far  from  the  road  stood  Scrabster  Castle,  one  of  the 
residences  of  the  bishops  of  Caithness  ;  but  the  foundations 
alone  now  remain.  It  was  here  that  John,  Bishop  of  Caithness, 
was  cruelly  put  to  death  in  the  twelfth  century,  the  prelate's 
tongue  and  eyes  having  been  previously  pulled  out.  A  similar 
instance  of  barbarism  occurred  in  the  following  century,  at  the 
neighbouring  place  of  Halkirk,  when  Adam,  another  of  the 
bishops,  after  being  dragged  by  the  hair  and  scourged  with 
rods,  was  boiled  in  a  large  cauldron  by  the  natives,  in  retali- 
ation of  his  fulminations  against  those  in  arrear  of  tithes. 

Thurso,  elsewhere  described  in  this  volume,  is  six  miles 
from  Forss. 


NOTE  TO  ROUTE  IV. 

Dunrobin  Castle,  1. — Herring,  Cod,  and  Ling  Fisheries,  2. — Strathpeffer,  3. — Meikle 
Ferry  and  Dornoch;  Errata  and  Addenda,  4. — Steam  Communicntion  to  the 
West  of  Boss,  and  Sutherlandshire. 

(1.)    DUNROBIN    CASTiE. 

Some  further  details  regarding  the  princely  structure  re- 
cently erected  by  his  Grace  the  Duke  of  Sutherland,  in  addition 
to  the  general  description,  page  409,  may  be  acceptable  to  pub- 
lic curiosity — directed  naturally  to  the  country  of  the  "  Mor- 
fhear  Chatt,"  in  the  prospect  of  her  Majesty  accomplishing  her 
long  projected  visit  to  this  northerly  portion  of  her  dominions — 
and  as  now  certainly  the  largest  and  most  ornamented  edifice 
in  the  Highlands.  The  building,  as  has  been  indicated,  is  in 
the  French  or  Flemish  style,  which  prevailed  in  Scotland  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  and  the  first  half  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  but  with  suitable  adaptations  as  to  light  and  other 
comforts.  Types  of  nearly  all  the  exterior  parts  may  be  found 
in  the  old  French  castles — the  turrets  and  cornices  are  Scotch. 
The  principal  part  of  the  new  building  consists  of  a  solid  mass 
of  about  100  feet  square  and  80  feet  high,  of  three  principal 


SECT.  VII.  DTJNROBIN  CASTLE.  537 

storeys,  besides  basement  and  attics,  and  it  is  flanked  with  towers 
at  the  corners.  The  connexion  between  this  mass  and  the  old 
castle  is,  with  the  latter,  a  storey  lower,  and  the  whole  presents 
a  five-sided  elevation  to  the  sea  and  coastwise,  while  the  en- 
trance court,  between  the  opposing  extremes,  faces  the  north, 
the  old  castle  forming  the  western,  and  the  great  quadrangular 
mass  the  eastern  portion  of  the  edifice  ;  and  the  connecting 
section,  which  contains  the  state  apartments  designed  for  her 
Majesty,  directly  fronting  the  sea.  A  small  interior  court  is 
formed  by  the  different  structures.  At  each  corner  of  the  square 
mass  there  is  a  lofty  tower — those  on  the  seaward  side  round, 
the  others  square — the  main  tower  at  the  north-east  corner 
forming  the  porte-cocher  underneath.  All .  the  towers  have 
high  and  sharp  pointed  roofs,  excepting  the  main  tower,  the 
roof  of  which  is  incurved  and  truncated.  They  are  covered 
with  lead,  formed  to  represent  scales  overlapping  each  other ; 
and  the  round  towers  rise,  at  the  apex,  to  a  height  of  115  feet 
above  the  terrace,  while  the  great  tower,  which  is  twenty-eight 
feet  square,  is  of  the  great  height  of  135  feet  above  the  terrace, 
thus  overtopping  the  highest  main  wall  by  two  high  storeys, 
and  the  round  towers  by  one  storey.  It  has  four  projecting 
bracketted  turrets  on  the  corners  round  the  uppermost  storey, 
which  diminishes  in  girth,  and  is  bevelled  at  the  angles,  and 
is  encircled  by  a  parapet  wall.  The  fourth  (the  clock)  tower 
does  not  project  superficially,  but  is  125  feet  high.  The  corner 
turrets  of  the  old  castle  have  been  raised,  and  other  alterations 
effected,  to  make  it  harmonize  with  the  new  buildings — espe- 
cially by  very  well  managed  additions  on  the  side  to  the  en- 
trance court.  A  small  turret  in  this  section,  on  one  of  the 
angles,  resembles  one  in  the  Castle  de  Cliny,  Paris,  the  pecu- 
liarity of  which  is,  that  the  turret  stands  on  the  top  of  a  column 
in  a  corner,  with  an  ornamental  capital. 

A  massive  rampart  wall  stretches  along  the  whole  of  the  sea 
frontage,  a  length  of  300  feet,  with  bastions  at  the  ends,  and 
opposite  to  the  angles  of  the  castle — enclosing  a  flagged  ter- 
raced space,  a  few  feet  lower  than  the  entrance  front.  Over  the 
windows  of  the  principal  floor  are  scrolls  with  coronets,  with 
the  initials  of  the  Duke  and  Duchess  interlaced,  and  the  ancient 
motto  of  the  Sutherland  family,  "  Sans  peur;"  and  over  the  win- 
dows of  the  great  tower  are  pediments  and  thistles,  with  the 
mottoes  and  initials  of  the  different  members  of  the  family;  and 


538  DUNROBIN  CASTLE.  SECT.  VII. 

in  front  of  the  library  window,  which  is  in  the  front  of  the  great 
tower,  and  in  the  boudoir  rooms,  which  are  in  the  round  towers, 
are  projected  balconies  similarly  ornamented. 

The  whole  building  is  finished  at  top  with  a  deep  block  cor- 
nice and  parapet,  and  high  ornamented  dormer  windows,  and  is 
wholly  faced  with  ashler  from  Brora  Quarry — a  hard  durable 
white  oolite. 

Successive  broad  flights  of  steps  conduct  down  a  wooded  bank 
to  the  flower  gardens,  laid  out  in  the  style  of  French  gardening, 
which  occupy  the  space  betwixt  the  site  of  the  castle  and  the 
sea,  and  are  lined  by  a  massive  ornamental  wall. 

On  the  landward  side  the  ground  rises  immediately  behind 
the  castle,  and  the  bank  has  had  to  be  cut  into,  so  that  a  por- 
tion of  the  effect  of  the  great  height  is  lost.  The  best  point  of 
view  is  from  the  sea  shore  to  the  eastward.  Here  the  building 
has  certainly  a  very  imposing  and  stately  appearance ;  and  in 
all  directions  the  numerous  pinnacles,  and  variously  elevated 
roofage,  with  the  gigantic  entrance  tower  looming  high  at  one 
corner,  forms  a  very  striking  and  picturesque  sky  outline,  gently 
declining  from  point  to  point  to  the  further  extremity. 

The  monument  and  colossal  statue  of  the  late  Duke,  on  the 
top  of  Ben  Vracky  in  the  back  ground,  forms  a  peculiar  feature 
in  the  landscape. 

The  ground-floor  contains  the  entrance  hall,  vestibule,  family 
dining-room,  sub-hall,  Duke's  business  room,  and  other  apart- 
ments. The  Duke's  room  is  entirely  panelled  with  sweet  cedar  ; 
the  entrance-hall  is  lined  with  Caen  stone ;  and  over  the  chim- 
iiey-piece — of  the  same  material,  and  sculptured  by  our  pro- 
mising young  townsman,  Mr.  Alexander  Munro — are  contained, 
in  beautiful  panels,  the  numerous  quarterings  of  the  present 
Duke  and  Duchess,  of  the  first  Duke  of  Sutherland,  and  of  Lord 
and  Lady  Stafford.  The  arms  of  the  ancient  Earls  of  Sutherland 
cut  in  panels,  form  a  frieze,  extending  round  the  hall  somewhat 
like  the  Crusaders  Rooms  at  Versailles. 

From  the  entrance  hall,  by  a  broad  flight  of  steps  and  large 
archway,  is  the  entrance  to  the  vestibule,  which  is  entirely 
built  and  arched  with  Caen  stone,  and  enriched  with  a  statue 
of  Lord  Stafford,  and  numerous  coats  of  arms  and  armorial 
ornaments. 

The  grand  staircase,  which  leads  from  the  ground  to  the 
principal  floor,  is  about  thirty  feet  square  and  fifty  feet  high, 


SECT.  VII.  DUNROBIN  CASTLE.  539 

and  is  placed  in  the  centre  of  the  new  square  mass  of  building, 
giving  access  to  all  the  public  rooms  on  the  principal  floor.  The 
walls,  piers,  arches,  and  balustrade  are  of  Caen  stone.  It  is 
lighted  by  flat  plate-glass  panelling,  and  over  the  dining-room 
door  is  a  Madonna  and  Child  in  white  marble. 

The  principal  floor,  which  is  all  eighteen  feet  high,  contains 
the  principal  dining-room,  drawing-rooms,  billiard  room,  and 
state  rooms.  The  dining-room  toward  the  court  is  forty  feet 
by  twenty-two,  and  is  finished  with  a  panelled  oak  ceiling,  or- 
namented with  gilded  stars.  The  walls  are  wainscotted,  and 
have  for  panels  valuable  large  old  painted  landscapes  with 
figures  in  oil,  and  carved  oak  and  plate-glass  mirrors ;  and  a 
frieze  of  oil-painting  from  Italy  runs  quite  round  the  room. 
The  chimney-piece  and  door  architraves  are  of  polished  granite, 
from  the  Duke  of  Argyll's  quarry  in  Mull,  which  harmonizes 
very  well  with  the  doors,  which  are  of  oak ;  and  the  shutters 
are  of  plate-glass,  corresponding  with  the  compartments  of  glass 
in  the  windows.  The  depth  of  the  frieze  takes  away  from  the 
height  of  the  room,  which  altogether  is  rather  heavy  and  dull. 
Still  the  style  is  uncommon,  and  the  panels  and  frieze  fine 
works  of  art. 

In  the  ante-room,  which  faces  the  east,  and  gives  access  to 
the  library  and  drawing-rooms,  is  an  ornamental  armorial  chim- 
ney-piece, by  Mr.  Munro,  with  supporters,  and  the  ducal  arms 
complete. 

The  drawing-rooms,  with  boudoir  and  ladies'  closets,  occupy 
the  south-east  part  of  the  castle,  toward  the  sea  and  garden ; 
the  principal  drawing-room  is  forty-five  by  twenty-two  feet,  and 
the  smaller  one  twenty-two  feet  square.  The  ceilings  are  orna- 
mented with  a  series  of  square  and  octagonal  panels,  in  the  for- 
mer of  which,  in  gilt  letters,  are  the  initials  of  the  Duke  and 
Duchess,  of  their  family,  and  near  relatives ;  the  cornice  is 
highly  enriched  and  relieved  with  gold ;  all  the  shutters  are  of 
plate-glass ;  the  wood  work  is  painted  white  and  gold ;  the  walls 
of  the  large  drawing-room  hung  with  rich  crimson  silk,  and  those 
of  the  smaller  with  flowered  green  silk,  and  over  the  chimneys 
are  two  noble  paintings  of  Venice — Canaletti's,  we  believe. 

Between  the  dining  and  drawing  rooms,  and  forming  a  con- 
nexion between  them,  and  on  the  west  side  of  the  staircase, 
with  which  it  communicates  by  three  plate-glass  doors,  is  the 
billiard-room,  with  a  deep  oak  and  cedar  panelled  ceiling,  high 


540  DUNKOB1N  CASTLE.  SECT.  VII. 

panelled  surbase,  and  the  walls  finished  with  blue  and  gold 
paper.  From  the  south  corner  of,  and  connected  with  the 
staircase,  runs  a  long  lofty  groined  corridor,  which  joins  the 
new  to  the  old  buildings,  and  from  which  the  state-rooms  enter. 
The  different  compartments  of  the  walls  are  filled  with  paintings, 
with  marble  tables,  and  vases  for  flowers,  &c. 

The  state  bedroom  is  twenty-three  feet  square  and  eighteen 
feet  high,  with  a  block  cornice,  ornamented  with  gilded  ar- 
morial emblems  and  thistles,  and  panelled  ceiling,  painted  blue, 
with  stars  ;  the  doors  are  of  ornamented  oak,  relieved  with 
gold,  and  the  walls  hung  with  rich  flowered  silk  ;  and  the  cur- 
tains are  of  the  richest  description.  Between  the  bed-room  and 
the  small  drawing-room,  and  connected  with  each,  is  the  Queen's 
dressing-room,  which  is  nearly  twenty  feet  square,  and  on  the 
opposite  side  Prince  Albert's  dressing-room,  of  nearly  the  same 
dimensions,  both  of  which  are  finished  similar,  and  to  corres- 
pond with  the  state  bed-room.  These,  with  the  drawing-rooms, 
certainly  are  very  beautiful  and  splendid  suites  of  rooms,  and 
exhibit  no  less  chaste  elegance  of  taste,  than  prodigality  of 
expense.  There  seems,  however,  reason  to  fear  that  the  climate 
and  sea-air  may  prove  trying  to  the  delicate  hangings,  and  to 
the  lustre  of  the  gilding ;  but  great  attention  having  been  paid 
to  heating  the  whole  edifice  by  means  of  two  large  apparatus 
in  the  basement  storey,  the  risk  of  injury  may  be  diminished. 

The  third  floor  is  occupied  by  the  family  and  other  bed- 
rooms. The  Duke  and  Duchess'  bed  and  dressing  rooms  and 
bath  rooms  occupy  the  sea  front,  and  overlook  the  gardens. 
These  rooms  have  panelled  and  ornamented  ceilings,  the  doors 
and  other  wood-work  are  of  varnished  deal,  relieved  with  gold ; 
the  walls  hung  with  silks  and  papers  of  the  choicest  patterns, 
and  the  panels  of  the  shutters  of  the  Duchess'  apartments  are 
of  mirrors  which  reflect  the  gardens  and  sea  view. 

About  130  beds  can  be  made  down  in  Dunrobin.  Such  an 
extent  of  building  has  been  in  a  great  degree  owing  to  the  re- 
moteness of  the  situation,  and  from  a  desire,  by  abundant  ac- 
commodation for  the  very  numerous  members  of  the  family,  to 
induce  their  prolonged  stay  together  in  the  north. 

The  approach  is  to  leave  the  public  road  near  Golspie 
Church,  skirt  along  the  wooded  bank,  cross  the  ravine  called 
Meg's  Burn  by  an  arch  of  from  sixty  to  seventy  feet  span,  and 
enter  the  centre  court  on  the  east  side. 


SECT.  VII.  DUNROBIN  CASTLE  —  FISHERIES.  541 

The  entire  plan  which  the  Duke  has  in  view  embraces 
building  a  large  keep  (in  which  there  will,  in  all  probability, 
be  a  suitable  feudal  hall),  an  elegant  chapel  to  the  east  of  the 
castle,  and  connected  with  the  library  and  entrance  hall,  and 
the  enclosing  of  the  whole  court. 

The  whole  of  the  arrangements  have  been  made  by  Mr. 
Leslie,  of  Messrs.  M'Donald  &  Leslie,  stone  and  marble  works, 
Aberdeen,  under  the  Duke's  directions,  and  some  of  the  orna- 
mental parts  are  from  sketches  furnished  by  Mr.  Barry,  but  all 
examined  and  approved  by  the  Duke  before  being  executed, 
and  his  Grace  has  suggested  the  greater  part  of  them,  and  the 
whole  has  been  finished  under  his  directions. 

During  the  recent  years  of  distress  from  the  potato  failure, 
the  works  have  been  a  source  of  very  seasonable  relief,  in  the 
employment  of  a  large  number  of  persons.  Besides  the  labourers 
engaged  about  the  building,  many  women  and  girls  have  been 
daily  at  work  with  the  furniture.  A  marked  effect  has  been 
produced  on  the  industrial  habits  of  the  people  of  Sutherland- 
shire  by  the  large  amount  of  labour  at  all  times  in  progress  on 
the  Sutherland  estates. 

(2.)    HERRING,    COD,    AND    LING    FISHERIES. 

In  reference  to  the  remark  made  (p.  16),  that  "  it  is  singular 
that  this  economical  article  of  food  (herring)  is  still  so  little 
used  in  the  great  manufacturing  towns  of  England,"  our  atten- 
tion has  been  called  to  a  correspondence  detailing  the  results  o 
a  trial  of  this  fish  recently  made  in  the  Staffordshire  Potteries. 
The  manufacturers  would  seem  to  disincline  the  use  of  the 
cured  fish,  from  a  notion  that  they  would  serve  but  as  a  fresh 
provocative  to  the  further  indulgence  in  the  favourite  beverage 
of  beer.  This  seems  not  an  insuperable  barrier.  With  'due 
attention  to  the  remedying  of  any  undue  saltness  before  being 
dressed,  and  the  using  them  in  moderation,  and  as  only  a  part 
of  the  bill  of  fare,  we  apprehend  all  objections  on  this  score 
might  be  met.  Fresh  meat  is,  however,  the  all-in-all  of  the 
English  operative,  and  they  cling  to  it,  to  the  exclusion  of 
other  fare,  partly  from  a  sort  of  association  of  fish,  especially 
salted  cod,  with  low  wages  and  short  commons.  It  is  surely 
possible  to  disabuse  them  of  this  prejudice.  A  good  salted  or 
cured  herring  would  soon  come  to  be  esteemed  as  an  economical 


542  FISHERIES.  SECT.  VII. 

and  savoury  occasional  relish.  Perseverance  in  any  attempts 
to  introduce  their  general  use  is,  however,  indispensable,  and 
the  co-operation  of  employers  is  desirable.  Could  it  be  brought 
about,  it  would  open  up  an  important  market  for  this  staple  of 
our  north  seas.  Yarmouth  bloaters  are  sometimes  sold  in  the 
English  manufacturing  counties,  but  so  sparingly,  that  this  is 
thought  to  augur  ill  for  the  herring.  However,  the  bloater  is 
comparatively  dear,  and  cannot  be  retailed  under  a  penny  a-piece. 

Efforts  are  being  made  to  promote  the  use  of  coffee  at  the 
herring-fishing  stations  in  Sutherlandshire,  in  place  of  whisky. 
It  seems  to  require  but  perseverance  and  the  use  of  a  genuine 
article,  to  bring  it  into  favour. 

From  the  Report  of  the  British  Fishery  Society  for  1849, 
which  has  appeared  since  the  preceding  pages  were  thrown  off, 
we  gather  the  following  particulars : — 

Barrels. 

The  Returns  of  the  Herring  Fishery  for  1849  are  much  the 
largest  upon  record.  The  total  quantity  of  herrings  cured 
throughout  the  kingdom  was 770,698} 

Taken  and  sold  for  immediate  consumption  (in  so  far  as  can  be 
ascertained 381,281 

1,151,979} 


Cwt 

Of  cod  and  ling,  there  were  cured  dried 98,903 

Barrels. 

And  cured  in  pickle  6,588 

Cwt 

Used  fresh  276,287 


Barrels. 

It  would  appear  that  of  the  herrings,  the  proportion  cured  along 
the  English  coasts  was 88,829 

North  of  the  Clyde  on  the  west,  and  of  the  Spey  on  the  east  of 
Scotland  343,140 

Rest  of  Scotland 338,729} 

770,698} 
While  of  those  used  fresh,  the  relative  quantities  stand — 

Barrels. 

England  235,971 

Scotland,  north  of  above  limits  66,072 

Rest  of  Scotland 79,138 

381,281 


SECT.  VII.  FISHERIES.  543 

Cwt. 

Of  cod  and  ling,  the  quantity  cured  in  England  was   1,973| 

Barrels. 

North  of  Scotland,  as  above 1622       87,731J 

Rest  of  Scotland 4964         9,198i 


6588  98,903 

Of  cod  and  ling  used  in  Afresh  state — 

England  205*337 

North  of  Scotland,  as  before 30,594 

Rest  of  Scotland    40,356 


276,287 

The  number  of  boats,  decked  and  undecked,  on  the  shore  curing  herring, 
and  cod  and  ling  fisheries,  in  1849  ;  ^fishermen,  boys,  coopers,  and  other 
persons  employed,  were — 

Fishermen        Persons  employed 
Boats.  and  in  cleaning,  curing. 

Boys.  coopering,  Ac. 

In  England 4,698  20,259  7,695 

North  of  Scotland  7,100  27,973  19,459 

Rest  of  Scotland 3,164  11,560  11,380 


14,962  59,792  38,534 

The  exports  of  herring  to  the  continent  of  Europe  have  risen, 
we  are  glad  to  learn,  within  twelve  years,  from  64,870  barrels, 
to  257,108  barrels,  notwithstanding  the  commercial  restrictions 
in  most  countries  where  this  fish  is  much  in  use,  and  to  the 
modification  of  which  the  Fishery  Board  have  anxiously  directed 
the  attention  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  as  the  opening  of  markets 
for  disposal  has  not  kept  pace  with  the  increasing  quantities 
being  taken — thus  causing  a  paralysing  depreciation  in  price. 
The  consumption  of  herrings  abroad  is  enormous ;  and  were 
foreign  markets  fully  open,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  there 
are  around  our  shores  almost  unlimited  undeveloped  resources 
of  production.  It  may  interest  the  reader  to  know,  that  the 
tonnage  employed  in  1849  in  carrying  salt  to  the  fisheries, 
amounts  to  39,061  tons,  and  the  number  of  hands,  to  2834 ; 
tonnage  employed  in  exporting,  to  42,730  tons,  and  number  of 
hands,  3267 ;  tonnage  of  fishing  boats,  to  126,520  tons.  The 
number  of  square  yards  of  netting  employed  in  the  fisheries 
amounts  to  94,916,584;  the  number  of  yards  of  lines  amounts 
to  36,313,706  ;  and  the  total  value  of  boats,  nets,  and  lines, 
amounts  to  ^£1,189,090. 


544  STKATHPEFFER.  SECT.  VII. 


(3.)    STBATHPEFFER. 

It  escaped  us,  in  our  notice  of  this  watering-place,  to  allude 
to  the  very  unsuitable  condition  of  many  of  the  lodging-houses. 
Some  of  the  more  respectable — but  they  are  comparatively  few 
— are  very  comfortable ;  but,  generally  speaking,  there  is  a  sad 
want  of  tidiness  and  thorough  cleanliness,  an  absence  of  such 
pieces  of  furniture  as  sofas,  and  easy-chairs,  and  similar  acces- 
sories to  the  lounging  habits  of  a  watering-place,  or  they  are  so 
hard  and  comfortless,  as  to  be  anything  but  inviting ;  while 
most  of  the  houses  are  most  disgraceful — a  century  behind  in 
the  first  essentials  of  health  and  decency.  The  furniture  alto- 
gether is  not  at  all  what  it  ought  to  be,  and  even  the  very  beds 
are  too  frequently  objectionable.  On  the  other  hand,  charges 
are  very  high  for  the  accommodation.  The  supplies  of  provi- 
sions, too,  are  most  inadequate,  and  troublesome  to  be  had,  more 
especially  of  groceries,  at  least  excepting  some  of  the  most  in- 
dispensable articles ;  fish,  excepting  occasionally  grilse  and  sal- 
mon ;  vegetables,  especially  in  the  commencement  of  the  season ; 
liquors,  and  coals.  These  are  hardly  to  be  procured  at  all,  un- 
less carried,  at  much  inconvenience  and  cost,  from  a  distance. 
There  is  good  bread  to  be  had,  and  a  tolerable  supply  of  butcher- 
meat — that  is,  of  mutton,  lamb,  and  veal ;  but  even  for  dairy 
produce,  one  has  to  trust  to  chance  calls,  or  c  \e  arrange- 
ments which  a  stranger  is  at  first  not  up  to.  Were  a  well-con- 
ducted general  provision  store,  for  all  sorts  of  commodities,  to 
be  opened  during  the  season,  it  could  not  fail  to  prove  a  good 
speculation,  as  the  visitors  would  not  grudge,  and  those  who 
have  had  experience  of  the  present  state  of  things  would  gladly 
acquiesce  in,  a  remunerating  profit.  The  proprietor  is  called 
upon  not  only  to  give  facilities  for  building  accommodation  for 
the  numbers  of  all  classes  who  now  resort  to  this  valuable  mi- 
neral, but  to  do  everything  to  stimulate  and  encourage  a  better 
order  of  things  in  all  respects.  By  a  little  mutual  arrangement 
and  co-operation,  water  could  easily  be  introduced  into  all  the 
houses.  At  present  the  cisterns — and  there  are  none  such  ex- 
cepting in  the  best  lodging-houses — are  merely  of  rain  water. 
Even  for  drinking  purposes  it  is  troublesome  sending  for  water. 
A  tolerable  number  of  vehicles  on  hire  would  also,  we  think, 
meet  with  demand  where  there  is  so  much  fine  scenery  at  hand. 


SECT.  VII.  MEIKLE  FERRY DORNOCH.  545 

There  is  a  coach  three  times  a-day  to  and  from  Dingwall,  at 
very  reasonable  fares. 

(4.)  MEIKLE  PEEBY  AND  DORNOCH ERRATA  AND  ADDENDA. 

(P.  400.)  The  distance  from  Tain  to  the  Meikle  Ferry  is  four 
miles ;  the  width  of  the  ferry  three  quarters  of  a  mile  ;  and 
there  is  no  pier  as  yet  on  the  south  side.  The  accident  there 
happened  in  1809.  The  road  to  Dornoch,  from  the  Bonar  Bridge 
road,  strikes  off  about  a  mile  north  from  Clashmore,  and  the 
town  is  rather  more  than  two  miles  from  the  main  road. 
Though  the  soil  about  Dornoch  is  light,  there  are  well  culti- 
vated fields  near  the  town.  Its  population  is  about  800.  There 
were  aisles  to  the  nave  of  the  old  cathedral.  These  have  not 
been  restored.  It  requires  but  the  removal  of  one  or  two  houses 
and  gardens,  which  obstruct  the  area  of  the  large  square  space 
round  which  are  ranged  the  Cathedral,  the  tower  of  the  Bishop's 
Palace,  the  County  Buildings,  and  the  Prison,  to  display  this 
assemblage  of  imposing  public  edifices  to  a  degree  of  advantage 
which  would  place  Dornoch  on  a  footing,  in  point  of  architec- 
tural embellishment,  little  expected  in  the  somewhat  out-of- 
the-way  county  town  of  Sutherlandshire.  There  are  extensive 
portions  of  the  parish  of  Dornoch  under  young  plantations,  and 
there  is  a  considerable  rural  population  comfortably  settled. 

(5.)     STEAM    COMMUNICATION     TO     THE    WEST    OF     ROSS, 
AND    SUTHERLANDSHIRE. 

The  Skye  steamer  calls  once  a-fortnight  at  Gairloch,  and 
the  Tobermory  steamer  once  a-fortnight  at  Loch  Inver,  during 
the  summer  months. 


2  A  2 


540  AKRAN.  SKCT.  VIII.  A. 


SECTION  VIII. 

'I  Hi:   WESTERN  ISLES  AND  CANTYRE. 
A. — ISLE  OF  ARRAN  AND  AILSA  CRAIG. 

General  Features;  Coast-line,  1.— Brodick  Bay  aiid  Castle,  2. — Ascent  of  Goatfell,  3. 
— Corriegills ;  Lamlash  Bay,  4.— Brodick  to  Loch  Ransa ;  Corrie ;  Glen  Saunox ; 
The  Fallen  Rocks ;  The  Cock  of  Arran ;  Scriden,  5.— Loch  Ransa,  6.— West  Coast 
of  Arran;  Corrie  an  Lachan;  Caves  and  Cliffs  at  Tonnore;  Drumodune  Point; 
Obelisks,  Circles,  and  Caims,  7.— Shiskin  to  the  Struey  Cliffs ;  Tor  Chastel ; 
Southend  Harbour ;  The  Black  Cave,  8.— Kildonan ;  Pladda  Island ;  Falls  of  Es- 
siemore,  9. — The  Pippin  Bocks;  Glen  Ashdale;  Attractions  of  Arran,  10. — Ailsa 
Rock,  11. 

1.  ARRAN  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  of  our  islands.  It  pre- 
sents in  itself  an  epitome  at  once  of  geology  and  of  scenery, 
while  it  offers  a  rich  field  to  the  botanist,  conchologist,  and  stu- 
dent of  the  more  minute  and  less  perfect  forms  of  animal  life ; 
and  in  its  antiquities  it  exhibits  still  further  sources  of  interest. 
In  extent  this  island  is  about  twenty-eight  miles  of  extreme 
length,  and  about  twelve  of  average  breadth,  and  it  forms  nearly 
a  regular  parallelogram.  The  characters  of  the  northern  and 
southern  divisions  are  strongly  contrasted.  The  great  mass  of 
the  former  consists  of  granite  mountains,  upheaved  to  an  eleva- 
tion of  from  2000  to  3000  feet,  the  highest  summit,  that  of 
Goatfell,  being  2959  feet  above  the  sea,  while  the  southern  por- 
tion, generally  elevated  and  hilly,  does  not,  however,  attain  a 
higher  altitude  than  about  900  feet.  While  the  mountainous 
portion  is  distinguished  by  the  very  abrupt  character  of  the 
closely  grouped  naked  mountain  masses,  the  sharply  serrated 
outlines  and  peaked  summits  of  the  connecting  ridges,  and  their 
deeply  cleft  and  precipitous  glens,  corries,  and  ravines,  the  other 
is  spread  out  in  the  undulations  characteristic  of  the  trap,  por- 
phorytic,  and  other  igneous  rocks,  of  which  it  is  mainly  composed 
— covered  with  a  deep  stratum  of  peat  and  alluvium — cropping 
out,  however,  especially  on  the  coasts,  in  many  bold  perpendi- 
cular cliffs,  and  the  hill  faces  assuming  a  markedly  terraced 
character,  the  stages  of  verdant  and  cultivated  slopes  presenting 
an  exceedingly  pleasing  appearance.  The  formations  in  the  order 


SECT.  VIII.  A.  ARRAN BRODICK  BAY.  547 

of  their  superposition  are  granites,  coarse  and  fine  grained,  in 
mass  and  in  veins ;  clay  slate  and  schists ;  old  red  sandstone ;  car- 
boniferous series  (limestone,  shales,  coal,  and  hematite),  new  red 
sandstone,  overlying  igneous  rocks,  viz.,  claystone,  porphyry, 
lyenite,  pitchstone,  and  pitchstone  porphyry  ;  basalt,  greenstone, 
porphyritic  trap,  and  Amygdaloed.  This  enumeration  may 
serve  to  shew  the  geological  attractions  of  Arran,  than  which 
the  student  could  not  select  a  more  instructive  field  of  observa- 
tion. The  subject  will  be  found  fully  illustrated  in  "  The  Geo- 
logy of  the  Island  of  Arrau,"  a  detailed  and  very  lucid  treatise, 
by  Andrew  Crombie  Ramsay,  while  the  pages  of  Macculloch 
form  a  mine  of  information,  not  only  on  the  geological  but  all 
the  other  features  of  the  island.  The  general  student  of  natural 
history  is  referred  to  "  Arran  and  its  Natural  History,"  by  the 
Rev.  David  Landsborough ;  and  in  the  number  of  Murray's 
handbooks  on  Arran,  a  large  amount  of  miscellaneous  matter  is 
embodied. 

An  almost  uninterrupted  belt  of  gravelly  shingle — its  land- 
ward surface  carpeted  with  grassy  sward  and  pasture — encircles 
the  island,  affording  a  ready  access  round  the  coast,  and  fre- 
quently tinted  over  with  daisies  and  buttercups,  and  associated 
wild  flowers.  The  shores  are  generally  steep  and  rocky.  At 
the  mouths  of  the  numerous  streams  are  further  considerable 
alluvial  deposits.  Large  blocks  of  granite  from  the  primitive 
district  lie  scattered  on  the  surface,  and  imbedded  in  the  gravel 
banks  throughout  the  island. 

2.  On  the  east  side  of  the  island  are  two  bays — Brodick  and 
Lamlash.  The  latter,  being  protected  by  an  islet  (Holy  Isle) 
lying  right  across,  is  a  roadstead  of  frequent  recourse  to  ship- 
ping in  stress  of  weather.  Goatfell,  whose  peaked  summit  forms 
the  apex  of  several  converging  ridges,  forming  so  many  rocky 
shoulders,  lies  north  of  Brodick  Bay. 

Brodick  Bay  (twenty  miles  distant  from  Ardrossan)  is  a  scene 
of  very  varied  and  striking  beauty.  Well  indented  into  the 
side  of  the  island,  a  fertile  plain  or  valley,  about  a  mile 
square,  succeeds  the  white  sloping  beach,  and  branches  on  the 
north  into  two  other  glens ;  Glen  Ro/a — running  back  northward 
into  the  heart  of  Goatfell  and  the  other  associated  granitic 
mountain  ranges,  which  flank  it  with  rugged  precipices — and 
Glen  Shirray,  extending  to  the  west,  and  both  presenting  much 
of  wild  picturesque  beauty ;  while  from  the  southern  head  of 


548  GOATFELL.  SECT.  VIII.  A. 

the  bay  extends  another  opening — Glen  Cloy — through  softly 
swelling  hills.  Each  of  these  valleys  sends  down  its  channelled 
stream.  The  fertile  fields  and  pastures,  and  lower  hill  slopes, 
are  bedecked  with  numerous  houses  (Brodick  being  the  most 
considerable  village  in  the  island),  and  variegated  with  trees ; 
while  on  the  north  side  of  the  bay,  Brodick  Castle,  a  lofty  and 
very  old  square  keep,  with  extensive  additions  of  various  ages, 
and  some  of  them  quite  recent,  surmounts  a  rocky  wooded  bank. 
Behind  the  surrounding  woods  stretches  a  long  expanse  of  heath, 
and  beyond  rises  the  elegant  tapering  form  and  gray  peak  of 
Goatfell.  Nor  must  the  accessories  be  forgotten  of  the  numer- 
ous boats  and  vessels  which  enliven  the  waters  and  shores  of 
the  bay.  The  greater  part  of  Arran  has  for  centuries  belonged 
to  the  family  of  Hamilton,  and  Brodick  Castle  forms  a  favourite 
residence  of  the  Marquis  of  Douglas.  In  the  gardens  many 
exotic  plants  flourish  in  the  open  air. 

3.  The  ascent  of  Goatfell  is  a  frequent  excursion  with  visi- 
tors to  Arran.     It  is  noways  difficult,  and  the  ordinary  path 
leads  from  near  the  village  inn,  but  the  geologist  will  thread 
his  way  along  the  course  of  the  Cnocan  burn.     The  shoulders 
of  Goatfell  and  of  the  adjoining  mountains,  especially  Beinn 
Gnuis  and  Caistael  Abdael,  are  characterised  by  cyclopean  walls 
of  granite  blocks.     On  the  summit  of  the  last  named,  several 
such  isolated  masses  rise  to  an  elevation  of  perhaps  a  hundred 
feet.     Portions  of  the  slopes  of  the  southern  shoulder  of  Goat- 
fell  exhibit  masses  of  granite  overlapping  one  another ;  and  far- 
ther down  a  huge  horizontal  slab  of  granite,  called  the  Druid 
stone,  rests  on  pillars  of  stone.    The  eye,  from  the  summit,  looks 
down  upon  a  series  of  sharp  roof-like  mountain  ridges,  rising 
into  spiry  peaks,  and  intersected  by  deep  and  precipitous  hol- 
lows.     The  immediately  near  features,  and  especially  of  the 
masses  of  Nature's  masonry,  give,  we  have  been  assured,  a  very 
tolerable  notion  of  the  scenery  of  the  Andes.    With  this  rugged 
expanse  the  softer  character  of  other  parts  of  the  island  form 
an  immediate  contrast.    Around  stretch  the  waters  of  the  ocean 
and  of  the  Firth  of  Clyde  and  Loch  Fyne,  and  their  very  varied 
framework  of  hill  and  dale  spread  map-like  before  the  spectator. 
A  peculiar  feature  of  the  granitic  ranges  is  the  frequency  and 
bowl-shaped  configuration  of  the  corries. 

4.  Between  Brodick  and  Lamlash  Bays  the  seaward  cliffs  at 
Corriegills  attain  a  height  of  about  500  feet. 


SECT.  VIII.  A.  LAMLASH — GLEN  SANNOX.  549 

Lamlash  is  distinguished  by  the  fine  conical  form,  and  on 
the  east  side  the  columnar  cliffs  of  Holy  Island.  The  islet  is 
about  1000  feet  high,  and  three  miles  long,  and  is  almost  com- 
pletely covered  over  with  the  trailing  Arbutus  Uva-ursi.  It  gives 
a  double  entrance  to  the  bay,  and  is  distinguished  by  the  cave 
of  St.  Molios,  a  missionary  from  lona,  the  waters  of  a  spring 
in  which  were  long  held  of  sovereign  medicinal  efficacy,  and  by 
the  indistinct  traces  of  a  monastery  founded  by  John  of  the 
Isles.  Kilbride  is  a  mean  village.  There  is  a  vitrified  fort 
on  Dun  Fionn,  and  several  upright  stones  on  the  hill  behind 
the  parochial  manse,  are  among  the  numerous  antiquarian 
vestiges,  as  sepulchral  cairns  and  obelisks,  scattered  over  the 
island.  There  are  similar  tall  slabs  of  stone  at  Brodick.  Mac- 
Culloch  is  disposed  to  regard  those  at  Lamlash  as  ruined 
cromlechs,  similar  to  those  in  Cornwall,  Wales,  and  Guernsey, 
a  species  of  monument  comparatively  rare  in  Scotland. 

5.  Between  Brodick  and  Loch  Ransa,  another  smaller  bay 
on  the  north  or  north-west  of  the  island,  lies  the  finest  section 
of  the  coast  scenery.  The  rocky  shore  is  indented  by  numerous 
creeks,  to  all  the  sinuosities  of  which  the  encircling  terrace 
in  most  parts  gives  access.  Many  home-steads  accompany 
our  steps  along  the  first  part  of  the  coast,  while  the  irregular 
cliffs,  revealing  glimpses  of  the  lofty  mountain  tops  and  their 
shelving  sides,  frequently  strewed  with  broken  masses  of  shi- 
vered rock,  are  ornamented  by  trees  and  brushwood,  frequently 
descending  to  the  very  margin  of  the  water. 

In  working  the  extensive  limestone  quarries  at  the  village 
of  Corrie,  artificial  excavations  of  considerable  extent  have  been 
formed  in  the  rocks.  Further  on,  Glen  Sannox  is  found  run- 
ning up  from  the  coast  into  the  heart  of  Goatfell.  Encompassed 
by  spiry  barriers  of  naked  granite,  it  presents,  in  common  with 
others  of  the  adjoining  glens,  but  perhaps  in  higher  degree,  in 
its  breadth  of  light  and  shade,  its  silent  and  unadorned  grandeur, 
much  of  the  character  of  the  wild  solitudes  of  the  Cuchullms  in 
Skye. 

About  two  miles  north  of  Glen  Sannox,  the  upper  part  of 
the  cliff  having  given  way,  has  strewed  the  whole  abrupt  hill- 
face  and  the  shore  with  huge  masses  of  rocks — called  the  Fallen 
Rocks — and  again  at  Scriden,  the  most  northerly  point  of  the 
island,  a  similar  appearance  is  presented  on  a  still  larger  scale, 
there  having  been  a  landslip  of  the  strata  which  affected  almost 


550  LOCH  RANSA.  SECT.  VIII.  A. 

the  entire  hill  even  to  the  summit,  covering  the  declivity  and 
the  shore  to  the  sea-margin  with  an  avalanche  of  rock  for  a 
space  of  about  a  mile,  the  passage  through  which  is  uneven, 
tortuous,  and  somewhat  troublesome.  But  the  scene  is  highly 
picturesque,  accompanied  by  a  peculiar  impression  of  the  pos- 
sible o'ertoppling  of  the  impending  fragments.  Several  deep 
lateral  chasms  run  alongst  the  broken  fragments  ;  and  a  similar 
rent  of  great  depth,  which,  being  almost  covered  with  heather, 
might  prove  dangerous  to  the  unwary  observer,  seams  the  hill 
near  its  summit,  where  there  has  been  comparatively  little  dis- 
placement otherwise.  To  the  east  of  this  rugged  space  there  is 
a  large  detached  block  of  rock  upon  the  beach,  a  well-know  11 
landmark,  called  "  The  Cock  of  Arran ;"  but  decapitation  has 
impaired  the  resemblance  it  used  to  bear  to  a  cock  flapping  his 
wings. 

6.  Loch  Ransa,  an  inlet  of  about  a  mile  in  length,  by  from 
half  a  mile  to  a  mile  in  width,  is  one  of  the  scenes  of  most  se- 
questered attractiveness  in  Arran.     It  is  encompassed  by  the 
imposing  serrated  mountain  ranges,  from  which  rise  the  peaks  of 
Caistael  Abdael  and  Cairn  na  Caelleach,  pierced  by  two  narrow 
glens — Glen  Chalmadale  and  Eis  na  Bearradh — and  flanked  on 
the  south  by  the  elegant  cone  of  Torrnaneidneon.    A  promontory 
projects  from  the  south  shore,  which  encloses  an  inner  basin  of 
great  depth.    On  this  neck  of  land  stands  the  shell  of  one  of  the 
royal  castles,  erected  in  the  fourteenth  century.     It  consisted 
chiefly  of  two  square  towers  connected  by  high  curtains.     Loch 
Ransa  is  only  five  or  six  miles  from  the  coast  of  Cantyre,  on 
which  the  massive  old  castle  of  Skipness  is  conspicuous.     The 
loch  is  a  favourite  rendezvous  of  the  vessels  and  boats  engaged 
in  the  Loch  Fyne  fishery ;  and  the  bustle  of  departure  of  an 
evening,  and  of  return  with  the  spoils  of  the  deep,  and  the  ope- 
rations of  preparing  the  fish  for  market — for  most  part  in  a  fresh 
state — and  shipping  them  on  board  the  attendant  busses,  con- 
tribute, during  the  fishing  season,  a  peculiar  interest  to  the 
otherwise  retired  spot. 

7.  The  west  and  south  coast,  and  to  Lamlash,  present  less 
of  continuous  attraction  than  the  portion  between  Brodick  and 
Loch  Ransa.     Still  there  are  several  points  of  interest.     The 
northern  portion  of  the  western  coast  slopes  up  from  the  sea, 
the  cliffs  attaining  much  of  the  same  altitude  as  those  on  the 
corresponding  part  of  the  east  coast.     To  the  south,  the  cliffs 


SKCT.  VIII.  A.      CORRIE  AN  LACHAN — KING'S  COVE.  551 

are  lower.  The  whole  line  of  coast  is  intersected  by  several 
fine  valleys,  as  Glen  Catacol,  a  little  south  of  Loch  Ransa,  Glen 
Jorsa,  towards  the  south  of  the  northern  or  primitive  division, 
and  wider  valleys  along  the  Mauchrie  and  Black  Waters,  to- 
wards the  north  of  the  southern  division  of  the  island.  The 
Cantyre  coast,  with  Kilbrandon  Sound  between,  diversifies  the 
view. 

On  the  shore,  near  Thunderguy,  south  of  Catacol,  two  sin- 
gular masses  of  rock  will  be  observed,  of  peculiarly-contorted 
schist.  One  of  the  most  picturesque  mountain  lochs  or  tarns, 
and  partaking  somewhat  of  the  character  of  Coruishk,  in  Skye, 
is  that  of  Corrie  an  Lachan,  in  a  deep  hollow,  in  the  recesses  of 
Ben  Varen,  east  of  Thunderguy.  The  steep  encircling  rocks 
which  encompass  it  on  all  sides,  except  that  towards  the  sea, 
are  almost  bare  of  vegetation.  Ben  Varen  is  in  form  like  a 
long  house  with  rounded  roof,  and  on  its  summit  are  two  of  the 
Cyclopean  walls,  meeting  at  right  angles,  of  granite  blocks,  al- 
ready mentioned  as  characterising  several  of  the  mountain-tops 
of  Arran. 

At  the  village  of  Immachar,  north  of  the  Jorsa,  there  is  a 
ferry  across  to  Saddell,  in  Cantyre,  the  distance  being  only  be- 
tween four  and  five  miles. 

Between  the  mouths  of  the  Mauchrie  Water,  and  of  Shiskin, 
as  the  valley  along  the  Black  Water  is  called,  an  eminence 
rises,  called  King's  Hill,  which  presents  to  the  sea  a  range 
of  bold  cliffs,  chiefly  sandstone,  but  at  Drumodhuin  Point  of 
basalt,  and  there  distinguished  by  the  regularity  of  columnar 
arrangement.  This  hill  is  crowned,  on  its  landward  side,  by 
an  immense  rampart  of  loose  stones,  having  a  gateway,  and 
on  the  seaward  front  it  is  pierced  by  a  number  of  water-worn 
but  dry  caves,  of  which  the  largest,  which  is  upwards  of  100 
feet  in  length,  by  about  50  in  width  and  height,  is  called  the 
King's  Cove,  from  having  for  some  time  afforded  shelter  to 
the  Bruce,  when,  after  taking  temporary  refuge  in  the  Island 
of  Rachrin,  on  the  Irish  coast,  he  sojourned  for  a  time  in 
Arran,  concerting  measures  for  his  adventurous  but  ultimately 
triumphant  descent  on  the  opposite  shores  of  Carrick,  in  Ayr- 
shire. Stone  slabs  on  the  floor  doubtless  have  borne  the  gallant 
monarch's  weight,  and  the  smoke-grimed  roof,  and  the  re- 
mains of  bones  of  animals,  are  in  all  probability  referable  to 
that  anxious  period  of  his  stormy  career.  Rude  scratchings  on 


552          OBELISKS,  ETC. THE  BLACK  CAVE.      SECT.  VIII.  A. 

the  walls,  in  which  patient  decipherers  detect  representations 
of  objects  of  the  chase,  may  have  been  traced  by  some  of  the 
royal  attendants.  The  fond  credulity  of  the  natives,  however, 
ascribe  them  to  the  Fingalian  era.  The  smaller  caves  are  dig- 
nified by  the  names  of  the  King's  Larder,  Stables,  &c.  The 
cliffs  of  the  cave  are  appropriately  embellished  with  the  royal 
fern,  osmunda  regalis,  a  plant  which,  in  Arran,  has  attained 
the  great  growth  of  twelve  feet. 

In  the  district  about  Mauchrie  and  Shiskin  are  several  tall 
upright  slabs  of  stone,  or  obelisks,  some  of  them  from  fifteen  to 
twenty  feet  high,  and  several  stone  circles  and  cairns,  most 
likely  sepulchral  memorials  of  a  distant  age.  Of  these  last, 
there  is  a  very  large  one  near  the  mouth  of  the  Vale  of  Shis- 
kin,  and  a  little  further  up  the  glen  there  is  a  circular  mote 
hill.  A  good  road  leads  across  the  country  from  Shiskin  to 
Brodick. 

8.  From  the  mouth  of  the  Black  Water  there  is  a  ferry  to 
Campbelltown,  distant  about  twelve  miles.  About  the  centre  of 
the  south  end,  and  itself  the  most  southerly  point  of  the  island, 
a  range  of  basaltic  columns,  called  the  Struey  Cliffs,  rises  to  a 
height  from  400  to  500  feet.  The  intermediate  shore  between 
these  and  the  Black  Water  is  rocky.  On  a  round  and  isolated 
eminence,  called  Tor  Chastel,  connected  with  the  adjoining 
land  by  a  narrow  neck,  there  are  traces  of  a  round  structure, 
probably  a  Danish  burgh,  and  also  of  defending  outworks ;  but 
Mr.  Landsborough  mentions  having  been  told  that  human 
bones  were,  several  years  ago,  discovered  in  considerable  quanti- 
ties between  the  connected  walls.  The  only  other  instance  of 
the  kind  that  we  have  heard  of  is  at  Kyle  Skou,  on  the  west 
coast  of  Sutherlandshire.  A  fertile  tract  of  country,  west  of 
the  Struey  Rocks,  is  watered  by  the  Sliddery  and  the  Torlin, 
and  a  number  of  minor  streams,  mostly  with  deep  water-courses. 
Southend  harbour,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Torlin  water,  is  a 
very  curious  natural  harbour,  formed  by  trap-dykes,  which  are 
so  disposed  as  to  compose  sides,  quay,  and  breakwater.  Trap- 
dykes  abound  in  this  quarter.  At  the  commencement  of 
the  Struey  cliffs*  is  a  large  excavation  called  the  Black  Cave, 
which  is  about  160  feet  in  length,  about  half  that  height,  and 
about  one-fourth  in  breadth.  The  floor  inclines  upwards,  and 

*  Several  rare  plants  are  to  be  met  with  on  the  Struey  Cliffs,  as  Lathynu  Sylvct- 
trii,  Althea  Officinali*,  Carlina  Vulgaris,  and  Jnula  Helenium. 


SECT.  VIII.  A.      KILDONAN  CASTLE GLEN  ASHDALE.         553 

there  is  an  orifice  at  the  inner  end  of  the  cave.     Bennan  Head 
forms  a  continuation  of  the  Struey  Rocks. 

9.  At  the  south-east  corner  of  Arran  stands  an  old  square 
keep — Kildonan  Castle.     Off  shore  lies  the  island  of  Pladda, 
on  which  there  is  a  lighthouse.     An  extensive  plain  occurs  at 
Kildonan.      It  is  traversed  by  the  Glen  of  Auchinhew,  and  on 
the  course  of  the  burn  by  which  the  latter  is  traversed,  there 
is  a  waterfall — Essiemore,  or  the  Great  Fall — of  upwards  of  100 
feet  in  depth,  which  plunges  into  an  amphitheatre  surrounded 
by  lofty  rocks  composed  of  sandstone,  with  overlying  masses 
of  greenstone  and  basalt. 

10.  North  of  Kildonan,  a  noble  range  of  precipices,  called 
the  Dippin  Rocks,  rise  perpendicularly  from  the  sea  to  a  height 
of  300  feet.     A  somewhat  hazardous  footing  can  be  found  along 
the  base  of  the  cliffs.     The  dash  of  the  waves  close  at  hand, 
and  the  screams  of  the  wild  fowl  overhead,  conspire  to  try  the 
nerves  of  the  adventurous  wayfarer.     At  one  point,  a  stream 
issuing  from  the  brink  is  projected  beyond  the  base  of  the  rocks, 
forming  an  arch  of  whitened  spray  well  known  to  mariners. 

Glen  Ashdale,  a  fertile  and  beautiful  glen,  runs  up  from 
Whiting  Bay.  Towards  the  upper  extremity  of  the  glen,  the 
burn  course  is  lined  by  walls  of  basalt,  and  the  stream  forms 
two  successive  cascades,  the  lower  about  100  feet,  and  the  upper 
about  one-half  that  height ;  and  still  further  up,  the  glen 
terminates,  almost  at  the  summit  of  the  hills,  in  a  range  of 
rude  columnar  cliffs. 

Next  in  succession  comes  Lamlash  Bay,  which  completes 
the  round  of  the  coast. 

Arran  presents  many  attractions  for  a  summer  sojourn,  as 
well  as  to  the  mere  tourist.  There  is  capital  deep-sea  fishing 
and  good  trouting  in  the  streams,  and  there  is  plenty  of  game, 
excellent  bathing  and  boating ;  while  it  must  be  apparent  that 
the  scenery  is  of  no  common  order,  and  the  variety  very  un- 
common ;  while  to  the  geologist,  and  general  student  of  natural 
history,  there  is  perhaps  no  other  district  equally  inviting. 
There  are  lodgings  to  be  had  in  several  spots,  and  there  are 
small  inns  at  intervals  all  round  the  coast.  Brodick,  in  parti- 
cular, is  a  very  favourite  sea-bathing  quarter,  and  there  is  a 
constant  intercourse  by  steam  to  the  different  ports  on  the 
Clyde. 

2  D 


554  AILSA.  SECT.  VIII.  B. 


AILSA. 

11.  Ailsa  Rock,  or  the  Perch  of  Clyde,  forms  an  interesting 
day's  excursion  from  various  points  on  the  Firth.  This  insular 
mass  of  columnar  trap-rises  abruptly  from  the  water  to  a  height 
of  1100  feet.  Its  base  is  irregularly  elliptical,  3300  by  2200 
feet,  and  the  form  of  the  rock  varies  from  that  of  an  obtuse  to 
an  acute  cone,  according  to  the  position  of  the  spectator.  The 
colour  of  the  rock  is  gray,  which,  mingled  with  the  green  of 
its  vegetation,  exhibits  the  columnar  structure  to  peculiar 
advantage.  The  columns  are  not  so  nicely  regular  as  those  of 
Staffa,  but  their  effect  from  a  little  distance  is  quite  perfect, 
and  by  many  this  rock  is  considered  a  grander  specimen  of  the 
kind  than  the  other  well-known  object.  On  the  north-west 
the  appearance  is  particularly  striking.  This  side  is  almost 
perpendicular,  and  composed  of  successive  tiers  of  columns  of 
great  magnitude,  both  as  to  length  and  diameter.  The  view 
is  especially  fine,  where  a  cave,  with  a  grassy  acclivity  above, 
forms  the  centre  point.  On  the  southern  face  there  are  ruins, 
still  entire,  of  a  square  tower  of  three  single  and  vaulted  apart- 
ments, on  a  terrace  at  about  200  feet  above  the  sea.  Thus  far 
the  ascent  is  easy,  but  above  becomes  very  steep,  at  times  among 
broken  fragments  of  rocks  piled  together,  their  interstices  filled 
with  prodigious  nettles  and  other  rank  plants.  Large  patches 
of  wild-flowers  are  met  with,  remarkable  for  their  uncommon 
growth,  and  the  rich  profusion  of  their  showy  petals.  Innu- 
merable flocks  of  sea-fowl,  with  rabbits  and  goats,  tenant  this 
lonely  isle. 


SECTION  EIGHTH.— BRANCH  B. 
KNAPDALE  AND  CANTYRE. 

FROM    FORT-WILLIAM   TO   CAMPBELLTOWN   AND   THE   MULL   OF 
CANTYRE  BY  LAND  ALONG  THE  COAST. 

District  of  Appin,  1. — Berigonium,  or  Dnn  Mac  Snichan,  2. — Ardchattan  Priory,  3. — 
Connel  Ferry  to  Loch  Fyne  and  Lochgilphead,  4. — Lochgilphead;  Knapdale;  Loch 
Swiii ;  Eilan  More,  5.— Cantyre,  west  aide,  6. — Religions  Edifices,  style*  and  ages 
of,  7.— Campbelltown,  8.— Seat  of  early  Scottish  Monarchy,  9. — Mull  of  Cantyre ; 
Dunaverty  Castle;  Sanda  Island,  10.— East  side  of  Cantyre;  Sadell  Abbey; 
Castle  of  Aird,  11.— Skipness  Castle,  12. 


SECT.  VIII.  B.          FORT-WILLIAM  TO  OBAN.  555 

1.  FORT- WILLIAM  TO  OBAN. 

Miles.     Miles. 

Corran  Ferry 9        — 

B.«   fBallachulish  Ferry 5         14 

'g,c  J       Inn  on  both  sides — best  on  south. 

<g   {Durer — neat  small  inn   7        21 

Portnacrosh  Inn — public  house  4        25 

1|  mile  from  P.  cross-road  to  Port  Appin  and  Aird 

strikes  off  to  the  right,  and  ^  mile  farther  on 

the  road  to  Crekan  Ferry  on  Loch  Creran,  and 

thence  to  Fasnacloich,  at  the  head  of  the  Loch 

Creran,  ten  miles  from  Portnacrosh,  branches 

off  on  the  left.    At  Port  Appin  is  a  respectable 

public-house,  and  two  small  ones  at  Crekan. 

Shian  Ferry  (one  mile  wide) — Good  public  houses  ...      4        29 

Connell   Ferry  on   Loch   Etive,   narrow  and   rapid 

Strait,  not  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide.    Inns  on 

bothsides 5        34 

Oban    5        39 

2.  FORT- WILLIAM  TO  LOCHGILPHEAD. 

To  Connel  Ferry — (see  preceding  table)    —  34 

Lorn — South  Connel  Inn  to  Clegie,  west  end  of  Loch 

Nell— (small  inn)  6  40 

Kilininver — (small  public-house)    5  45 

Kilmelford— (do.)  7  52 

Barbreck 8  60 

Kilmartin    8  68 

Lochgilphead — (inn) 8  74 

Lochgilphead  to  Inverary  16  miles. 

3.  KNAPDALE. 

Lochgilphead  to  Kiels  on  Loch  Swin,  where  the  ferry 
to  Lagg,  in  Jura  (8  miles  across),  is  usually  taken ; 
two  inns  on  the  way,  Bellanoch  and  Tay-Villich  dividing 
the  distance  into  three  nearly  equal  stages 17 

Lochgilphead  to  East  Loch  Tarbert 12J 

4.  CANTYRE. — (1.)  WEST  SIDE. 

From  the  village  of  East  Tarbert  to  Whitehouse, 
near  which  is  the  junction  with  the  road  along 

the  east  side  of  Can  tyre  (a  good  hi  n) 5i  — 

Clachan  public-house 4£  10 

Clachan,  Tayanloan,  public-house  (good) 6J  17^ 

Clachan,  Barr,  public-house  (do.) 6f  24|- 

Drummore,  or  Beallachantuie  (do.) 2i  26J 

Mackerihanish  Bay,  north  end  of,  small  public-house  4|  30| 

Campbelltown 6|  37f 

Mull  of  Cantyre 10  47| 


556  CANTYRE,  EAST  SIDE APPIN.  SECT.  VIII.  B. 

4.  CAXTYRE.  — (2.)  EAST  SIDE.        MUM.      HUM. 

Campbelltown  to  Sadell  (good  public-house) 10 

Carradell  (public-house) 4          14. 

Grogport  (do.) 4          18 

Clunaig  (do.) 10          28 

Skipness  Castle  and  village,  2  miles  (public-house). 
Clunaig  to  East  Tarbert,  across  the  hill — no  road 

from  Skipness 10          38 

N.  B. — The  roads  throughout  this  excursion  are  good,  though  very 
hilly ;  and  no  conveyance  but  a  horse  and  cart  can  be  had,  except  from 
Oban,  Lochgilphead,  and  Campbelltown. 

We  would  strongly  advise  the  pedestrian  tourist  to  undertake  this 
excursion  along  the  coasts  of  Argyleshire,  as  the  scenery  is  everywhere 
varied  and  beautiful,  the  road  being  midway  between  high  mountains  and 
the  islands  in  the  Western  Sea,  the  districts  pretty  well  peopled,  the  inns 
clean,  if  not  elegant,  and  remarkably  cheap,  and  the  interest  of  the  way 
being  constantly  kept  up  by  the  recurrence,  at  every  other  fifth  or  sixth 
mile  at  least,  of  some  old  castle  or  chapel,  with  its  sculptured  tombs  and 
crosses ;  while  it  is  within  the  power  of  the  traveller,  at  several  points,  as 
he  may  incline,  to  end  his  journey  by  going  on  board  a  steamer,  or  to 
vary  it  by  breaking  off  into  the  higher  and  wilder  districts  of  the  interior. 
The  coast  line  is,  of  course,  better  cultivated,  and  in  some  places  well 
wooded ;  and  what  they  want  in  height,  the  hills  make  up  by  roughness 
and  variety  of  form ;  and  between  them  there  are  innumerable  large  tracts 
of  beautiful  pasture  and  copse  ground.  Owing  to  the  superabundant 
moisture  of  the  climate,  however,  the  surface  is  always  damp  and  boggy, 
and  we  would  therefore  warn  the  tourist  to  keep  to  the  main  road,  and 
not  to  attempt  cross-cuts,  however  tempting  they  may  be  in  apparently 
shortening  distances,  unless  he  is  accompanied  by  a  guide,  an  appendage 
which  generally,  in  the  Highlands,  costs  more  than  it  is  worth. 

1.  BY  steaming  it  from  Fort- William  to  Corran  Ferry  early 
of  a  morning,  the  pedestrian  could  reach  Ballachulish  to  break- 
fast ;  and  then,  if  he  does  not  mean  to  wait  there  a  day,  so  as  to 
visit  the  slate  quarries,  Glencoe,  and  the  waterfalls  at  the  head 
of  Loch  Leven  (see  Route  i.),  which,  if  he  has  not  previously 
seen  them,  he  undoubtedly  should  do,  he  can  proceed  through 
the  picturesque  district  of  Appin — the  soil  of  the  loyal  Stewarts, 
and  one  of  the  strongest  retreats  of  Jacobitism,  and  still  retain- 
ing much  of  Episcopacy — and  reach  either  of  the  inns  at  Connel 
Ferry  on  Loch  Etive  by  night.  The  inconvenience  of  crossing 
the  successive  ferries  of  Ballachulish  on  Loch  Leven,  Shian 
(across  Loch  Creran)  and  Connel  Ferry,  at  Loch  Etive,  is  com- 
pensated by  the  varied  and  striking  scenery  at  all  these  points. 
Loch  Leven  is  encompassed  by  towering  alps,  and  the  mountain 
screens  on  all  hands,  as  seen  from  Ballachulish,  are  singularly 
grand.  Loch  Creran  is  encircled  by  chains  of  lofty  graceful 
mountains,  with  a  long  stretch  of  low  ground  at  the  entrance, 


SECT.  VIII.  B.    APPIN  HOUSE — ARDCHATTAN  PRIORY.  557 

and  at  Shian,  the  views  are  soft,  cultivated,  and  wooded.  The 
boundary  chains  of  Loch  Etive  slope  away  on  the  south,  but 
hem  in  the  water  more  closely  on  the  north.  From  the  broken 
character  of  the  coast,  the  landscapes  at  Connel  are  extensive 
and  diversified,  and  some  of  the  objects  they  present  carry  back 
the  thoughts  to  the  most  remote  antiquity.  The  chief  local 
objects  the  tourist  will  have  to  attend  to  by  the  way,  are : — 
1.  Appin  House  ( —  Downie),  situated  in  a  beautiful  park,  des- 
cending in  graceful  undulations  from  the  hills.  2.  Castle  Stal- 
ker, the  ancient  residence  of  the  Stewarts  of  Appin,  having  the 
royal  arms  finely  carved  over  the  entrance  gate.  3.  Aird's 
House ;  and,  after  crossing  the  fine  inlet  of  Loch  Creran,  which 
stretches  ten  miles  from  the  main  coast,  (4.)  Bercaldine  Castle, 
an  old  castellated  mansion,  in  part  still  inhabited,  and  command- 
ing a  magnificent  view  ;  westwards  from  which  a  beautiful  plain, 
nearly  six  miles  square,  conducts  to  a  ridge  (Ardnamucknish) 
boldly  projecting  into  the  sea;  at  the  foot  of  which  stands  (5.) 
the  House  of  Lochnell  (Gen.  Campbell),  and  the  ridge  is  crowned 
by  a  high  observatory,  which  is  often  taken  for  a  lighthouse. 

2.  As  the  road  turns  round  towards  Loch  Etive,  and  oppo- 
site the  Castle  of  Dunstaffnage,  it  passes  under  a  magnificent 
set  of  cliffs,  called  the  "  Cragan  High,"  or  King's  Rocks,  formed 
of  an  extremely  hard  and  singular  conglomerate,  composed  of  a 
great  variety  of  primitive  and  trap  rocks,  which,  as  Dr.  Mac- 
culloch  slyly  remarks,  is  much  admired  by  the  English  from  its 
resemblance  to  plum-pudding ;  and  about  400  yards  in  advance, 
and  to  the  north-west  of  these  cliffs,  is  the  little  double-topped 
rocky  eminence,  on  which  conjecture  has  for  a  long  time  back 
been  pleased  to  fix  as  the  site  of  Berigonium,  the  ancient  Pictish 
capital,  already  described,  page  96.     At  the  base  of  the  cliff  is 
a  small  burying-ground  and  ancient  cell,  or  chapel,  from  which 
the  "  street,"  or  paved  way  communicated  most  likely  with  the 
sea-shore  opposite  Dunstaffnage,  or  with  the  vitrified  site,  and 
which,  therefore,  was,  in  all  likelihood,  only  a  modern  proces- 
sion road  to  the  religious  sanctuary. 

3.  Before  quitting  the  north  side  of  Connel  Ferry,  the  ruins 
of  Ardchattan  Priory,  four  miles  up  Loch  Etive,  and  described, 
page  93,  well  merit  attention.     Ardchattan  is  a  name  familiar 
and  interesting  to  all  acquainted  with  Highland  annals.     The 
Priory  church  (which  only  measures  twenty-two  yards  by  nine) 
was  built  by  Duncan  M'Coul,  or  Macdougal  of  Lorn  (of  the 


558  ARDCHATTAN   PRIORT.  SECT.  VIII.  B. 

family  de  Ergadid),  in  the  thirteenth  century,  and  burned  dur- 
ing Montrose's  wars  by  Colkitto.  Little  of  it  is  now  left  except 
the  entrance  gable.  Robert  Bruce  held  a  parliament  here — one 
of  the  last  at  which  the  business  was  conducted  in  the  Gaelic 
language.  The  Prior's  house  is  still  entire,  and  is  the  residence 
of  the  proprietor,  Mr.  Popham  of  Ardchattan.  It  adjoins  the 
south-west  corner  of  the  church,  and  behind  it,  to  the  west  and 
north-west,  the  other  monastic  buildings  appear  to  have  stood. 
The  church  was  not  cruciform,  nor  does  it  appear  to  have  been 
interspaced  by  piers  and  pier  arches.  There  is  a  square  ambry 
entire  at  the  south-east  corner.  Among  the  office  houses  may 
be  traced  indications  of  the  old  buildings,  with  two  doorways, 
one  of  them  with  several  mouldings  and  of  a  very  obtuse  arch. 
This  Priory  was  likely  dependent  on  that  of  Beaulieu,  as  to 
which  see  page  386 ;  and  Mr.  Howson  (Cambridge  Camden 
Society  Transactions)  describes  the  shaft  of  a  stone  cross  within 
the  church,  with  extremely  grotesque  figures,  enclosing  a  gal- 
ley between  them,  and  composing  a  heraldic  group,  with  a 
mutilated  inscription  of  the  fifteenth  century.  There  is  only 
one  inscription  which  Mr.  H.  was  unable  to  decipher,  or  to  re- 
cognise the  character  in  which  it  is  written ;  and  if  Celtic,  it 
is  probably  the  only  one  of  the  kind,  though  the  Highlanders 
generally  imagine  that  all  the  inscriptions  are  in  the  Gaelic 
language ! 

4.  Regaining  Connel  Ferry,  either  by  returning  from  Ard- 
chattan, or  going  round  by  the  head  of  the  loch  to  Taynuilt 
inn,  which  will  give  a  view  of  its  inner  reaches,  and  the  grand 
assemblage  of  mountains  around  Ben  Cruachan,  so  minutely 
described  by  Dr.  Macculloch  (see  also  ante,  page  93),  our  route 
next  winds  in  among  the  trap  hills  of  Lorn  to  Lochs  Nell  and 
Feochan,  from  the  lower  end  of  the  latter  of  which  at  Kilinin- 
ver  a  branch  road  leads  to  the  slate  quarries  of  Siel  and  Easdale, 
distant  three  or  four  miles ;  and  while  here,  Loch  Craignish,  with 
which  Dr.  Macculloch  was  so  enamoured,  should  be  visited,  but 
it  is  inferior  to  Loch  Swin,  afterwards  noticed.  A  succession  of 
beautiful  pastoral  valleys,  with  rocky  gorges  and  overhanging 
luxuriant  copses,  leads  to  Kilmelford,*  whence  a  more  open  and 
cultivated  district  extends  to  Lochgilphead.  At  Carnassary, 
nine,  and  Kilmartin  eight,  miles  from  Lochgilphead,  are  the  shells 

*  Most  interesting  associations  of  the  primary  schists  and  trap-rocks,  banded  to^ 
gether  by  intersecting  veins  of  basalt,  occur  all  along  this  road. 


SECT.  VIII.  B.     LOCHGILPHEAD — KNAPDALE.  559 

of  the  main  keep  and  turrets  of  the  castles  of  these  names  ;  and 
at  Kilmichael  Glassary,  within  four  miles  of  the  village,  there 
is  a  sculptured  slab  cross,  and  also  extant  the  cell  of  the 
old  county  prison.  Instead  of  pursuing  the  public  road,  the 
tourist  would  be  pleased  with  a  short  side  excursion  from  Kil- 
melford  inn  to  Loch  Avich,  and  the  lower  parts  of  Loch  Awe, 
which  he  will  cross  at  Port-na-Sherry,  distant  about  twelve 
miles.  The  former  is  popularly  believed  to  be  the  "  Loch 
Launa"  of  Ossian;  and  its  picturesque  islet  and  castle  to  be 
"  Innislauna."  In  Loch  Awe,  the  Priest's  Isle,  with  the  ruins 
of  the  ivy-clad  island  castles  of  Ardconell  and  Feonahan,  and 
the  house  and  grounds  of  Eriden  (one  of  the  residences  of  Niel 
Malcolm,  Esq.,  a  most  extensive  proprietor  in  Argyleshire),  are 
all  well  worthy  of  being  seen ;  and  the  main  southward  road 
can  be  regained  at  the  lower  end  of  the  loch.  Or,  if  it  is  wished 
to  reach  the  banks  of  Loch  Fyne,  a  rough  bridle-road  will  be 
found  from  Port-na-Sherry,  over  the  hills  to  Port  Cregan,  near 
the  deserted  Forge  (eleven  miles),  which  is  intersected  near  the 
middle  at  Braelechan  by  a  district  road,  leading  northwards  to 
Inverary.  The  ascent  is  easy  (about  500  feet),  but  the  descent 
is  remarkably  steep  towards  Loch  Fyne,  commanding,  however, 
a  most  unrivalled  view  of  the  great  clusters  of  peaked  moun- 
tains towards  the  east  and  north. 

5.  Lochgilphead  is  a  very  considerable  village  near  the  south 
end  of  the  Crinan  Canal.  It  contains  a  population  of  about 
2500.  The  Bishop  of  Argyle  and  the  Isles  has  his  diocesan 
chapel  here,  and  his  residence  in  the  neighbourhood.* 

The  long  peninsula,  which  stretches  far  to  the  south  from 
the  Crinan  Canal,  is  distinguished  into  the  districts  of  north 
and  south  Knapdale,  lying  to  the  north,  and  of  Cantyre,  to  the 
south,  of  East  and  West  Lochs  Tarbert,  which  are  separated  by 
but  a  very  narrow  isthmus.  On  the  east  side  of  Knapdale,  along 
the  route  to  Tarbert  and  Campbelltown,  the  shores  are  low, 
rocky,  and  uninviting.  Still,  a  good  deal  of  wood  in  several 
places  clothes  the  acclivities  of  the  hills,  along  which  the  road 
conducts  by  the  sea-shore  for  about  twelve  miles.  The  hill 
Sliabghaoil,  three  miles  beyond  Inverniel  Kirk  and  House,  is 
regarded  as  the  locality  of  the  death,  by  a  boar,  of  Ossian's 
Brown  Diarmid.  Urins,  Mucroy,  and  Barmore  House  are  after- 

*  There  is  a  strong  attachment  to  Episcopacy  in  many  parts  of  Argyleshire.  It 
escaped  us  to  mention,  for  the  information  of  English  tourists,  that  there  is  an  Epis- 
copal service  at  Oban,  and  the  erection  of  a  chapel  is  in  contemplation. 


560  KNAPDALE.  SECT.  VIII.  B. 

wards  passed  on  the  way.  Half  a  mile  beyond  the  latter,  a  road 
branches  off  to  East  Tarbert,  distant  two  miles  and  a  half.  Ap- 
proaching West  Loch  Tarbert,  the  way  leads  through  a  beauti- 
ful strath  called  Glen  Ralloch.  In  crossing  the  isthmus,  the 
sandy  shore  should  be  avoided. 

But  before  passing  into  Cantyre,  the  western  districts  of 
Knapdale  well  deserve  special  notice.  Knapdale  will,  on  a  re- 
ference to  the  map,  be  observed  to  be  indented,  in  resemblance 
to  the  rest  of  the  Argyleshire  coasts,  by  two  inlets  of  the  sea, 
Loch  Swin  and  Loch  Killisport  These  exhibit  some  fine  scenery, 
that  of  the  former  especially,  which  is  about  nine  miles  in  length, 
being  towards  its  upper  extremity  of  remarkable  character.  It 
forks  at  the  head  into  three  different  branches,  and  is  otherwise 
indented,  particularly  on  the  west  at  Tayvillich,  near  the  branch- 
ing off  of  these  terminal  inlets.  It  is  encompassed  towards  this 
upper  extremity  by  hills  high  and  abrupt,  the  promontories 
being  of  the  like  character,  with  rocky  shores,  and  here  richly 
enveloped  in  natural  and  planted  wood  to  the  water's  edge.  The 
road  from  Lochgilphead  to  Kiels — where  there  is  a  well-regu- 
lated ferry  to  Lagg  in  Jura,  eight  miles  wide,  a  distance  of 
seventeen  miles,  divided  into  three  short  and  nearly  equal  stages 
by  two  inns  at  Bellanoch  and  Tayvillich — runs  along  the  tract 
intervening  between  Loch  Swin  and  the  Sound  of  Jura.  On 
the  adjacent  heights  are  the  remains  of  two  or  three  forts  or 
towers,  but  the  loch  is  hardly  seen  from  it,  except  at  Tayvillich. 
To  examine  Loch  Swin,  and  the  objects  of  interest  along  its 
shores,  the  plan  is  to  deviate  from  the  Kiels  road,  which  itself 
strikes  off  from  the  road  from  Lochgilphead  to  Crinan,  at  Bel- 
lanoch, five  and  a  quarter  miles  from  the  former,  at  a  point 
about  one  and  a  quarter  miles  past  Bellanoch,  and  to  go  on  as 
far  as  the  village  of  Kilmichael  Lussa,  at  the  manse  of  North 
Knapdale  (ten  miles  from  Lochgilphead),  and  there  take  boat. 
About  four  miles  further  down  the  east  side  of  the  loch,  the 
shell  remains  pretty  entire  of  Castle  Swin  or  Sueno,  a  royal 
castle,  and  a  place  of  great  strength  and  age.  It  forms  a  small 
square,  divided  into  two  compartments,  and  having  two  round 
corner  towers  on  one  side.  On  the  opposite  side,  at  Tayvillich, 
in  a  deep  recess  or  bay,  are  the  ruins  of  another  stronghold,  and 
on  the  coast  the  mansion  house  of  Taynish  (M'Donald).  Col- 
kitto,  during  Montrose's  wars,  had  his  boats  carried  across  from 
Tayvillich  to  the  Sound.  On  this  occasion  an  arrow  was  dis- 


SECT.  VIII.  B.      CANTYRE  TO  LOCH  TARBERT.  561 

charged  at  his  party  from  the  walls  of  the  castle,  which  so  ex- 
asperated the  fiery  Scoto-Hibernian,  that  he  vowed  that  he 
would  not  leave  a  bull  to  bellow,  a  Campbell  to  hollow,  or  a 
M'Niell  to  leap  (a  peculiar  attribute  it  would  seem  of  them)  in 
all  Knapdale — a  threat  which  he  pretty  faithfully  carried  out. 
This  portion  of  Knapdale  was  at  one  time  a  territory  of  the 
M'Niells. 

On  Eilan  More,  one  of  those  islets  off  the  opening  of  Loch 
Killisport,  are  the  remains,  singularly  entire,  of  a  small  chapel 
and  vaulted  cell,  with  a  sarcophagus,  having  the  figure  of  a 
priest,  in  his  cope,  sculptured  on  the  lid,  with  elaborate  and 
beautiful  tracery  about  it,  supported  by  four  grotesque  figures. 
This  sacellum,  Mr.  Howson  remarks,  is  nearly  the  most  curious 
place  he  ever  saw.  It  is  divided  into  two  apartments,  each 
about  five  yards  by  four,  the  western  one  having  been  the  dwell- 
ing of  the  priest  or  hermit.  The  windows  and  doors  are  Nor- 
man shaped,  rude,  and  very  small,  as  they  also  are  at  the  asso- 
ciated chapels  of  Kiels  and  Kilmory.  Another  plain  stone  coffin 
is  seen,  not  far  from  the  chapel,  along  with  the  remains  of  a 
cross.  There  are  the  fragments  of  another  cross  on  the  summit 
of  the  isle,  with  intricate  knots  and  patterns  on  one  side,  and  a 
representation  of  the  Crucifixion,  with  two  female  figures  by 
the  cross,  on  the  other.  (See  also  Macculloch's  Letters,  II.,  89.) 
At  the  south  end  of  the  old  chapel  of  Kilmorie,  in  Knap,  on  the 
adjoining  coast,  will  be  found  one  of  the  old  rude  figured  crosses. 
On  the  opposite  shore  of  Loch  Killisport  are  the  houses  of  Orm- 
say  and  Drundrishaig. 

6.  Cantyre,  a  district  about  forty  miles  long,  with  an  aver- 
age breadth  of  six  miles,  presents  no  clusters  of  high  or  impas- 
sable mountains ;  for,  except  around  the  Mull,  the  hills  are  low, 
undulating,  and  moorish,  and  rarely  picturesque  in  their  out- 
lines ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  quantity  of  cultivated  land 
is  greater  than  in  almost  any  other  part  of  the  Highlands,  un- 
less, perhaps,  we  except  the  east  coast  of  Caithness. 

Separated  from  the  rugged  and  wild  bounds  of  Knapdale  by 
Eastern  and  Western  Lochs  Tarbert,  we  would  recommend  the 
examination  of  the  district  in  question  to  be  commenced  from  the 
former  across  the  little  isthmus  which  divides  them,  and  over 
which  our  readers  likely  know  that  more  than  one  "  royal  bark  "* 


•  Ancient  legends  told  the  Gael 


That  when  a  royaf  bark  should  sail 
O'er  Kilmaconnel  moss, 


562  CANTYRE  TO  LOCH  TARBERT.      SECT.  VIII.  B. 

has  already  passed,  and  thence  down  by  the  west  coast  and 
across  to  Campbelltown,  whence  the  Mull  of  Cantyre  and  the 
eastern  portions  of  the  district  can  be  most  conveniently  visited. 
The  roads  on  the  whole  are  indifferent,  and  so  full  of  ups  and 
downs  that  the  traveller  will  find  himself  best  off  on  foot,  or 
horseback,  for  the  progress  of  a  wheeled  carriage  is  necessarily 
slow.  Numerous  little  inns  or  public-houses  will  be  found  on 
the  way,  which  are  chiefly  kept  by  matrons.  East  Loch  Tar- 
bert,*  by  which  we  have  supposed  the  tourist  to  approach,  is 
but  a  bay  of  Loch  Fyne,  and  its  shores  are  about  the  most 
barren,  lifeless,  and  forbidding  (for  the  bare  rocks  even  want 
the  size  and  height  which  would  give  them  grandeur  of  char- 
acter) that  can  be  conceived ;  but  after  the  frowning  walls  of 
old  Castle  Tarbert  (built  by  Robert  the  Bruce  as  a  watch  tower 
against  the  Irish),  and  the  straggling  houses  of  the  little  fishing 
village  below,  with  its  fleet  of  herring  boats,  and  a  set  of  rough 
hillocks  and  knolls,  among  which  little  patches  of  corn  land 
have  been  gained  from  a  black  boggy  soil  of  the  Kilmaconnel 
isthmus,  which  is  not  a  mile  wide,  are  passed — the  stranger 
finds  himself  once  more  descending  for  half-a-mile  towards  the 
west  coast,  along  the  margin  of  a  more  open  sea-loch,  the  banks 
of  which  are  clothed  with  herbage  of  the  richest  and  greenest 
hue,  and  embellished  with  occasional  woods  of  birch  and  Scotch 
firs,  and  very  valuable  wide- spreading  oak  copses.  The  shores 
are  low,  but  skirted  with  numerous  promontories  and  islets 
fringed  with  wood ;  and  here  and  there,  rising  above  the  general 
copse  covering,  are  a  few  clumps  of  large  and  stately  ash  and 
beech  trees.  A  sombre  gray  tone  of  colouring,  however,  rests 
upon  the  scenery,  especially  as  brown  heather  and  bare  rock 
everywhere  overtop  the  woody  region ;  and  hence  a  bright  calm 
sunny  day  is  needed  to  give  full  life  and  cheerfulness  to  the 
landscape.  The  narrow  isthmus  between  the  lochs  might  be 
easily  cut  for  a  canal,  but  the  western  one  is  rather  too  shallow 
to  warrant  the  expense.  A  pier  has  been  formed  at  the  west 
end  for  the  use  of  the  Islay  steamers  which  usually  land  their 
cargo  here,  in  communication  with  other  steamers  on  East 
Loch  Tarbert  for  Glasgow.  Further  on,  as  we  attain  the  more 

Old  Albyn  should  in  fight  prevail, 
And  every  foe  should  taint  and  quail, 
Before  ner  silver  cross." — Lord  of  (he  Isles. 

*  See  also  the  introduction  to  our  account  of  Islay  and  Jura. 


SECT.  VIII.  B.         WEST   SIDE   OF   CANTYRE.  563 

open  sea-beach,  directly  exposed  to  the  Atlantic  storms,  the  trees 
dwindle  down  almost  to  the  size  of  bushes,  and,  except  around 
gentlemen's  seats,  skirt  only  the  most  protected  slopes  and 
burn  sides  ;  but  the  agricultural  zone  here  increases  in  breadth, 
beauty,  and  fertility  ;  and  the  views — which  are  bounded  on 
the  one  hand  by  hills  of  moderate  height,  and  on  the  other  by 
the  magnificent  blue  mountains  of  the  Islands  of  Islay  and 
Jura,  the  table-land  of  Gigha,  and  the  dim  outline  of  Rathlin 
Isle  on  the  Irish  shore — are  filled  up  in  the  foreground  by  large 
corn-fields  and  wide  natural  meadows,  on  which  numerous  herds 
of  cattle  are  constantly  grazing.  A  smooth  green  plain,  either 
of  natural  tufted  sward  or  cultivated  ground,  but  seldom  ex- 
ceeding half-a-mile  in  breadth,  if  so  much,  accompanies  us 
thence  all  along  the  coast  nearly  to  Mackerihanish  Bay,  and 
this  plain,  subsiding  into  a  low  sandy  beach,  is  skirted  next  the 
land  by  steep  banks  and  rocky  cliffs,  varying  from  one  to  two 
hundred  feet  in  height.  The  plain's  surface  is  also  in  a  few 
places  checkered  by  lines  of  detached  rocky  pinnacles  and 
arches,  which  evidently  at  one  time  constituted  islets,  coves, 
stacks,  and  reefs  in  the  sea,  that  must  formerly  have  flowed  up 
to  them.  At  the  bay  just  mentioned,  a  great  change  suddenly 
takes  place  in  the  character  of  the  coast.  A  long  sandy  beach 
runs  out  into  a  shallow  and  a  very  dangerous  sea,  on  which 
lines  of  white  breakers  are  almost  constantly  dashing :  the 
shore  within  is  also  quite  flat  and  low,  and  from  it  a  smooth 
valley,  nearly  two  miles  broad,  but  only  forty  feet  above  the 
sea-beach,  extends  across  the  country  to  Campbelltown,  through 
which  the  ocean  evidently  in  former  times  also  passed,  then 
detaching  the  southern  portion  of  Cantyre  into  a  separate 
island.  The  valley  is  now  covered  over  with  fine  alluvial  soil, 
every  particle  of  which  is  highly  cultivated,  the  crops  of  oats 
and  barley  in  particular  which  it  yields,  being  in  no  part  of  the 
country  surpassed  in  quality  and  in  length  of  straw.  Barley, 
indeed,  is  the  main  article  of  produce,  as  the  demand  for  it  in 
Islay  and  Campbelltown  (in  the  latter  of  which  alone  there  are 
twenty-four  distilleries  for  the  manufacture  of  whisky)  is  very 
great. 

The  plain  or  valley  just  mentioned  is  called  the  Laggan  or 
How  of  Cantyre,  beyond  which  the  southern  portion  of  the 
peninsula  rises  in  long  wild  chains  of  hills,  composed  of  rough 
primitive  rocks. 


564  RELIGIOUS    BUILDINGS.         SECT.  VIII.  B. 

7.  So  far  for  the  external  aspect  of  the  district  referred  to. 
Every  one  acquainted  with  the  ancient  Irish  history,  and  that 
of  the  Dalriatic  Scots,  is  aware  that  this  territory  was  peopled 
at  a  very  early  period  ;  that  the  population  was  for  ages  more 
dense  here  than  in  most  other  parts  of  the  kingdom  ;  and  that 
it  was  exposed  to  very  frequent  descents  and  invasions,  and 
perhaps  to  several  considerable  changes,  or  at  least  intermix- 
tures of  its  inhabitants.  In  fact,  its  populousness  is  attested 
by  the  number  of  parishes  into  which  it  was  divided,  and  the 
many  old  churches  and  burying-grounds  which  abound  through- 
out the  district.  Every  sixth  or  eighth  mile,  one  meets  with  a 
ruined  monastery,  or  an  ancient  chapel,  with  their  accompanying 
little  burying  yards,  all  of  which  are  completely  filled  with 
graves,  and  abound  with  carved  monuments  of  high  antiquity. 
The  religious  fanes  themselves  are  of  small  dimensions,  rarely 
exceeding  twenty-five  paces  in  length,  and  eight  in  breadth, 
and  not  above  thirty  feet  in  height  ;  they  were  neatly  propor- 
tioned, though  quite  simple  and  devoid  of  ornaments,  except  a 
low  round  arched  or  early  Norman  altar  window,  with  rounded 
door-ways,  and  a  very  humble  belfry.  Such  are  undoubtedly 
the  remains  of  the  most  ancient  chapels  in  this  country,  and 
they  correspond  in  their  style  of  architecture  with  that  of  the 
cathedral  of  lona,  which,  though  greatly  superior  in  size  to  the 
ordinary  parish  churches,  seems  to  be  of  the  same  age  with 
them.  They  are  almost  in  every  case  niched,  both  outside  and 
in,  with  sculptured  effigies  of  bishops,  with  their  mitres,  cruci- 
fixes, and  pastoral  rods  ;  or  of  warriors,  with  their  rude  galleys, 
hounds,  broadswords,  and  battle  axes.  High,  upright  stone 
crosses,  of  precisely  the  same  slaty  substance  as  those  inter- 
spersed among  the  ruins  of  lona,  and  all  believed  to  have  been 
brought  from  that  holy  isle,  generally  line  the  approaches  to 
the  old  Cantyre  churches,  or  occupy  a  prominent  situation  in  the 
market-place  of  its  villages.  The  rude  figures  represented  on 
these  crosses  are  all  evidently  carvings  of  the  same  era  ;  the 
old  Saxon  character  is  solely  employed  in  the  lettering  of  them, 
and  although  few  of  the  inscriptions  are  now  legible,  one  seldom 
fails  in  making  out  the  initial  Latin  words,  "  Hcec  esljsrux,"  &c., 
with  which  they  all  commence.  Time,  with  the  gray  lichen 
and  long  wiry  maiden's-hair  moss,  have  partially  obliterated 
those  inscriptions  ; — while  the  nodding  cotyledon  and  climbing 
fumatory  depending  from  the  old  ruined  walls  of  the  chapels, 


SECT.  VIII.  B.  CAMPBELLTOWN.  565 

add  much  to  their  venerable,  but  now  desolate  appearance. 
Their  names  are  all  of  well-known  Celtic  saints,  and  bring  back  to 
memory  the  days  of  Columba,  whose  disciples  they  are  said  to 
have  been  ;*  and  another  class  of  still  older  antiquities,  also 
in  every  direction,  presses  upon  the  traveller's  attention,  so  as 
to  stamp  the  country  with  the  classic  interest  of  one  which  had 
been  an  early  cradle  of  mankind,  and  the  nursery,  perhaps,  of 
many  renowned  tribes.  All  along  the  coast,  and  especially  on 
the  sides  next  Ireland  and  the  Hebrides,  a  series  of  watch  or 
ward  hills  occur,  the  different  links  in  the  chain  of  which  may 
often  be  detected  in  the  tabular  or  conical  rocks  which  present 
themselves  along  the  shores,  with  walled  structures  round  their 
tops,  often  vitrified,  and  with  which  signals  were  exchanged 
from  similar  stations  on  the  acclivities  and  summits  of  the 
higher  hills.  Lines  of  such  beacons,  some  of  them  with  very 
significant  names  may  be  traced  around  the  shores  and  across 
the  country. 

As  to  the  ecclesialogical  antiquities,  we  may  submit  the 
following  summary  of  Mr.  Howson's  laborious  and  learned  re- 
searches, as  contained  in  the  papers  already  alluded  to,  published 
by  the  Cambridge  Camden  Society,  Parts  ii.  and  iii. — 1st.  The 
buildings  of  St.  Columba's  days,  and  of  the  Culdees  in  general  on 
this  coast,  probably  down  to  the  tenth  century,  seem  to  have  been 
all  of  wood,  or,  as  Bede  calls  it,  "  more  Scotorum,  non  de  Lapide, 
sed  de  robore  secto  et  arundine."  Hence  their  ready  destruction 
by  the  pagan  Northmen.  2d.  About  the  year  1000,  Scandinavia 
became  Christian,  and  thence  the  western  isles,  subject  to  the 
Norwegian  crown,  likely  came  under  a  uniform  and  regular 
submission  to  the  Church — their  bishops  being  for  a  considerable 
time  consecrated  at  Drontheim,  where  an  archiepiscopal  see 
was  fixed  about  1150,  with  supremacy  over  Man,  the  Hebrides, 
Orkney,  and  the  Faroe  Islands.  3d.  If  quoad  sacra  territorial 
divisions  existed  prior  to  the  commencement  of  the  Scoto- 
Saxon  period  (1097)  they  were  created  under  the  private 
authority  of  bishops,  hermits,  or  chiefs,  rather  than  by  public 
law ;  and  although  the  parochial  subdivision  of  the  country 
existed  under  Malcolm  Caen  More,  and  was  general  in  the 
lowlands  of  Scotland  in  the  reign  of  Alexander  II.,  yet  it  is 

*  In  descending  West  Loch  Tarbert,  these  interesting  fanes  are  met  in  the  follow- 
ing order : — 1st.  The  Chapel  at  Tyanloan  with  the  walls  quite  perfect.  2d.  Killean  or 
St.  John's  Church.  3d.  Kilchenzie.  4th.  Kilkerran  or  Camphelltown ;  and  5th.  Ou 
the  eastern  coast,  three  miles  from  this  town,  Kilcouslan. 


566     BURYING   GROUNDS CAMPBELLTOWN.      SECT.  VIII.  B. 

probable  that  the  thorough  parochial  system  was  not  completed 
in  Argyleshire  till  a  comparatively  late  date  ;  for  even  the 
Scoto-Saxon  policy,  of  having  justices  and  sheriffs  made  for  the 
isles,  was  not  carried  into  effect  till  the  reign  of  James  IV. 
4th.  The  parishes  were  named  after  the  most  distinguished 
Celtic  saints,  whose  chapels  existed  in  the  several  districts  ; 
and  particular  families  or  clans  seem,  in  some  instances,  to  have 
had  patron  saints,  as  they  had  tartans  and  clan  badges — another 
proof  of  the  modern  era  of  the  parochial  divisions.  5th.  Ro- 
manesque towers  and  Norman  windows  and  archways  are  not 
to  be  taken  here  as  of  the  same  antiquity  with  such  styles  in 
England  ;  and  although  the  Abbey  of  Sadell  was  founded 
about  1150,  and  there  may  be  a  very  few  other  buildings  in 
the  shire  of  as  early  a  date,  as,  for  instance,  the  four  chapels  of 
Kilkerran,  Kil  Michael,  Kil  Chouslan,  and  Kil  Coivin,  all  now 
within  the  parish  of  Campbelltown,  and  all  of  which  are  men- 
tioned in  title-deeds  engrossed  in  the  Chartulary  of  Paisley,  of 
dates  between  1250  and  1300,  yet  the  remaining  parochial 
chapels  of  Argyleshire,  for  the  most  part,  were  erected  when 
the  family  de  Insults  was  at  its  height  of  power,  and  cannot  be 
held  as  of  higher  age  than  the  thirteenth  century.  In  fine,  Mr. 
Howson  records  "  a  general,  though  somewhat  vague  impression 
left  on  my  mind  by  the  Scottish  buildings  is,  that  they  will  be 
found  to  vary  from  the  English,  if  compared  in  the  order  of 
chronological  sequence,  but  to  vary  according  to  a  different  law. 
I  think  that  the  early  Scotch  Gothic  is  almost  as  self-consistent 
a  style  as  the  early  English  Gothic,  and  extremely  similar  ; 
that  the  middle  Scotch  never  worked  itself  so  free  from  early 
forms  as  the  decorated  in  England  ;  and  that  the  later  Scotch 
exhibited,  in  many  points,  the  character  of  a  return  upon  the 
earliest  Gothic." 

8.  The  royal  burgh  of  Campbelltown  is  a  straggling  but 
densely  peopled  town,  containing  about  7000  inhabitants.  It 
stands  at  the  head  of  a  crescent-shaped  harbour  or  bay,  bordered 
on  the  opposite  sides  by  hills,  which,  on  the  north,  are  bare, 
and  not  high,  but  on  the  south  assume  a  bold  and  mountainous 
character,  and  are  partially  wooded.  The  harbour  is  commo- 
dious, affords  excellent  anchorage,  being  from  six  to  ten 
fathoms  deep,  and  sheltered  by  a  bank  or  bar  of  shingle,  con- 
necting an  islet  called  Davar,  lying  near  the  north,  with  the 
southern  shore.  Whisky  is  its  great  staple  commodity  ;  there 


SECT.  VIII.  B.  CAMPBELLTOWN.  567 

being  no  less  than  from  25  to  30  distilleries  in  the  place,  pay- 
ing upwards  of  ,£100,000  a-year  of  duties.  Its  market-place 
boasts  of  the  largest  and  most  beautiful  stone  cross  in  the 
country,  said  to  have  been  brought  from  lona.  Dr.  M'Culloch's 
reading  of  the  inscription  on  it  is,  "  Hsec  est  crux  Domini 
Yvari  M.  H.  Eachyrna  quondam  Rectoris  de  Kyrecan  et  Do- 
mini Andrae  nati  ejus  Rectoris  de  Kilcoman  qui  hanc  crucem 
fieri  faciebant."  The  patron  saint  here  was  Kilkerran  or  Cil- 
ciaran,  by  whom  Christianity  was  introduced  into  Cantyre  in 
the  sixth  century  ;  whose  cemetery  and  cave,  with  a  castle  of 
the  same  name,  lies  on  the  south  side  of  the  bay.  Kilkerran 
Castle  was  fortified  by  James  V.,  during  his  expedition  in  1536, 
against  the  Macdonalds  and  other  turbulent  island  chieftains. 
It  is  related  that  Macdonald,  the  owner,  retook  it,  and  hanged 
the  king's  governor  over  the  wall,  before  the  monarch's  galleys 
had  got  clear  of  the  harbour.  The  parish  church  occupies  the 
site  of  another  of  Macdonald's  strongholds. 

9.  Campbelltown  is  not  a  little  interesting,  as  the  original 
seat  of  the  Scottish  monarchy.  The  old  name  of  the  parish  was 
Dalruadhain,  from  having  contained  the  capital  of  the  ancient 
or  Dalreudinian  kingdom,  so  called  from  Cairbre  Ruadh,  red- 
haired  Cairbre,  son  of  Conan  II.  King  of  Ireland,  reputed  to 
have  headed  the  colony  of  Scots,  who  migrated  from  Ireland  in 
the  third  century,  and,  by  slaying  Oscar,  the  son  of  Ossian,  to 
have  become  undisputed  possessor  of  Cantyre.  Being  driven 
back  to  Ireland,  the  Scots  returned  in  the  fifth  century,  under 
the  conduct  of  Lorn,  Angus,  and  Fergus,  the  sons  of  Ere.  Erca, 
Lorn's  daughter,  is  described  as  the  grandmother  of  St.  Columba, 
the  apostle  of  the  Highlands.  On  the  death  of  Lorn,  who  had 
taken  the  northern  division  of  Argyleshire,  still  called  after 
him — Angus  being  supposed  to  have  had  Islay — Fergus  united 
the  former  territory  to  his  own,  which  consisted  of  the  southern 
parts,  and  became  the  founder  of  the  Scottish  monarchy.  His 
kingdom  was  bounded  on  the  north  by  that  of  the  Picts,  of 
which  Inverness  is  supposed  to  have  been  then  the  capital ;  and 
on  the  east  by  that  of  the  Strathclyde  Britons,  whose  capital 
was  Balclutha,  now  Dun-barton,  or  Dun-briton.  The  houses  of 
Fergus  and  Lorn  subsequently  long  contended  for  the  kingly 
power,  but  the  former  was  at  last  triumphant ;  and  in  the 
ninth  century  Kenneth  extended  his  dominions  by  the  conquest 
of  the  Picts,  previously  much  weakened  by  successive  wars  with 


568  MULL   OF   CANTYRE.  SECT.  VIII.  B. 

the  Saxons,  Britons,  and  Norwegians,  when  the  seat  of  monarchy 
was  transferred  to  Forteviot  in  Perthshire. 

10.  The  ride  across  to  the  Mull  (ten  miles)  is  cultivated 
and  pleasing.     There  the  country  is  rude,  hilly,  and  uninterest- 
ing, excepting  some  parts  of  the  coasts.     In  the  cliffs  are  several 
caves,  the  frequent  resort  of  tinkers  or  gipsies,  and  smugglers. 
The  Mull  is  distinguished  by  a  lighthouse.      To  the  eastward 
is  a  pyramidal  hill,  with  a  precipitous  seaward  front,  on  which 
stood — for  hardly  a  trace  of  it  remains — Dunaverty  Castle,  one 
of  the  very  earliest  of  the  residences  of  the  island  kings,  being 
that  wherein  Angus  Og  entertained  the  fugitive  Bruce.      It  is 
nearly  surrounded  by  the  sea,  and  was  protected  by  a  fosse, 
crossed  by  a  drawbridge,  and  the  ascent  was  fortified  by  several 
walls.     In  1647,  a  party  of  Colkitto's  men,  Montrose's  Irish 
auxiliary,  were  besieged  here  by  General  Leslie.      The  garrison 
at  length  capitulated  at  discretion ;  but  the  general,  drawing  a 
nice  distinction  between  the  discretion  of  the  Estates, — the 
expression  used  in  the  treaty, — and  his  own  discretion,  inhumanly 
ordered  the  whole,  to  the  number  of  300,  to  be  massacred  in 
cold  blood  ;   and  their  bones,  to  this  day  whitening  on  the 
beach,  attest  their  tragic  fate.      Our  road  terminates  at  the 
ferry  of  Ballychastle,  the  communication  with  Ireland. 

Sanda,  an  island  not  far  from  Dunaverty,  was  a  place  of 
rendezvous  of  the  Scandinavian  fleets.  It  stands  about  three 
miles  off  the  shore,  measures  a  mile  and  a  half  by  half  a  mile, 
and  contains  the  remains  of  an  old  chapel,  in  the  burying- 
ground  attached  to  which  are  said  to  moulder  the  bones  of 
many  Danish  and  Norwegian  chiefs.  In  the  Sound  there  are 
abundance  of  cod,  and  a  variety  of  other  fish  along  the  coast. 

11.  The  ride  north  from  Campbelltown  by  the  east  side  of 
Cantyre  is   pleasingly  diversified,  leading  along  the   face  of 
declivities  by  the  sea,  now  open,  now  partially  wooded,  and  at 
intervals  conducting  across  fertile  intersecting  valleys,  but  in 
general  the  district  is  bleaker  than  the  opposite  coast.      At  the 
third  mile  are  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  church  of  Kilkouslan. 
About  eleven  miles  on  the  way,  we  pass  the  ruins  of  the  Abbey 
of  Sadell,  which  was  commenced  in  the  twelfth  century  by  the 
mighty  Somerled,  and  finished  by  his  son  Reginald.    Its  length 
was  136  feet,  that  of  the  transept  78  feet,  and  the  breadth  24 
feet ;  and  it  had  cloisters  arranged  in  a  square  on  one  side :  but 
there  is  little  of  any  part  remaining.      Though  they  may  have 


SECT.  VIII.  B.    ABBEY  OP  SADELL SKIPNESS  CASTLE.         569 

been  numerous,  the  religious  buildings  do  not  seem  to  have 
been  of  larger  dimensions  than  the  other  monasteries  and  chapels 
of  the  county.  The  apertures  of  the  windows  are  narrow,  and 
appear  to  denote  an  early  English  character.  Among  the  fallen 
crosses  and  carved  grave-stones,  full  length  effigies  are  still 
pretty  entire  of  two  of  the  old  knights  (Macdonalds  of  Sadell) 
in  plate  armour,  with  inscriptions  in  the  Saxon  character 
around  them.  The  present  family's  tomb  is  also  an  elegant 
structure.  Near  these  most  interesting  ruins  are  the  new  and 
old  castles  of  Sadell,  the  latter  a  square  keep,  with  pointed 
turrets  and  machicolated  battlements,  and  consisting  of  a  dun- 
geon and  three  storeys  of  miserably  small  apartments, — the 
kitchen,  also,  though  provided  with  a  large  vaulted  chimney, 
being  most  wretchedly  small.  The  whole  is  enclosed  within  a 
quadrangular  court,  and  inhabited  by  several  very  poor  families. 
Three  miles  farther  on  is  the  modern  Torrisdale  Castle.  Cross- 
ing a  considerable  hill,  a  mile  and  a  half  beyond,  are  Carradell 
Kirk,  and  an  insular  vitrified  fort,  and  one  mile  to  the  west  the 
bridge  and  inn.  On  a  rock  overhanging  the  sea,  and  defended 
by  a  deep  and  broad  ditch,  are  the  remains  of  a  Danish  fort  of 
some  size,  called  the  Castle  of  Aird,  the  outer  wall  of  which  is 
240  feet  long  and  72  broad,  and  had  been  6  feet  thick,  and  12 
feet  high.  Carradell  House  is  a  picturesque  residence,  with  an 
ample  lawn.  Six  miles  in  advance,  we  pass  the  House  of  Cour, 
and  five  and  a  half  miles  past  this  we  reach  the  Kirk  of  Clunaig 
and  Corsaig  House.  Beyond  them  the  cross-road  strikes  off  to 
West  Loch  Tarbert,  which  it  reaches  at  Stonefield  House,  about 
six  miles  from  East  Loch  Tarbert  Inn.  That  along  the  east 
coast  is  continued  two  and  a  half  miles  to  Skipness  village,  bay, 
and  castle. 

12.  Skipness  Castle  is  an  ample  and  imposing,  and,  though 
of  great  antiquity,  a  very  entire  structure,  the  most  perfect  and 
interesting  in  Argyleshire,  with  the  exception  of  Kilchurn.  Its 
outer  wall,  which  is  7  feet  thick  and  33  feet  high,  measures  450 
feet  in  circuit.  At  each  of  two  opposite  corners  is  a  small  pro- 
jecting square  tower.  The  main  tower  of  four  storeys  stands 
within  the  wall,  and  at  the  north-east  corner  it  is  protected  by 
a  mid  wall,  forming  an  inner  court,  and  is  still  inhabited.  It 
had  a  regular  warder's  tower  on  the  top,  and  platforms  extended 
along  the  outer  battlements  for  defence  by  bowmen ;  while  the 
outer  gate  was  protected  by  two  splendid  flanking  towers  and 
2u2 


570  TARBERT.  SECT.  VIII.  C. 

a  portcullis,  worked  in  a  small  tower  above  it.  The  stone  stairs 
in  the  main  keep  are  inserted  in  the  body  of  the  wall,  not  in 
any  turnpike,  and  there  are  no  corner  turrets,  both  proofs  of 
great  antiquity.  Hard  by,  are  the  ruins  of  the  chapel,  till 
lately  used  as  the  parish  kirk.  It  was  a  small  but  neat  pointed 
Gothic  structure,  and  besides  several  half-effaced  tomb-stones, 
one  very  beautiful  sculptured  cross,  once  upright,  still  remains. 


SECTION  EIGHTH.— BRANCH  C. 
ISLANDS    OP   ISLAT   AND   JCKA,   COLONSAY   AND   OBONSAY. 

East  Tarbert;  Isthmus  of  Tarbert;  West  Loch  Tarbert,  1.— Sound  of  Islay;  Port 
Askaig,  2. — General  Description  of  Islay;  Fertility;  Productions;  Cattle";  Fish; 
Lead  and  Silver  Mines ;  Whisky ;  Inhabitants,  their  Circumstances  and  Charac- 
ter ;  Villages ;  Coasts  of  Islay,  3. — Historical  Sketch  of  the  Kings  or  Lords  of  the 
Isles,  4. — Maedonalds  of  Islay,  5. — Antiquities ;  Castles  and  Forts ;  Macdonald's 
Guards ;  Destruction  of  the  last  gang  of  them ;  Dunes,  or  Burghs ;  Hiding-Places ; 
Chapels  and  Crosses ;  Tombstones ;  Monumental  Stones  and  Cairns ;  Tingwald  ; 
Relics,  6. — Hostile  Descents  on  Islay,  7. — Port  Askaig  to  Bridgend ;  Islay  House,  8. 
— Sunderland  House  and  Portnahaven,  9. — N.  W.  Coast;  Cave  of  Saneg  More; 
Wreck  of  the  Exmouth ;  Princess  Polignac's  Birthplace ;  Loch  Gruinart,  10. — 
Bowmore,  11. — Promontory  and  Bay  of  Laggan  ;  Mull  of  Oe ;  Cave  of  Sloe  Mhaol 
Doraidh;  PortEUinor;  Laggavoulin;  Ardmore;  12. — Jura;  General  Description; 
Animals ;  Antiquities,  13. — Corryvreckan,  14. — Colousay  and  Oronsay ;  Monastery, 
and  Cross,  15. 

Mile.. 

East  Tarbert  to  Carrick  Point  2 

Ardpatrick    10 

Port  Askaig 23 

Bridgend  or  Islay  House     8 

Bowmore (3^ 

Laggavoulin (15) 

Portnahaven 17 

60 

Port  Askaig  to  Feoline  1 

Lagg 17 

Kiels  8J 

Tay-Villich  6 

Bellanoch  6 

Lochgilphead    6J 

44 

1.  A  REGULAR  steam-boat  communication  is  now  established 
from  West  Loch  Tarbert  to  Isla  and  Jura.  The  Glasgow  and 
Islay  steamer  calls  twice  a-week  at  Port  Askaig.  The  new 


SECT.  VIII.  C.  WEST   LOCH   TARBERT.  571 

steamer  "  Islay"  arrives  at  Islay  from  Glasgow,  doubling  the 
Mull  of  Cantyre,  every  Thursday,  and  sails  from  Port  Askaig 
in  Islay,  on  Friday,  to  West  Tarbert,  returning  to  Bowmore 
the  capital  of  Islay,  the  same  evening.  Generally,  too,  this 
boat  makes  a  second  voyage  to  Port  Askaig  and  Tarbert  on 
Saturday.  She  leaves  for  Glasgow,  round  the  Mull  of  Cantyre, 
on  Monday  afternoon.  On  landing  at  East  Tarbert,  supposing 
the  traveller  proceeding  from  Loch  Fyne,  two  comfortable  inns 
will  be  found,  situated  in  a  picturesque,  small,  crowded,  village, 
built  almost  entirely  on  a  naked  or  barren  rock,  and  manifestly 
depending  more  on  fishing  and  other  marine  resources  than  on 
any  agricultural  capabilities.  In  the  neighbourhood,  to  the 
eastward,  is  presented  prominently  to  the  stranger's  eye,  the 
interesting  ruin  of  the  Castle  of  Tarbert,  the  walls  of  which 
are  still  pretty  entire,  although  large  portions  have  fallen  within 
the  last  three  or  four  years  ;  nor  will  he,  on  inquiry,  be  at  a  loss 
to  have  traditions  respecting  it  rehearsed  to  him.  The  tra- 
veller bound  for  Islay  leaves  East  Tarbert,  and  proceeds  to 
West  Tarbert,  a  distance  of  scarcely  two  miles,  lying  across  the 
low  isthmus  connecting  the  peninsula  of  Cantyre  with  Knap- 
dale,  and  which  is  said  to  have  been  formerly  protected  by  two 
other  castles  similar  to  that  at  East  Tarbert,  one  in  the  centre 
and  another  at  the  western  extremity.  Magnus  Barefoot,  of 
Norway,  is  reported  to  have  had,  in  1093,  a  formal  cession 
made  to  him  of  the  Western  Isles,  then  already  under  his  sway, 
by  the  Scottish  monarch  ;  and  he  is  said,  on  that  occasion,  to 
have  caused  a  galley  to  be  transported  with  great  pomp  across 
the  isthmus,  that  Cantyre  might  be  brought  within  the  letter 
of  his  treaty.  At  West  Tarbert  there  is  no  village,  but  a  pier 
or  quay  has  been  built  for  the  accommodation  of  passengers, 
and  the  shipping  of  goods  for  the  steam-packet.  The  sail 
down  West  Loch  Tarbert,  which  is  about  ten  miles  in  length, 
and  bears  all  the  appearance  of  a  peaceful  fresh-water  lake,  is 
a  highly  delightful  one.  Hills  of  moderate  elevation  slope 
gently  from  its  waters,  rich  with  woods  and  cultivated  lands, 
and  ornamented  with  numerous  farmhouses  and  cottages,  and 
handsome  country  seats  and  villas,  presenting  scenery  peculiarly 
lively,  picturesque,  and  diversified.  The  principal  residences 
are  Dippen  Cottage,  Stonefield  House,  Grassfield,  Kilhammaig, 
and  Kintarbet,  on  the  east,  and  Escairt  House,  Dunmore,  and 
Ardpatrick  on  the  opposite  side,  almost  all  of  which  belong  to 


572  SOUND    OF   ISLAY.  SECT.  VIII.  C. 

families  of  the  name  of  Campbell.  About  midway,  on  the  west, 
near  Stonefield,  is  the  village  of  Laggavoulin  and  Whitehouse 
Inn,  and  towards  the  lower  extremity  the  Clachan  or  Kirkton 
and  church  of  Kilcalmonell,  and  a  little  beyond,  the  hill  of 
Dunscaith,  on  which  are  the  traces  of  a  vitrified  fort.  The  sail 
across  to  Port  Askaig,  in  Islay,  is  about  twenty-three  miles, 
On  passing  Ardpatrick  Point,  the  appearance  of  the  bleak, 
sombre,  heathy  hills  of  Cantyre  and  Argyle  is  quite  uninterest- 
ing, and  the  passenger  will  feel  no  reluctance  in  being  carried 
away  from  the  coast.  In  the  views  in  front,  the  lofty  conical 
mountains,  called  the  Paps  of  Jura,  form  conspicuous  objects, 
picturesque  in  the  distance,  but  loosing  their  interest  on  a  nearer 
approach.  Jura,  as  the  vessel  draws  nigh,  continues,  for  the 
distance  of  some  miles,  in  seaman's  phrase,  to  be  "kept  on 
board"  off  the  starboard  bow  and  quarter. 


2.  The  sound  of  Islay  is  in  the  centre  about  a  mile  in 
width,  and  is  lined  by  abrupt  but  not  very  high  cliffs.  It  is 
remarkable  for  the  close  correspondence  of  the  opposing  shores, 
and  the  great  rapidity  of  its  tides  ;  and  the  navigation  is  rather 
dangerous.  On  entering  the  Sound,  a  strong  current  is  percep- 
tible, which,  in  a  spring  tide,  if  it  happens  to  be  adverse,  with 
any  considerable  strength  of  wind  also  a-head,  will  impede 
very  considerably  even  the  power  of  steam,  while  the  cross  and 
short  sea  raised  by  the  current,  may  even  create  alarm  to  an 
indifferent  sailor.  The  island  of  Islay  now  becoming  "  tangible 
to  sight, "  presents  no  very  interesting  or  promising  appearance. 
The  coast  seems  bleak  and  bluff,  without  rising  into  the  dignity 
of  real  hill  or  mountain,  and  presenting  little  else  than  the 
stunted  and  heathy  vegetation  of  Alpine  scenery.  Here  the 
eye  is  more  relieved  by  the  scene  presented  in  the  offing  of  the 
Sound,  which  seems  studded  with  a  lively  group  of  islands, 
being  Colonsay,  with  its  smaller  tributaries.  The  landing-place 
of  Port  Askaig  is  soon  made,  where  there  is  a  secure  haven 
and  a  good  pier  ;  and  a  tolerably  comfortable  and  commodious 
inn  greets  the  passenger's  arrival.  After  the  dreariness  which 
threatened  the  stranger's  approach,  he  is  surprised,  on  landing 
at  Port  Askaig,  to  find  himself  at  once  nestled  securely  among 
well-grown  trees  and  planting  ;  the  face  of  the  hill  above  the 


SECT.  VIII.  C.  ISLAY.  573 

inn,  and  some  of  the  adjoining  grounds,  which  rise  abruptly 
from  the  sea,  being  well  clad  with  wood. 

3.  Islay  is  about  thirty  miles  long  by  twenty-four  in 
extreme  breadth.  On  the  south  it  is  deeply  indented  by  an 
arm  of  the  sea,  called  Loch-in-Daal,  extending  about  twelve 
miles  in  length,  and  terminated  by  the  Point  of  Rinns  on  the 
west,  and  on  the  east  by  the  Moille  of  Keannouth,  or  Mull  of 
Oe.  This  opening  has  no  great  depth  of  water,  but  is  much 
resorted  to  by  shipping.  About  midway,  on  the  east  side, 
Loch-in-Daal  widens  out  greatly  towards  the  Mull  of  Oe, 
which  is  opposite  the  Point  of  Rinns,  forming  a  capacious  bay 
called  Laggan.  Port  Askaig  is  situated  about  the  centre  of  a 
high  tract  of  micaceous  schist.  From  either  extremity  of  this 
tract,  a  broad  ridge  of  hills  of  quartz  rocks  extends  southward  ; 
on  the  east,  to  the  Mull  of  Oe,  and  on  the  west,  to  Loch  Groi- 
nart,  not  reaching  much  further  than  the  head  of  Loch-in-Daal. 
The  northern  central  portion  is  composed  of  fine  limestone 
rock,  disposed  in  rocky  eminences  or  irregular  undulations. 
An  ample  and  fertile  alluvial  plain  encompasses  the  upper 
portion  of  Loch-in-Daal  from  Laggan  Bay,  with  the  exception 
of  a  stripe  of  clay-slate,  bordering  the  west  side  of  the  loch  ; 
and  this  level  ground,  which,  where  not  cultivated,  is  covered 
with  peat,  extends  in  a  broad  belt,  along  the  termination  of  the 
western  hilly  range,  to  that  side  of  the  island.  The  rest  of  the 
adjoining  peninsula  declines  from  the  ridge  of  low  hills  which 
skirts  the  western  coast,  in  fine  arable  slopes  to  the  shores  of 
Loch-in-Daal.  The  northern  and  western  hills  are  of  moderate 
height  and  easy  inclination,  and  are  covered  with  heath,  pas- 
ture, and  fern.  Those  on  the  east  are  more  elevated  and  rocky. 
There  is  a  great  variety  of  soil  throughout  the  island,  but  it  is 
generally  fertile  and  well  cultivated.  Islay,  of  all  the  Hebrides, 
is,  beyond  comparison,  the  richest  in  natural  capabilities,  and 
the  most  productive.  Perhaps  more  than  one  half  of  its  whole 
surface  might  be  advantageously  reduced  to  regular  tillage 
and  cropping.  The  facilities  for  improvement  are  great ;  and 
in  no  portion,  probably,  of  Scotland,  have  these  advantages 
of  late  years  been  more  successfully  cultivated ;  and  a  steady 
pursuit  of  the  course  of  improvement  is  still  in  progress  in 
Islay.  This  island  is  celebrated  for  its  breed  and  numbers  of 
cattle  and  horses.  It  belonged  chiefly  to  Mr.  Campbell  of 
Islay  and  Shawfield,  but  is  now  under  the  management  of 


574  ISLAT.  SECT.  VIII.  C. 

trustees,  and  the  estate  is  in  the  market,  bond-holders  and  per- 
sonal creditors  having  claims  upon  it  to  the  amount  of  upwards 
of  £700,000.  The  coast,  especially  about  Portnahaven,  abounds 
with  fish.  To  the  north-west  of  Port-Askaig,  lead-mines  were 
at  one  time  wrought,  and  with  success.  The  ore  is  said  to  have 
been  unusually  fine,  and  the  late  proprietor  of  Islay  could  use 
the  rare  boast  of  having  a  proportion  of  his  family  plate  manu- 
factured from  silver  found  on  his  own  domains.  But  the  mines 
here  have  partaken  of  the  fatality  that  seems  incident  to  all 
mining  speculations  on  the  north  and  west  coast  of  Scotland,  and 
they  have,  accordingly,  been  abandoned  for  many  years.  Whisky 
is  a  great  staple  commodity  of  this  island.  Its  distillation  has 
for  some  years  been  carried  on  to  a  very  large  extent,  and  there 
has,  of  late,  been  a  yearly  revenue  of  fully  £30,000  realised  to 
government  from  distilleries  in  this  island  alone.  More  than 
the  half  of  the  grain  producing  this  sum  in  duties  is  imported. 

Islay  is  much  exposed  to  winds,  having  little  or  no  wood, 
except  young  plantations,  and  the  climate  is  moist.  The  pro- 
prietors are  generally  alive  to  the  importance  of  extending 
among  the  population  the  benefits  of  education.  The  Gaelic 
language  is  universally  spoken  throughout  the  island  ;  but,  as 
is  now  the  case  in  less  open  parts  of  the  Highlands  and  islands, 
it  seems  rapidly  giving  way  to  the  introduction  of  English. 
The  habits  of  the  population,  with  respect  to  industry  and 
sobriety,  are  of  late  years  materially  improved.  The  nefarious 
and  morally  destructive  trade  of  illicit  distillation  used  to  be 
carried  on  among  them  to  a  very  great  extent ;  but  the  intro- 
duction of  legal  distilleries,  and  the  steady  discountenance 
which  this  traffic  has  received  from  the  present  proprietors, 
have  well-nigh  put  an  end  to  it,  and  with  it  to  many  of  its  in- 
jurious consequences. 

The  population  amounts  to  about  13,000,  and  the  island 
comprehends  three  parishes,  Killarrow,  Kilchoman,  and  Kil- 
dalton.  To  these  there  have  been  superadded,  by  the  late  Par- 
liamentary grant,  three  government  churches.  Three  new  and 
substantial  places  of  worship  have  also  been  erected  by  the 
Free  Church  party,  since  the  Disruption,  in  1843.  A  branch 
of  the  National  Bank  of  Scotland  has  been  established  at 
Bridgend,  near  Islay  House,  the  princely  mansion  of  the  late 
proprietor.  Islay  contains  a  respectable  small  town,  Bowmore, 
situated  on  the  east  side,  and  towards  the  head  of  Loch-in-Daal, 


SECT.  Vin.  C.  LORDS    OF   THE   ISLES.  575 

and  distant  about  three  miles  from  Islay  House,  and  eleven 
from  Port-Askaig ;  and  also  two  or  three  villages ;  as  Portna- 
haven,  at  the  Point  of  Rinns,  the  western  extremity  of  the  loch, 
distant  seventeen  miles  from  Islay  House ;  and  Port-Ellinor 
and  Lagganmhoiullin  or  Laggavoulin,  on  the  east  coast,  about 
thirteen  and  fifteen  miles  from  Bowmore ;  and  Port-Charlotte 
on  the  north-west  side  of  Loch-in-Daal. 

The  coasts  of  Islay  consist  chiefly  of  low  rocks  and  sandy 
beach.  On  the  west  there  is  hardly  any  anchorage,  except  in 
Loch  Gruinart,  an  arm  of  the  sea,  stretching  into  the  alluvial 
deposit  which  extends  across  from  the  head  of  Loch-in-Daal. 
There  are  several  small  bays  on  the  east,  but  they  are  danger- 
ous of  approach,  from  sunken  rocks.  The  coasts  in  general  are 
nowise  particularly  interesting,  except  about  Saneg,  on  the 
west,  where  there  are  several  large  caves,  one  especially,  with  a 
labyrinth  of  passages ;  and  the  Mull  of  Oe,  where  the  cliffs  rise 
to  a  great  height,  and  in  which  there  is  another  large  cave,  that 
of  Sloe  Mhaol  Doraidh,  on  the  farm  of  Grastle. 

4.  Islay  is  not  a  little  interesting  from  the  historical  associa- 
tions connected  with  the  remains  of  antiquity  which  it  presents, 
in  the  ruins  of  its  old  castles,  forts,  and  chapels.  It  was  a  chief 
place  of  residence  of  the  celebrated  Lords,  or  rather  Kings,  of 
the  Isles,  and  afterwards  of  a  near  and  powerful  branch  of  the 
family  of  the  great  Macdonald.  The  original  seat  of  the  Scot- 
tish monarchy  was  Cantyre,  and  the  capital  is  supposed  to  have 
been  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  site  of  Campbelltown. 
In  the  ninth  century  it  was  removed  to  Forteviot,  near  the 
east  end  of  Strathearn,  in  Perthshire.  Shortly  afterwards,  the 
Western  Isles  and  coasts,  which  had  then  become  more  exposed 
to  the  hostile  incursions  of  the  Scandinavian  Vikingr,  were 
completely  reduced  under  the  sway  of  Harold  Harfager,  of 
Denmark.  Harold  established  a  viceroy  in  the  Isle  of  Man. 
In  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  century,  Somerled,  a  powerful 
chieftain  of  Cantyre,  married  Effrica,  a  daughter  of  Olaus  or 
Olave,  the  swarthy  viceroy  or  King  of  Man,  a  descendant  of 
Harold  Harfager,  and  assumed  the  independent  sovereignty  of 
Cantyre  ;  to  which  he  added,  by  conquest,  Argyle  and  Lorn, 
with  several  islands  contiguous  thereto  and  to  Cantyre.  So- 
merled was  slain  in  1164,  in  an  engagement  with  Malcolm  IV. 
in  Renfrewshire.  His  possessions  on  the  mainland,  excepting 
Cantyre,  were  bestowed  on  his  younger  son  Dugal,  from  whom 


576  LORDS   OF   THE   ISLES.  SECT.  VIII.  C. 

sprung  the  Macdougals  of  Lorn,  who  are  to  this  day  lineally 
represented  by  the  family  of  Dunolly  ;  while  the  islands  and 
Cantyre  descended  to  Reginald,  his  elder  son.  For  more  than 
three  centuries  Somerled's  descendants  held  these  possessions, 
at  times  as  independent  princes,  and  at  others  as  tributaries  of 
Norway,  Scotland,  and  even  of  England.  In  the  sixteenth 
century  they  continued  still  troublesome,  but  not  so  formidable 
to  the  royal  authority.  After  the  battle  of  the  Largs  in  1263, 
in  which  Haco  of  Norway  was  defeated,  the  pretensions  of  that 
kingdom  were  resigned  to  the  Scottish  monarchs,  for  payment 
of  a  subsidy  of  100  merks.  Angus  Og,  fifth  in  descent  from 
Somerled,  entertained  Robert  Bruce  in  his  flight  to  Ireland  in 
his  castle  of  Dunaverty,  near  the  Mull  of  Cantyre,  and  after- 
wards at  Dunnavinhaig,  in  Isla,  and  fought  under  his  banner  at 
Bannockburn.  Bruce  conferred  on  the  Macdonalds  the  distinc- 
tion of  holding  the  post  of  honour  on  the  right  in  battle — the 
withholding  of  which  at  Culloden  occasioned  a  degree  of  dis- 
affection on  their  part,  in  that  dying  struggle  of  the  Stuart 
dynasty.  This  Angus's  son,  John,  called  by  the  Dean  of  the 
Isles,  "  the  good  John  of  Isla,"  had  by  Amy,  great  grand- 
daughter of  Roderick,  son  of  Reginald,  king  of  Man,  three  sons, 
John,  Ronald,  and  Godfrey  ;  and  by  subsequent  marriage  with 
Margaret,  daughter  of  Robert  Stuart,  afterwards  Robert  II.  of 
Scotland,  other  three  sons,  Donald  of  the  Isles,  John  Mor  the 
Tainnister,  and  Alexander  Carrach.  It  is  subject  of  dispute 
whether  the  first  family  were  lawful  issue  or  illegitimate ;  or 
had  merely  been  set  aside,  for  they  were  not  called  to  the  chief 
succession,  as  a  stipulation  of  the  connexion  with  the  royal 
family,  to  whom  the  others  were  particularly  obnoxious  ;  or,  as 
has  been  conjectured,  from  the  relationship  of  the  parents  being 
thought  too  much  within  the  forbidden  degrees.  The  power  of 
John  seems  to  have  been  singularly  great.  By  successive 
grants  of  Robert  Bruce  to  his  father,  and  of  David  II.,  Baliol 
and  Robert  II.,  to  himself,  he  appears  to  have  been  in  possession 
or  superior  of  almost  the  whole  western  coasts  and  islands. 
Ronald  is  said  to  have  had  the  chief  rule  intrusted  to  him 
during  his  father's  lifetime  ;  but  on  his  death  he  delivered  the 
sceptre  to  Donald,  thereupon  called  Macdonald,  and  Donald  of 
the  Isles,  contrary,  it  is  said,  to  the  opinion  of  the  men  of  the 
Isles.  From  Ronald,  who  inherited  large  possessions  on  the 
mainland  of  Inverness-shire  and  in  the  Long  Island  through 


SECT.  VIII.  C.  MACDONALDS    OF    ISLAY.  577 

the  death  of  Ronald  Rorison  his  mother's  brother,  are  descended 
Macdonald  of  Clanranald,  by  Allan  of  Moidart,  and  Macdonell 
of  Glengarry  (by  another  Donald),  rival  competitors  with  Lord 
Macdonald  of  Sleat,  descendant  of  Donald,  son  of  John,  for  the 
chieftainship  of  the  clan  Coila.  The  Macdonalds  of  Keppoch 
are  sprung  from  Alexander  Carrach.  Donald  of  the  Isles  seems 
to  have  taken  up  his  residence  in  the  Sound  of  Mull,  while 
Islay,  holding  of  him,  fell  to  the  share  of  his  brother,  John 
Mor,  progenitor  of  the  Antrim  family.  By  marriage  with  the 
sister  of  Alexander  Leslie,  he  became  entitled  to  the  estates  and 
earldom  of  Ross,  her  niece  having  taken  the  veil.  Donald,  re- 
solved to  vindicate  his  claim,  proceeded  with  a  great  force  in 
1411  to  Aberdeenshire,  defeating  on  his  way  the  Mackays  at 
Dingwall,  and  burning  the  town  of  Inverness.  He  was  encoun- 
tered at  Harlaw  by  the  Earl  of  Mar.  After  a  bloody  and  doubt- 
ful contest,  both  parties  retreated. 

The  inordinate  power  of  these  island  princes  was  gradually 
broken  down  by  the  Scottish  monarchs  in  the  course  of  the 
fifteenth  and  early  part  of  the  sixteenth  century.  On  the  death 
of  John,  Lord  of  the  Isles  and  Earl  of  Ross,  grandson  of  Donald, 
Hugh  of  Sleat,  John's  nearest  brother  and  his  descendants 
became  rightful  representatives  of  the  family,  and  so  continue. 
Claim  to  the  title  of  Lord  of  the  Isles  was  made  by  Donald, 
great-grandson  of  Hugh  of  Sleat ;  but  James  V.  refused  to  re- 
store the  title,  deeming  its  suppression  advisable  for  the  peace 
of  the  country. 

5.  Towards  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century,  fierce  feuds 
broke  out  between  the  Macdonalds  of  Islay  and  the  Macleans 
of  Mull.  Sir  Laughlan  Maclean,  in  1598,  invaded  Islay  with 
1400  men ;  but  he  was  successfully  opposed,  at  the  head  of  Loch 
Gruinart,  lying  to  the  west  of  the  head  of  Loch-in-Daal,  by  Sir 
James  Macdonald,  the  young  chief,  his  nephew,  who  had  an 
inferior  force  of  1000  men ;  and  Maclean  was  slain,  with  a  num- 
ber of  his  followers.  Hereupon  the  inheritance  of  the  Mac- 
donals  of  Islay  and  Cantyre  was  gifted  to  the  Earl  of  Argyle 
and  the  Campbells.  Violent  struggles  ensued  between  these 
parties,  especially  in  1614, 1615,  and  1616,  when  the  Macdonalds 
were  finally  overpowered,  and  Sir  James  obliged  to  take  refuge 
in  Spain ;  but  he  was  afterwards  received  into  favour.  The 
power  of  the  Macdonalds  in  Islay,  having  thus  passed  into  the 

2c 


578  ANTIQUITIES.  SECT.  VIII.  C. 

hands  of  the  Campbells,  has  never  since  been  recovered,  and 
their  sway  in  Argyleshire  has  wholly  disappeared. 

6.  TiiB  remains  of  the  strongholds  of  the  Macdonalds,  in 
Islay^are  the  following.  In  Loch  Finlagan,  a  lake  about  three 
miles  in  circumference,  three  miles  from  Port  Askaig,  and  a 
mile  off  the  road  to  Loch-in-Daal,  on  the  right  hand,  on  an  islet, 
are  the  ruins  of  their  principal  castle  or  palace  and  chapel ;  and 
on  an  adjoining  island  the  Macdonald  council  held  their  meet- 
ings. There  are  traces  of  a  pier,  and  of  the  habitations  of  the 
guards  on  the  shore.  A  large  stone  was,  till  no  very  distant 
period,  to  be  seen,  on  which  Macdonald  stood,  when  crowned  by 
the  Bishop  of  Argyle  King  of  the  Isles.  On  an  island,  in  a 
similar  lake,  Loch^Guirm,  to  the  west  of  Loch-in-Daal,  are  the 
remains  of  a  strong  square  fort,  with  round  corner  towers ;  and 
towards  the  heaJ  of  Loch-in-Daal,  on  the  same  side,  are  ves- 
tiges of  another  dwelling  and  pier. 

Where  are  thy  pristine  glories  Finlagan ! 

The  voice  of  mirth  has  ceased  to  ring  thy  walls, 
Where  Celtic  lords  and  their  fair  ladies  sang 

Their  songs  of  joy  in  Great  Macdonald's  halls. 
And  where  true  knights,  the  flower  of  chivalry, 
Oft  met  their  chiefs  in  scenes  of  revelry — 

All,  all  are  gone  and  left  thee  to  repose, 

Since  a  new  race  and  measures  new  arose. 

The  Macdonalds  had  a  body  guard  of  500  men,  of  whose 
quarters  there  are  marks  still  to  be  seen  on  the  banks  of  the 
loch.  For  their  personal  services  they  had  lands,  the  produce 
of  which  fed  and  clothed  them.  They  were  formed  into  two 
divisions.  The  first  was  called  Ceatharnaich,  and  composed  of 
the  very  tallest  and  strongest  of  the  islanders.  Of  these,  six- 
teen, called  Buannachan,  constantly  attended  their  lord  where- 
soever he  went,  even  in  his  rural  walks,  and  one  of  them  denomi- 
nated "  Gille  'shiabadh  dealt"  headed  the  party.  This  piece  of 
honourable  distinction  was  conferred  upon  him  on  account  of 
his  feet  being  of  such  size  and  form  as,  in  his  progress,  to  cover 
the  greatest  extent  of  ground,  and  to  shake  the  dew  from  the 
grass  preparatory  to  its  being  trodden  by  his  master.  These 
Buannachan  enjoyed  certain  privileges,  which  rendered  them 
particularly  obnoxious  to  their  countrymen.  The  last  gang  of 
them  was  destroyed  in  the  following  manner  by  one  Macphail 
in  the  Rinns : — Seeing  Macdonald  and  his  men  coming,  he  set 
about  splitting  the  trunk  of  a  tree,  in  which  he  had  partly  sue- 


SECT.  VIII.  C.  CLAIG   CASTLE.  579 

ceeded  by  the  time  they  had  reached.  He  requested  the  visi- 
tors to  lend  a  hand.  So,  eight  on  each  side,  they  took  hold  of 
the  partially  severed  splits ;  on  doing  which  Macpha  .  removed 
the  wedges  which  had  kept  open  the  slit,  which  now  closed  on 
their  fingers,  holding  them  hard  and  fast  in  the  rustic  man-trap. 
Macphail  and  his  three  sons  equipped  themselves  from  the 
armour  of  their  captives,  compelled  them  to  eat  a  lusty  dinner, 
and  then  beheaded  them,  leaving  their  master  to  return  in  safety. 
Macphail  and  his  sons  took  shelter  in  Ireland.  The  other  divi- 
sion of  these  500  were  called  Gillean-glasa,  and  their  post  was 
within  the  outer  walls  of  their  fastnesses.  These  fo:  were  so 
constructed  that  the  Gillean-glasa  might  fight  in  the  outer 
breach,  whilst  their  lords,  together  wit1  the'r  guests,  were  en- 
joying themselves  in  security  within  the  walls  and  especially 
within  the  impenetrable  fortifications  of  Pinlagan.* 

On  Freuch  Isle,  in  the  Sound,  are  the  ruins  of  Claig  Castle, 
a  square  tower,  defended  by  a  deep  ditch,  which  at  once  served 
as  a  prison  and  a  protection  to  the  passage.  At  Laggavoulin 
Bay,  an  inlet  on  the  east  coast,  and  on  the  opposite  side  to  the 
village,  on  a  large  peninsular  rock,  stands  part  of  the  walls  of 
a  round  substantial  stone  burgh  or  tower,  protected  on  the 
land  side  by  a  thick  earthen  mound.  It  is  called  Dun  Naomhaig, 
or  Dunnivaig  (such  is  Gaelic  orthography).  There  are  ruins  of 
several  houses  beyond  the  mound,  separated  from  the  main 
building  by  a  strong  wall.  This  may  have  been  a  Danish 
structure,  subsequently  used  by  the  Macdonalds,  and  it  was 
one  of  their  strongest  naval  stations.  There  are  remains  of 
several  such  strongholds  in  the  same  quarter.  The  ruins  of 
one  are  to  be  seen  on  an  inland  hill,  Dun  Borreraig,  with  walls 
twelve  feet  thick,  and  fifty-two  feet  in  diameter  inside,  and  hav- 
ing a  stone  seat  two  feet  high  round  the  area.  As  usual,  there 
is  a  gallery  in  the  midst  of  the  wall.  Another  had  occupied  the 
summit  of  Dun  Aidh,  a  large,  high,  and  almost  inaccessible 
rock  near  the  Mull.  Between  Loch  Guinn  and  Saneg,  and 
south  of  Loch  Gruinart,  at  Dun  Bheolain  (Vollan),  there  are  a 
series  of  rocks,  projecting  one  behind  another  into  the  sea,  with 
precipitous  seaward  fronts,  and  defended  on  the  land  side  by 
cross  dykes ;  and  in  the  neighbourhood  numerous  small  pits  in 
the  earth,  of  a  size  to  admit  of  a  single  person  seated.  These 
are  covered  by  flat  stones,  which  were  concealed  by  sods. 
*  Descriptive  and  Historical  Sketches  of  Islay,  by  William  Macdonald,  A.M.,  M.D. 


580  PORT   ASKAIG   TO    BRIDGEND.      SECT.  VIII.  C. 

There  are  also  several  ruins  of  chapels  and  places  of  worship 
in  Islay,  as  in  many  other  islands.  The  names  of  fourteen 
founded  by  the  Lords  of  the  Isles  might  be  enumerated.  Indeed, 
most  of  the  names,  especially  of  parishes  of  the  west  coast, 
have  some  old  ecclesiastical  allusion.  In  the  ancient  burying- 
ground  of  Kildalton,  a  few  miles  south-west  of  the  entrance  of 
the  Sound,  are  two  large,  but  clumsily  sculptured  stone  crosses. 
In  this  quarter,  near  the  Bay  of  Knock,  distinguished  by  a  high 
sugarloaf-shaped  hill,  are  two  large  upright  flag-stones,  called 
the  two  stones  of  Islay,  reputed  to  mark  the  burying-place  of 
Yula,  a  Danish  princess,  who  gives  the  island  its  name.  In  the 
churchyard  of  Killarrow,  near  Bowmore,  there  was  a  prostrate 
column,  rudely  sculptured  ;  and,  among  others,  two  gravestones, 
one  with  the  figure  of  a  warrior,  habited  in  a  sort  of  tunic 
reaching  to  the  knees,  and  a  conical  head-dress.  His  hand 
holds  a  sword,  and  by  his  side  is  a  dirk.  The  decoration  of 
the  other  is  a  large  sword,  surrounded  by  a  wreath  of  leaves  ; 
and  at  one  end  the  figures  of  three  animals.  This  column  has 
been  removed  from  its  resting-place  and  set  up  in  the  centre  of 
a  battery  erected  near  Islay  House  some  years  ago.  Monu- 
mental stones,  as  well  as  cairns  and  barrows,  occur  elsewhere ; 
and  there  is  said  to  be  a  specimen  of  a  circular  mound  with 
successive  terraces,  resembling  the  tynewalds,  or  judgment- 
seats,  of  the  Isle  of  Man,  and  almost  unique  in  the  Western 
Islands.  Stone  and  brass  hatchet-shaped  weapons  or  celts,  elf- 
shots  or  flint  arrow-heads,  and  brass  fibulee,  have  been  frequently 
dug  up. 

7.  In  later  days,  Islay  was  distinguished  by  a  visit  from 
the  French  squadron  under  Admiral  Thurot,  in  1760,  which 
put  in  in  distress  for  provisions,  for  which,  however,  the  Admiral 
honourably  paid.  Again,  in  the  autumn  of  1778,  the  notorious 
Paul  Jones  made  a  descent  here.  In  the  Sound  he  captured 
the  West  Tarbert  and  Islay  packet.  Among  the  passengers 
was  a  Major  Campbell,  a  native  of  the  island,  just  returned 
from  India  where  he  had  realised  an  independence,  the  bulk  of 
which  he  had  with  him  in  gold  and  valuables,  and  the  luckless 
officer  was  reduced  in  a  moment  from  affluence  to  comparative 
penury.  Of  much  more  recent  occurrence  was  the  appearance 
in  Loch-in-Daal  on  4th  October  1813,  of  an  American  privateer 
of  twenty-six  guns,  with  a  crew  of  260  men.  "  The  True  Blooded 
Yankee,"  by  which  a  crowd  of  merchant  vessels  which  hap- 


SECT.  VIII.  C.  ISLAY   HOUSE.  581 

pened  to  be  lying  in  Port  Charlotte  was  rifled,  and  then  set  on 
fire,  occasioning  a  loss  estimated  at  some  hundred  thousand 
pounds.  It  is  some  satisfaction  to  know  that  this  piratically 
named  craft  was  subsequently  made  prize  of  and  condemned. 

The  genuine  Islaymen,  are  to  this  day  remarkable  for  size 
and  goodliness  of  person,  and  the  body  of  clansmen  who  accom- 
panied Islay  to  welcome  her  Majesty  at  Inverary  in  1847 
attracted  peculiar  notice. 

8.  We  proceed  now  to  conduct  the  reader  through  the 
island.  Leaving  the  inn  of  Port  Askaig,  the  road  winds  up  a 
ravine  or  gully,  for  nearly  a  mile,  exciting  hopes  that  the  way- 
farer has  really  been  conducted  to  fairy-land.  These,  however, 
soon  cease ;  for,  on  making  the  summit  of  this  ravine,  the 
country  again  becomes  bare  and  exposed,  but  presenting  an 
appearance  of  abundant  and  rich  vegetation,  with  marks  of 
successful  culture  around.  After  traversing  four  or  five  miles, 
the  country  assumes  a  still  improved  appearance.  The  govern- 
ment church  and  manse  of  Kilmenny  are  passed  on  the  left,  and 
after  about  four  miles  more  travelling,  we  reach  the  inn  of 
Bridgend.  Previous  to  this,  however,  the  sea  is  seen  on  the 
opposite  coast  of  Islay,  flowing  into  the  spacious  Bay  of  Loch- 
in-Daal,  which  forms  a  very  interesting  and  lively  object,  run- 
ning straight  inward  from  the  Irish  Channel,  a  distance,  from 
the  Point  of  the  Rinns  to  Islay  House,  of  at  least  twelve  or 
fourteen  miles.  Before  arriving  at  Bridgend,  the  appearance 
of  the  country,  particularly  to  the  left,  strikes  a  stranger  as 
rich,  beautiful,  and  interesting,  varied  in  surface,  and  forming 
principally  a  strath  or  glen,  watered  by  a  considerable  stream, 
interspersed  with  thriving  plantations  of  larch  and  other  trees. 
From  Bridgend,  a  pretty  good  view  is  had  of  Islay  House,  or, 
as  it  is  here  called  by  the  natives,  The  White  House.  This 
mansion  is  surrounded,  especially  in  front,  by  a  very  extensive 
and  level  lawn,  with  the  ground  gently  rising,  and  well  wooded 
behind.  The  house  is  on  a  large  and  princely  scale,  the  pleasure- 
grounds  and  gardens  extensive  and  embellished.  Towards 
Bridgend,  to  the  left  of  Islay  House,  stood  formerly  the  village 
of  Killarrow. 

From  Bridgend  the  touirst  may  easily  make  a  short  and 
interesting  excursion  to  -Loch  Finlagan,  which  lies  north-east 
from  Islay  House  about  five  miles,  and  on  an  island  in  which 
are  to  be  seen  the  ruins,  as  already  mentioned,  of  a  principal 


582  PORTNAHAVEN.  SECT.  VIII.  C. 

residence  of  the  Kings  or  Lords  of  the  Isles.  Between  it  and 
Islay  House  lies  the  place  Eallabus,  until  lately  the  residence 
of  the  factor  of  Islay  ;  an  interesting  and  beautiful  locality, 
and  the  native  spot  of  John  Crawford,  Esq.,  the  author  of  a 
"History  of  the  Indian  Archipelago,"  the  "Embassy  to  Ava," 
&c. 

9.  If  it  be  the  object  of  the  tourist  to  have  a  full  local  acquaint- 
ance with  the  fertile  and  interesting  Island  of  Islay,  certainly 
the  queen  of  the  Hebrides,  we  would  recommend  his  taking, 
first,  the  road  along  the  north  side  of  Loch-in-Daal  to  the 
Rinns,  or  the  Point  of  Islay  stretching  to   the   south-west. 
After  passing  along  rather  a  bleak  tract  for  two  or  three  miles, 
he  arrives  at  the  Bay  of  Sunderland,  bending  gently  inwards 
from  the  direct  course  of  Loch-in-Daal ;  and  passing  along  the 
beach  for  upwards  of  a  mile,  he  may  turn  to  the  right,  and, 
after  a  gentle  ascent,  will  come  unexpectedly  in  view  of  the 
mansion-house  and  grounds  of  Sunderland,  (Mac  Ewen,  Esq.)  ; 
and,  if  interested  in  rural  and  agricultural  pursuits,  he  will 
reflect  with  pleasure  that  the  beautiful  scene  now  before  him 
was,  not  many  years  ago,  a  bleak,  uninteresting,  and  unpromis- 
ing expanse  of  dry  moss  and  heather,  with  scarcely  even  a  spot 
of  green  sward  on  which  to  rest  the  eye.     Returning  again  to 
the  road,  the  traveller  still  proceeds  close  to  the  sea-shore,  and 
along  a  fertile  and  tolerably  cultivated  stretch  of  country, 
passes  the  new  and  thriving  village  of  Port  Charlotte,  and, 
some  five  or  six  miles  onward,  the  road  cuts  across  the  extreme 
promontory  of  this  part  of  the  island,  conveying  him  to  the 
village  of  Portnahaven,  a  celebrated  cod-fishing  station,  on  the 
property  of   Mr.  Mac  Ewen  of  Sunderland,  and  containing 
about  sixty  slated  houses,  very  picturesquely  situated  on  a 
rocky  nook  of  a  wild  bay,  which  is  protected  by  an  island  in 
the  offing  from  the  stern  blasts  of  the  west.     On  this  island  a 
lighthouse  has  been  built  ;   and,  perhaps  no  station  on  the 
whole  coast   of   Scotland,  if  we  except   Cape  Wrath,   more 
loudly  demanded  this  preservative  measure  to  the  shipping 
interests  and  to  human  life. 

10.  Leaving  Portnahaven,  the  traveller  can  by  a  good  road 
proceed  along  the  north-west  coast  of  the  island,  where  he  will 
find  a  fertile  country,  well   cultivated,  till   he  come  to  the 
church  of  Kilchuman ;  and,  leaving  it  on  the  right,  he  had 
better  still  adhere  to  the  line  of  the  coast.      Approaching 


SECT.  VIII.  C.  BOWMORE.  583 

Kilchuman,  and  afterwards,  for  the  distance  of  two  or  three 
miles,  the  soil  becomes  sandy  and  arid ;  but,  removed  from  the 
immediate  sea  coast,  it  is  mingled  with  a  good  fertile  loam, 
which  has  been  improved,  on  the  best  principles  of  husbandry, 
by  the  propietor  of  Sunderland,  whose  lands  stretch  down- 
wards in  this  direction.  Following  the  coast  from  Kilchuman, 
its  appearance  is  striking  and  grand :  perpendicular  rugged 
rocks  rising  from  the  ocean,  and  rent  by  numerous  chasms, 
among  which  are  a  series  of  curious  caverns,  arrest  the  atten- 
tion. 

Within  the  cave  of  Saneymore,  the  access  to  which  is  some- 
what difficult,  there  is  an  inner  cave,  opening  into  successive 
passages,  and  narrow  galleries  with  intermediate  chambers, 
amidst  which  the  reverberation  of  a  gun-shot  is  quite  over- 
powering, and  the  cadence  of  the  notes  of  the  bagpipe,  varies 
from  the  faintest  murmur  to  deafening  loudness.  It  was  near 
Saneymore  that  the  tragical  shipwreck  of  the  emigrant  brig 
Exmouth,  from  Londonderry  for  Quebec,  occurred,  on  27th 
April  1847,  when  all  the  passengers,  240  in  number,  with  all  the 
crew  excepting  three,  found  a  watery  grave.  The  appearance 
of  the  shore  after  the  storm,  strewed  with  fragments  of  wreck 
and  dead  bodies,  and  mangled  limbs,  is  described  to  have  been 
appalling  and  heart-rending  beyond  conception. 

The  reader  may  be  interested  to  know  that  Ardnave,  a 
handsome  residence  beyond  Saneg,  is  the  birthplace,  we  believe, 
at  least  the  paternal  residence,  of  Miss  Campbell,  Lady  of  Po- 
lignac,  sometime  prime  minister  of  France. 

Loch  Gruinart,  an  arm  of  the  sea,  which  the  traveller  will 
meet  in  his  progress,  is  celebrated  by  Dean  Monro,  in  his 
account  of  the  Hebrides,  for  the  number  of  seals  which  were 
caught  or  slain  on  the  sand-banks  which  the  recess  of  the  tide 
here  leaves  exposed  ;  but  the  sport  of  seal-catching  here  has 
long  ago  been  forgotten. 

The  sands  of  Gruinart  are  celebrated  in  the  traditional  lore 
of  the  islanders,  for  the  bloody  conflict  already  mentioned, 
fought  in  1598,  between  the  Macdonalds  and  Macleans.  The 
east  side  of  Loch  Gruinart  presents  merely  a  low  sandy  ex- 
panse of  coast,  after  which  it  rises  gradually  into  higher  and 
bleaker  hills  towards  the  Sound  of  Islay  and  Port  Askaig. 
From  the  head  of  the  loch,  a  walk  of  four  or  five  miles  across 
the  country  conducts  to  Bridgend.  The  route  here  described, 


584  BOWMORE — BAT  OF  LAGGAN.      SECT.  VIII.  C. 

from  Bridgend  till  returning  there,  might  be  accomplished 
easily  in  a  long  summer  or  autumn  day,  with  the  help  of  a* 
good  Islay  pony,  and  an  equally  hardy  and  active  guide. 

11.  After  resting  at   Bridgend,  proceed  we  now  to   the 
metropolis  of  Islay,  the  village  of  Bowmore,  lying  about  three 
miles  south-west  from  Bridgend,  and  on  the  shore  of  Loch-in- 
Daal  ;  a  continuation  of  tile-roofed  cottages  extending  partially 
along  the  shore  from  Bridgend.      Bowmore  is  of  considerable 
size,  containing  a  population  of  from  900  to  1200  inhabitants. 
It  was  commenced  in  1768,  and  is  judiciously  and  regularly 
planned  ;   but  the  plan   has  been  but  indifferently  observed, 
houses  being  permitted  to  be  erected  of  any  size,  shape,  or  ma- 
terial, suited  to  the  means  and  views  of  the  builder.      A  prin- 
cipal street,  ascending  a  pretty  steep  hill,  is  terminated  at  the 
west  by  the  school-house.      From  the  hill  behind,  an  extensive 
and  beautiful  view  is  obtained  of  Loch-in-Daal  in  all  its  ex- 
panse, of  Islay  House  and  the  adjacent  grounds  in  the  distance, 
of  the   Rinns,   and   the  district  of  Islay   already  described. 
Another  wide  and  also  ascending  street  crosses  this  at  right 
angles,  beginning  at  the  quay,  which  is  a  substantial  edifice, 
admitting  common  coasting  vessels  to  load  and  unload,  and 
terminates  at  the  summit  by  the  village  and  parish  church  ;  a 
respectable  building,  of  a  circular  form,  surmounted  by  a  neat 
spire.      A  third  street  runs  parallel  to  the  one  first  described, 
along  which  the  houses  present  so  poor  an  appearance  as  to 
leave  the  popular  designation  it  has  received  in  the  village,  of 
the  "  Beggar  Row,"  far  from  being  a  misnomer. 

12.  Leaving  Bowmore,  the  traveller  proceeds  southward, 
passing  the  church  on  his  left,  and  continues  to  ascend  by  a 
gentle  acclivity  for  about  a  mile.     The  road  now  slopes  gently 
downwards,  and  inclines  towards  the  wide  expansive  Bay  of 
Laggan.     But  at  the  summit  mentioned,  a  good  view  is  had  of 
the  bleak  promontory — a  dead  and  dull  mass — dividing  Loch- 
in-Daal  from  the  Bay  of  Laggan,  tapering  to  the  west,  and  ter- 
minating in  a  rocky  point.      On  descending  along  the  road  to 
the  Bay  of  Laggan,  the  traveller  is  struck  with  the  appearance 
of  its  ample  and  spacious  waters,  bounded  partly  by  rocks  of 
rugged  aspect  and  moderate  height,  and  skirted  all  along  its 
basis  by  a  broad  belt  of  beautiful  sand.      In  this  bay  many 
shipwrecks  have  occurred,  by  seamen  mistaking  it,  and  bearing 
up  for  it,  instead  of  Loch-in-Daal.     Leaving  the  level  of  the 


SECT.  VIII.  C.  POET  ELLINOR.  585 

bay,  a  gentle  acclivity  is  ascended,  and  the  scene  becomes  less 
interesting,  though  still  a  pleasing  variety  of  pasture  and  tillage 
is  seen  scattered  around.  On  his  right,  the  traveller  has  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  island  cut  off.  This  is  the  bluff  Point 
of  Keannouth,  or,  as  it  is  more  frequently  called,  the  Oe.  If 
interested  in  antiquarian  pursuits,  it  may  repay  his  labours 
here  to  turn  off,  obtaining  a  guide  to  bring  him  to  the  old 
castle  or  fort  of  Dun  Aidh,  built  upon  the  extreme  summit  of 
the  rock  forming  the  western  extremity  of  the  Point  of  Oe. 
The  scene  is  impressive  and  grand.  The  castle  or  fort  is  quite 
a  ruin,  but  may  be  seen  to  have  been  a  place  of  very  singular 
strength  in  its  day.  The  cave  of  Stoc  Mhaol  Doraidh,  on  the 
farm  of  Grastle  near  the  Oe,  is  only  accessible  by  boat,  and  with 
favourable  weather.  A  huge  pillar  of  rock  guards  the  outer 
entrance,  which  is  an  archway  in  a  wall  of  rock.  Prom  the 
space  within,  a  low  opening,  only  admitting  a  small  boat,  ushers 
into  a  spacious  apartment  with  two  recesses,  all  watered  by 
the  sea.  Our  road  soon  now  attains  the  sea-shore,  at  a  spacious 
bay,  forming  a  safe  and  good  anchorage,  with  a  much  better 
outlet  than  Loch-in-Daal,  and  well  sheltered,  especially  from 
the  north  and  west.  Here  a  new  village  has  been  in  progress 
for  a  few  years  back,  named  Port  Ellinor,  in  compliment  to 
Lady  Ellinor  Campbell  of  Islay. 

A  mile  or  two  farther  on,  the  road  arrives  at  the  small  vil- 
lage of  Laggavoulin,  near  which  is  the  parish  church  of  Kildalton, 
and  the  clergyman's  residence,  very  picturesquely  situated  be- 
side a  rocky  inlet  of  the  sea  coast,  opposite  to  the  remains  of 
the  round  tower  or  burgh  Dunnivaig.  From  Port  Ellinor  to 
Laggavoulin,  the  country  presents  a  well  cultivated  and  fertile 
aspect,  and  a  surface  obviously  susceptible  of  great  and  advan- 
tageous agricultural  improvements.  Leaving  the  village  just 
mentioned,  the  road  keeps  along  the  shore  for  two  or  three  miles 
farther,  when  the  country  assumes  rather  a  pastoral  than  an 
agricultural  appearance,  and  is  partially  studded  with  birch, 
hazel,  and  other  copsewood.  Turning  down  into  a  small  beau- 
tifully wooded  promontory,  forming  one  side  of  a  still,  peaceful 
inlet  of  the  sea,  is  seen  an  elegant  and  spacious  cottage,  built  by 
Mr.  Campbell  of  Islay.  Onwards  a  mile  or  two  is  the  farm  and 
house  of  Ardmore.  From  this  quarter  of  the  island,  a  good 
view  is  presented  of  the  opposite  coast  of  Cantyre — towards 
Campbelltown,  and  the  Mull  of  Cantyre.  In  clear  weather  also, 


586  JURA.  SECT.  VIII.  C. 

the  Irish  coast  is  discernible  to  the  naked  eye.  From  Ardmore, 
round  the  coast  to  Port  Askaig,  there  is  scarcely  any  object  of 
interest  to  reward  the  toil  of  exploring  it.  But  if  it  suits  the 
tourist's  time  and  purpose  better  than  returning  by  Bowmore 
and  Bridgend  to  Port  Askaig,  he  can  easily  make  the  latter 
place,  from  Laggavoulin  or  Ardmore,  in  the  course  of  one  day, 
though  at  the  expense  of  some  bodily  fatigue. 


JURA. 

13.  This  island  is  about  thirty  miles  long,  and  tapers  from 
the  south,  where  it  is  seven  or  eight  miles  wide,  till  at  the 
northern  extremity  it  becomes  only  about  two  miles  broad.  It 
is,  with  the  exception  of  a  narrow  border  on  the  east  side,  a 
rugged  and  barren  region.  A  series  of  steep  and  lofty  moun- 
tains of  quartz  rock  extend  northwards  from  the  Sound,  shoot- 
ing into  four  conical  peaks,  three  of  which,  more  elevated  than 
the  others,  are,  from  their  peculiar  shape,  called  the  Paps  of 
Jura  ;  the  highest  being  about  2500  feet.  These  are,  on  their 
lower  sides,  covered  with  dusky  heath,  and  higher  up  with 
broken  fragments  of  stone  and  masses  of  rock  ;  and  with  the 
exception  of  the  embedding  moss  around  these,  they  are  there 
almost  bare  of  vegetation.  The  west  side  is  altogether  wild 
and  rugged,  unfit  for  cultivation,  and  uninhabited.  On  the 
east  the  shore  is  low,  and  succeeded  by  gentle  slopes,  extending 
to  the  base  of  the  hills.  This  coast  is  indented  by  several  bays, 
and  shoots  out  various  points  of  land ;  thus  presenting  a  some- 
what pleasing  appearance.  It  is  intersected  by  numerous  rapid 
streams,  and  the  soil  by  the  shore  is  poor  and  stony — on  the 
declivity  more  or  less  clayey  and  spouty.  There  are  two  fine 
harbours  on  the  east  side,  the  southernmost  protected  by 
several  small  islands  at  the  mouth  :  the  entrance  of  the  other 
is  between  two  projecting  points  of  land.  Loch  Tarbert,  a  long 
arm  of  the  sea,  at  the  middle  of  the  west  side,  almost  intersects 
the  island.  This  inlet  abounds  with  a  variety  of  shell-fish. 
On  the  same  coast  there  are  quantities  of  fine  sand,  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  glass.  The  population  does  not  exceed  800. 
The  breeds  of  cattle  and  horses  are  hardy,  but  more  diminutive 
than  those  of  Islay.  Though  the  name  of  the  island  is  signifi- 
cant of  the  abundance  of  deer  on  it — Jura,  from  Dhuira,  or 


SECT.  VIII.  C.         COLONSAr   AND    ORONSAY.  587 

Dera — yet  these  animals  are  now  not  numerous,  eagles  and 
goats  being  the  chief  tenants  of  its  rocky  solitudes. 

Several  tumuli,  remains  of  Danish  burghs,  and  similar  an- 
tiquities, are  to  be  met  with  ;  and  in  one  or  two  places  there 
are  traces  along  the  declivities  of  a  wall  that  had  been  about 
4£  feet  high,  with,  at  its  lower  termination,  a  deep  pit  about 
1 2  feet  in  diameter,  supposed  to  have  been  a  contrivance  for  the 
capture  of  the  wild  boar,  which,  being  driven  along  the  wall, 
would  be  forced  into  the  pit.  At  the  north  end  of  the  Bay  of 
Small  Isles  there  are  remains  of  a  considerable  encampment, 
which  has  consisted  of  three  ellipses  of  some  depth,  hollowed 
out  and  embanked,  and  protected  on  one  side  by  a  triple  line 
of  defence  with  deep  ditches,  and  by  regular  bastions  on 
another,  and  having  a  mount  of  some  size  at  the  east  end. 

14.  Corryvreckan,  the  strait  between  the  northern  extre- 
mity of  Jura  and  the  mountainous  island  of  Scarba,  possesses 
a  wide-spread  notoriety.     It  will  be  found  described  p.  76. 

COLONSAY    AND   ORONSAY. 

15.  These  islands  are  distinguished,  next  to  lona,  by  the 
most  extensive  remains  of  religious   edifices  of    any  of  the 
Western  Islands.     They  lie  about  north-west  of  the  Sound  of 
Islay  ;  are  separated  by  a  narrow  strait,  dry  at  low  water,  and 
extend  together  to  a  length  of  about  twelve  miles  ;  Oronsay, 
the  most  southerly,  being  much  the  smaller  of  the  two.     The 
Islands  are  named  after  St.  Columba,   and  his  companion  St. 
Oran.     The  hills  are  rugged,  but  not  high,  and  the  pasture  on 
the  low  grounds,  particularly  to  the  south,  is  remarkably  rich. 
Rabbits  abound  in  these  islands.     The  population  may  amount 
to  about  600.     A  Culdee  establishment  was  founded  in  Colon- 
say,  called  after  St.  Oran  Killouran.     There  exist  on  Oronsay 
the  ruins,  still  pretty  entire  of  a  priory  or  a  monastery  of 
either  Cistertian  or  St.  Augustine  monks,  of  which  the  abbey 
stood  in  Colonsay,  but  it  has  been  completely  destroyed.     Both 
were  founded  by  the  Lords  of  the  Isles  about  the  middle  of  the 
fourteenth  century.     The  priory  measures  sixty  by  eighteen  feet. 
Adjoining  it  is  a  cloister  of  a  peculiar  form.     It  forms  a  square 
of  forty  feet  externally,  and  twenty  eight  within.     On  each  of 
two  opposite  sides  are  seven  low  arches,  composed  of  two  thin 
stones  for  columns,  with  two  others  forming  an  acute  angle, 


588 


COLONSAY    AND    ORONSAY.        SECT.  VIII.  C. 


and  resting  on  two  flat  stones  placed  on  the  top  of  the  upright 
ones.  The  only  remaining  side  has  five  small  round  arches. 
In  a  side  chapel  is  the  figured  tomb  of  an  abbot,  Macdufie, 
anno  1539,  and  also  a  stone  with  a  stag,  dogs,  and  a  ship 
sculptured  upon  it.  A  large  and  very  elegant  stone  cross  stands 


Cross  and  Monastic  Remains  at  Oronsay. 

beside  these  buildings,  and  within  the  priory  are  various  tomb- 
stones of  warriors  and  others.  Several  tumuli  exist  in  Oronsay  ; 
and  on  Colonsay  are  the  ruins  of  several  chapels,  and  within 
the  memory  of  man  those  of  St.  Oran's  cell  were  discernible,  and 
there  are  also  some  monumental  stones. 


SECT.  VIII.  D.  MULL IONA STAFFA.  589 

SECTION  EIGHTH.— BRANCH  D. 

MULL,    IONA,    AND    STAFFA. 

Different  Routes,  1.— Kerrera  Island ;  Lords  of  the  Isles ;  Alexander  II.'s  Expedi- 
tion and  Death ;  Haco's  Invasion,  2. — Island  of  Mull,  Appearance  and  Geology 
of,  3. — lona  or  Icolmkill,  Names,  General  Appearance,  Size,  Soil,  Cultivation: 
Village  of  Threld,  4. — Antiquity  of  the  Religious  Edifices ;  Description  of  the 
Buildings  in  the  order  they  are  usually  visited,  5. — The  Nunnery  and  its  Chapel ; 
Isle  of  Nuns;  Streets;  Stone  Crosses;  Library  and  Chartulary,  6. — St.  Oran's 
Burying-Ground  and  Chapel ;  Cathedral ;  St.  Martin's  Cross,  7- — Tombs ;  Druidical 
Circles;  Features  of  the  Culdee  Worship,  8.— Innis  Kenneth;  Suggestions  for  further 
Accommodation  and  Facilities  in  lona,  foot  note ;  Dr.  Johnson,  9. — Staffa,  General 
Appearance  of ;  Caves;  Eastern  Side,  10. — Clam  Shell  Cave;  Bouchaillie  Islet; 
Grand  Causeway,  11. — Fingal's  Cave ;  Columns,  12. — Boat  Cave  ;  Mackinnon's 
Cave,  13. — Geological  Phenomena,  14. — Grand  Island  View;  Mingarry  Castle,  15. 
— Toberaory;  the  Spanish  Armada;  Drimfin,  16. — Sound  of  Mull,  17- — Aros 
Castle,  18.— Situations  and  Style  of  the  Hebridian  Castles,  19. — Ardtornish  and 
other  Castles,  with  Churches,  Crosses,  and  Tombs  in  Morven ;  Loch  Snnart,  20. — 
Duart  Castle ;  the  Lady's  Rock,  21.— Lismore ;  Auchindown  Castle ;  Cathedral  of 
Argyle,  22.— Return  to'Oban,  23. 


"  That,  man  is  little  to  be  envied,  whose  patriotism  would  not  gain  force  upon  the 
plain  of  Marathon,  or  whose  piety  would  not  grow  wanner  among  the  ruins  of  lona." 

"  Perhaps,  in  the  revolutions  of  the  world,  lona  may  be  sometime  again 

the  instructress  of  the  western  regions." — Dr.  Johnson's  Tonr. 


Oban  to  west  side  of  Kerrera 4 

Ferry  to  Achnacraig,  in  Mull    7 

Craiganour   5 

Salin,  near  Aros  11 

Tobermory 8J 35f 

Loch-na-Keal  4 

Laggan-Ulva   7 

Staffa 9 

lona 12 

59 

1.  THE  above  mentioned  distances  are  quoted  for  the  use  of  the 
tourist  who  can  command  time  to  go  to  Staffa  and  lona  through 
Mull,  and  is  resolved  to  see  everything  more  leisurely  than  he 
could  do  by  the  ordinary  steamers.  We  are  glad  to  inform 
him  that  the  roads  are  now  good,  and  passable  for  vehicles, 
throughout  the  route  above  indicated.  Until  within  the  last 
two  or  three  years,  the  common  course  by  steam  was  through 
the  Sound  of  Mull  to  Tobermory,  and  thence  westwards. 
Now,  the  outer  passage  by  the  south-west  promontory  or  Ross 
of  Mull,  first,  to  lona  and  Staffa,  is  preferred,  returning  by  the 


590  KERRERA  ISLAND.  SECT.  Till.  D. 

Sound  to  Oban  in  the  evening,  and  this  trip  is  generally  accom- 
plished in  about  eleven  hours.  In  summer  it  is  almost  a  daily 
one  by  special  steamers,  but,  besides,  all  the  others  on  this 
coast  rendezvous  at  Oban,  and  the  tourist  will  find  several  boats 
going  up  the  Sound,  by  which  he  can  be  landed  at  Tobermory 
and  elsewhere.* 

2.  Kerrera forms  a  natural  breakwater  to  the  safe  Bay  of  Oban, 
which  is  the  securest  haven  on  the  west  coast  for  vessels, 
whether  intended  for  the  northward  voyage  or  the  passage  of 
the  Caledonian  Canal,  and  will  be  found  already  noticed  p.  77. 
Kerrera  was  the  place  of  rendezvous  where  Haco  of  Norway, 
in  the  year  1263,  met  his  island  chieftains,  who,  crowding 
with  their  galleys  to  assist  him  in  his  descent  on  the  coasts  of 
Scotland,  augmented  his  fleet  to  160  sail.  Partly  of  Scandina- 
vian origin  and  independent  power,  the  Reguli,  who  ruled  the 
Western  Isles  in  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries,  were 
dangerous  neighbours  to  the  then  unsettled  kingdom  of  Scot- 
land. Owing  a  slight  allegiance  to  the  Norwegian  crown,  in 
consequence  of  the  conquests  of  Harold  Harfager,  King  of 
Denmark,  in  the  end  of  the  ninth  century,  and  of  Magnus 
Barefoot  of  Norway,  about  1090,  and  thus  politically  opposed 
to  the  Scottish  monarchs,  then  harassed  on  all  sides  by  the 
descents  of  sea  kings  and  pirates  of  the  north,  it  became  the 
interest  of  our  sovereigns  to  attach  and  win  over,  or  subject  to 
their  dominion,  the  lords  and  chieftains  of  the  Isles  by  every 
means  in  their  power.  Bribery  and  negotiation,  open  force  and 
secret  fraud,  were  resorted  to  ;  and  even  large  tributes  were 
offered  to  the  King  of  Norway  by  Alexander  II.  if  he  would 
resign  the  sovereignty  of  the  Isles.  Irritated  by  the  contemptu- 
ous replies  of  that  monarch,  Alexander  at  length  declared  his 
resolution  of  conquering  the  Danish  settlements  in  Scotland, 
and  boasted  that  "  he  would  plant  his  standard  on  the  cliffs  of 
Thurso."  He  got  no  further  than  Kerrera  with  his  fleet  and 
army,  when  a  fever  seized  him,  of  which  he  died  ;  and  the 
same  hostile  policy  being  pursued  by  the  governors  of  his  son 

*  One  of  the  Messrs.  Burns' steamers,  and  the  "  Maid  of  Lorn,"  belonginetoanother 
company,  now  sail  once  every  week  from  Glasgow  to  Aros  and  Tobermory,  oesides  the 
others  which  make  the  daily  circuit  of  Mull.  Should  the  traveller  prefer  it,  he  can 
first  cross  to  Kerrera,  then  take  the  ferry-boat  to  Achnacraig  in  Mull,  and  proceed  by 
land  by  Duart  and  Aros  to  the  inn  on  the  Island  of  Ulva,  where  he  can  procure  a  boat 
to  the  adjoining;  Isles  of  Staffa  and  lona.  The  Skye  steamer  also  proceeds  through 
the  Sound  of  Mull,  and  calls  at  Aros  and  Tobermory.  These  different  boats  also  pro- 
ceed to  Salin,  on  Loch  Sunart,  giving  easy  means  of  visiting  this  long  and  fine,  and 
hitherto  little  visited  inlet. 


SECT.  Vm.  D.  MULL  591 

and  successor,  Alexander  III.,  then  but  a  boy,  and  especially 
manifested  in  the  attempts  of  the  Earls  of  Ross,  and  other 
mainland  chiefs,  to  conquer  the  isles,  Haco  roused  himself,  and 
sailed  forth  for  the  defence  of  his  injured  vassals.  Sailing 
from  Norway  with  the  largest  fleet  that  ever  left  his  country's 
ports,  it  was  at  Kerrera  he  met  the  great  body  of  the  island 
chieftains,  who  thence  accompanied  him  on  the  ill-fated  descent 
on  Ayrshire,  where  a  tempest,  and  the  Scottish  host  headed  by 
the  Steward  of  Scotland,  and  encouraged  by  the  presence  of  their 
youthful  sovereign,  broke  his  mighty  power  and  effected  the 
consequent  cession  of  the  Hebrides  to  this  country.  Haco,  from 
fatigue  and  anxiety,  died  on  his  way  home  at  Kirkwall,  in 
Orkney,  on  the  14th  of  December  1263. — (Chronicle  of  Man. 
Torfoeus.) 

3.  In  taking  the  outer  passage  the  steamers  usually  skirt 
along  the  rocky  iron-bound  coast  of  Mull,  in  crossing  to  which 
magnificent  views  are  obtained  of  its  high  dark  mountains,  and  of 
the  islands  to  the  southward,  and  the  varying  chains  of  mountains 
on  the  mainland.  The  greater  part  of  the  south  coast  of  Mull 
presents  a  dull  wall  of  rock,  unbroken  save  by  the  inlet  of  Loch 
Buy.  Approaching  the  south-west,  the  shore  becomes  lower  and 
more  rugged,  while  white  foaming  breakers  keep  up  the  interest 
of  the  passage.  Of  Mull,  we  may  remark  in  passing,  that  its 
surface  is  extremely  uneven  and  mountainous ;  its  soil  is  both 
deep  and  fertile,  and  it  is  thus  better  adapted  for  pasturage  than 
Skye,  to  which  island  it  otherwise  bears  a  strong  resemblance. 
The  rapidity  with  which  its  rocks  decompose,  prevents  the  island 
from  having  much  picturesque  beauty,  and  the  tourist  will  be 
but  ill  rewarded  in  searching  for  fine  scenery  at  any  distance 
from  the  coast.  With  the  exception  of  the  granitic  promontory 
of  the  Ross,  which  is  skirted  by  quartz  rock,  clay  slate,  and 
mica  slate,  the  whole  upper  portions  of  this  island  consist  of 
trap  rocks,  covering  lias  and  oolitic  deposits  of  stratified  rocks, 
and  which  are  visible  in  a  comparatively  small  number  of  places 
at  the  base  of  the  superincumbent  mass.  To  the  north  of  Aros 
and  Loch-na-Keal,  the  surface  of  the  country,  though  hilly  and 
irregular,  cannot  be  called  mountainous.  It  presents  every- 
where, as  remarked  by  Dr.  Macculloch,  that  aspect  so  charac- 
teristic of  trap  countries,  in  the  terraced  forms  rising  by  nume- 
rous stages  from  the  shore  to  the  highest  elevation,  which  here 
seems  not  to  exceed  1200  to  1500  feet.  The  southern  and 


592  IONA,    OB   ICOLMKILL.  SECT.  VIII.  IX 

western  divisions  of  the  island  present  the  trap  rocks  similarly 
disposed ;  but  in  the  districts  of  Gibon  and  Torosy  they  attain 
a  much  greater  altitude;  Ben  More,  the  highest  mountain, 
being  3097  feet ;  and  the  next  to  it,  Benychat,  2294  feet  by 
barometrical  measurement.  These  mountains,  on  their  western 
slope,  are  flanked  by  cliffs  nearly  1000  feet  high ;  and  all  round 
the  island,  columnar  precipices  of  greenstone  and  basalt  are  to 
be  seen  on  the  shore,  while  the  rocks  in  the  interior  are  greatly 
concealed  by  rubbish  and  vegetation.  Towards  the  east  and 
south,  the  trap  terraces  shelve  down  to  hills  and  cliffs  of  mode- 
rate elevation  ;  the  asperities  of  the  shore  being  caused  chiefly 
by  protruding  dykes  and  veins,  of  which  there  is  an  abundance 
in  all  parts  of  the  island ;  but  even  these,  although  very  hard, 
do  not  produce  a  coast  line  so  rocky  and  indented  as  that  formed 
by  the  primitive  masses. 

The  eye  is  occupied  alternately  in  scanning  the  face  of  the 
cliffs  of  Mull,  and  in  tracing  the  faint  outlines  of  Colonsay  and 
I  slay,  and  more  near  the  peaked  mountains  of  Jura  and  the 
island  of  Scarba,  between  which  lies  the  whirlpool  of  Corry- 
vreckan. 

4.  lona,  or  Icolmkitt — Ey,  the  Island — lona,  Ithona,  "  the 
Island  of  the  Waves" — Icolmkill — the  Isle  of  Columba's  (St. 
Callum's  or  Malcolm's)  Cell — that  "illustrious  island  which," 
as  Dr.  Johnson  remarks,  "  was  once  the  luminary  of  the  Cale- 
donian regions,  whence  savage  clans  and  roving  barbarians 
derived  the  benefits  of  knowledge  and  the  blessings  of  religion," 
is  situated  about  nine  miles  to  the  south-east  of  Staffa,  and  is 
separated  from  Mull  by  a  narrow  but  navigable  sound.  Its  his- 
tory has  now  become  nearly  as  familiar  as  its  name  ;  and  it  has 
been  with  truth  observed  by  Dr.  Macculloch,  that  the  descrip- 
tions and  remarks  which  have  been  published  of  it,  have  given 
it  an  importance  to  which  it  scarce  possesses  a  sufficient  claim, 
either  from  the  simple  extent,  the  beauty,  curiosity,  or  even 
antiquity  of  its  architectural  remains,  apart  from  the  associa- 
tions connected  with  them.  "  In  any  other  situation,"  says 
the  same  author,  "  the  remains  of  lona  would  be  consigned  to 
neglect  and  oblivion  ;  but,  connected  as  they  are  with  an  age 
distinguished  by  the  ferocity  of  its  manners,  and  its  indepen- 
dence of  regular  government,  standing  a  solitary  monument  of 
religion  and  literature,  the  mind  imperceptibly  recurs  to  the 
time  when  this  island  was  '  the  light  of  the  western  world,'  '  a 


SECT.  VIII.  D.  IONA,    OK   ICOLMKILL.  593 

gem  in  the  ocean,'  and  is  led  to  contemplate  with  veneration 
its  silent  and  ruined  structures.  Even  at  a  distance,  the  aspect 
of  the  cathedral,  insignificant  as  its  dimensions  are,  produces  a 
strong  feeling  of  delight  in  him  who,  long  coasting  the  rugged 
and  barren  rocks  of  Mull,  or  buffeted  by  turbulent  waves,  be- 
holds its  tower  first  rising  out  of  the  deep,  giving  to  this  desolate 
region  an  air  of  civilisation,  and  recalling  the  consciousness  of 
that  human  society,  which,  presenting  elsewhere  no  visible 
traces,  seems  to  have  abandoned  these  rocky  shores  to  the  cor- 
morant and  the  sea-gull." 

lona  is  about  three  miles  in  length  and  one  in  breadth, 
being  placed  nearly  in  a  north-easterly  direction.  The  surface 
is  low,  rising  into  numerous  irregular  elevations  which  seldom 
exceed  100  feet.  Its  highest  hill  may  be  about  400  feet,  and  it 
is  situated  at  the  northern  extremity  of  the  island.  Generally 
indented  with  small  rocky  bays  and  promontories,  it,  however, 
possesses  at  the  north-western  side  a  large  plain,  terminating  in 
a  flat  shore,  composed  chiefly  of  broken  shells.  Another  sandy 
and  low  plain,  to  the  east,  into  which  flows  the  Bay  of  Martyrs, 
where  the  bodies  of  strangers  intended  to  be  buried  in  the  holy 
isle  were  received,  contains  the  ancient  remains  and  the  modern 
village  called  Threld.  The  soil  of  this  plain  is  light  (chiefly 
sand  and  sea-shells),  and  is  applicable  almost  only,  and  that  by 
the  assistance  of  sea-weed,  to  the  cultivation  of  barley  and 
potatoes,  of  both  of  which,  however,  it  yields  very  abundant  crops. 

The  upland  is  a  chequered  mixture  of  rock  and  pasture, 
with  here  and  there  a  few  ridges  of  corn  ;  it  is  chiefly  occupied 
by  black  cattle,  which,  with  the  kelp  prepared  on  the  shores, 
and  fish,  in  the  taking  of  which  the  inhabitants  display  great 
industry,  form  the  disposable  produce  of  the  island.  The  land, 
which  till  lately  was  held  in  runrig,  is  now  divided  into  dis- 
tinct crofts,  and  supports  a  population  of  about  500,  the  whole 
rental  being  ,£300.  On  the  approach  of  strangers  to  the  island, 
one-half  of  the  inhabitants,  bare  headed,  and  with  matted  un- 
combed hair,  especially  the  younger  portion,  collect  in  groups 
along  the  shore  to  gaze  on  their  visitors,  to  tender  their  services 
in  showing  the  ruins,  and  troops  of  children  importune  the 
purchase  of  their  little  stores  of  felspar  and  serpentine  pebbles, 
which  have  ever  been  regarded  as  charms  and  choice  relics  of 
the  isle.  One  unacquainted  with  the  condition  of  the  tenantry 
in  the  Hebrides  generally  will,  perhaps,  be  disposed  to  express 
his  astonishment  at  the  uncouth  and  squalid  appearance  of 
2  c  2 


594  ST.    GRAN'S   CHAPEL.  SECT.  VIII.  D. 

these  people — sure  tokens   of  the  poverty  and  wretchedness 
under  which  they  live. 

5.  Referring  to  our  account  of  the  early  ecclesiastical  history 
of  the  Highlands,  and  of  St.  Columba's  mission  (page  20  to  22), 
we  may  remark  that  a  very  remote  antiquity  was  once  assigned 
to  the  religious  buildings,  the  ruins  of  which  still  impart  so 
much  interest  to  this  distant  island  ;  but  the  assertion  had  not 
the  advantage  of  any  probability  to  support  it.      If  religion 
edifices  were  at  all  erected  by  Columba,  when  he  took  up  hig 
residence  here  towards  the  middle  of  the  sixth  century,  they 
were  composed,  most  probably,  of  no  better  materials  than 
wickerwork,  of  which  many  churches  in  England,  almost  down 
to  the  Norman  conquest,  were  formed,  or  they  may  have  been 
stone-houses  thatched  with  heather,  examples  of  which  are  still 
to  be  seen  in  the  Highlands. 

The  smallness  of  St.  Oran's  chapel,  which  is  only  40  by  20 
feet,  the  general  poverty  and  rudeness  of  its  style,  with  the  per- 
petual repetition  of  the  chevron  moulding  in  the  low  circular 
arch  which  forms  its  doorway,  points  it  out  as  the  oldest 
building  now  standing,  and  would  perhaps  stamp  it  as  of  the 
Saxon  age  ;  but  it  is  in  all  probability  of  Norwegian  workman- 
ship. The  chapel  of  the  nunnery  is  the  next  in  order  of  anti- 
quity, the  arches  being  also  round,  but  without  ornament ; 
while  the  structure  of  St.  Mary's  church,  which  was  at  the 
same  time  the  abbey  church  and  the  cathedral  of  the  diocese  of 
the  Isles,  bespeaks  a  much  later  origin,  and  refers  it  to  a  date 
not  more  distant  than  the  early  part  of  the  thirteenth  century, 
if  it  be  even  of  an  antiquity  so  high. 

6.  The  nunnery  is  the  first  in  order  of  the  ruins  which 
strangers  usually  visit.     The  chapel  was  dedicated  to  St.  Oran, 
and  was  possessed  by  canonesses  of  St.  Augustine.     Its  dimen- 
sions are  60  feet  by  20  ;  and  it  contains  the  tomb  of  the  last 
prioress,  Anna,  dated  in  1511,  with  an  inscription  in  the  Saxon 
character.     Previous  to  their  establishment  here,  the  nuns  are 
said  to  have  lived  on  a  small  isle,  near  lona,  still  called  the 
"  Isle  of  Nuns."      They  wore  a  white  gown,  and  over  it  a 
rotchet  of  fine  linen,  and  lived  here  together  a  long  time  after 
the  Reformation  (Keith  458) ;  but  their  presence  in  lona  was, 
of  course,  a  deviation  from  St.  Columba's  rule,  as  he  is  known 
to  have  steadfastly  opposed  all  female  interference  in  his  reli- 
gious institutions. 


SECT.  vm.  D.      MACLEAN'S  CROSS — REILIG  OURAIN.       595 

To  the  north  of  the  nunnery,  beside  the  chapel,  are  the  re- 
mains of  a  causeway  leading  to  the  cathedral,  called  the  Main 
Street,  which  is  joined  by  two  others,  called  the  Royal  Street 
and  Martyr  Street,  leading  to  the  bay  of  that  name.  On  the 
west  side  of  the  last  street  is  Maclean's  Cross,  a  beautifully 
carved  pillar,  and  one  of  the  360  votive  crosses  which  at  one 
time  adorned  the  island,  and  which,  by  a  sentence  of  the  Synod 
of  Argyle,  about  the  year  1560,  were  all  hurled  into  the  sea. 
Much  has  been  said  of  the  Library  and  Chartulary  of  lona.  If 
they  were  ever  of  the  value  imputed  to  them,  this  same  Synod 
contributed  more  to  their  destruction,  and  to  our  vain  regrets, 
than  did  all  the  ravages  of  Danes  and  barbarian  warriors. 

7.  We  arrive  next  at  the  Reilig  Ourain,  or  St.  Oran's  burying- 
place,  a  large  enclosure,  in  which,  according  to  Martin,  Dean  of 
the  Isles,  the  Kings  of  Scotland,  Ireland,  and  Norway  had  se- 
parate cemeteries,  as  well  as  the  Lords  of  the  Isles,  and  the 
chiefs  and  principal  families  throughout  the  Highlands.  We 
refer  to  Pennant,  and  to  Mr.  Howson's  valuable  paper  in  the 
Camden  Society's  Transactions,  Part  iii.,  formerly  quoted,  for 
some  of  the  inscriptions  in  "  this  resting-place  of  saints,  and 
kings,  and  warriors,  which  is  literally  paved  with  tombstones." 

To  dispel  the  smile  of  incredulity  apt  to  gather  on  the  face 
of  visitors  when  listening  to  the  words  of  the  honest  chronicler 
who  marshals  the  motley  parties  whom  the  steamers  now  land 
in  such  daily  recurring  numbers,  over  the  ashes  of  the  dead, 
while  narrating  how  many  kings  lie  buried  underneath,  we 
transcribe  what  an  eye-witness,  Dean  Monro  of  the  Isles,  who 
wrote  in  1594,  says  on  the  subject : — "  Within  this  isle  of 
Kilmkill  there  is  an  sanctuary  also,  or  kirkzaird,  callit  in 
Eriche,  Reilig  Orain,  quhilk  is  a  very  fair  kirkzaird,  and  weill 
biggit  about  with  staine  and  lyme.  Into  this  sanctuary  there 
are  three  tombes  of  staine,  formit  like  little  chapels,  with  ane 
braide  grey  marble,  or  quhin  staine,  in  the  gavil  of  ilk  of  the 
tombes.  In  the  staine  of  the  ane  tomb  there  is  written,  in  Latin 
letters,  Tumulus  Regum  Scotice — that  is,  the  tombe  ore  grave 
of  the  Scottis  Kings.  Within  this  tombe,  according  to  our 
Scottes  and  Erische  cronikles,  ther  laye  fortey-eight  crowned 
Scotts  Kings,  through  the  quhilk  this  ile  hes  been  richly  dotat 
be  the  Scotts  Kinges,  as  we  have  said.  The  tombe  on  the 
south  side  foresaid,  has  this  inscription,  Tumulus  Regum  Hi- 
bernice — that  is,  the  tombe  of  the  Irland  Kingis ;  for  we  have 


596  TOMB  OP  ANGUS  OG — CATHEDRAL.      SECT.  VIII.  1). 

in  our  auld  Erische  cronikells,  that  ther  were  four  Irland 
Kingis  erdit  in  the  said  tombe.  Upon  the  north  syde  of  our 
Scottes  tombe,  the  inscription  bears,  Tumulw  Regum  Nor- 
wegice — that  is,  the  tombe  of  the  Kings  of  Norroway.  Afcd  als' 
we  find  in  our  Erische  cronikells,  that  Coelus,  King  of  Norroway, 
commandit  his  nobils  to  take  his  bodey  and  burey  it  in  Colm- 
kill,  if  it  chancit  him  to  die  in  the  iles ;  bot  he  was  so  discom- 
fitit,  that  ther  remained  not  so  maney  of  his  armey  as  wald 
burey  him  ther,  therefor  he  was  eirded  in  Kyles,  after  he  stroke 
ane  field  against  the  Scotts,  and  was  vanquisht  be  them. 
Within  this  sanctuary  also  lye  the  maist  pairt  of  the  Lords  of 
the  Iles,  with  their  lynage ;  twa  clan  Leans,  with  their  lynage ; 
MacKinnon  and  MacQuarrie,  with  their  lynage ;  with  other  in- 
habitants of  the  haill  iles,  because  this  sanctuary  was  wont  to 
be  the  sepulture  of  the  best  men  of  all  the  iles,  and  als'  of  our 
Kinges,  as  we  have  said." 

Macbeth  was  the  last  Scottish  King  buried  in  lona,  Mal- 
colm Caenmore  having  changed  the  place  of  royal  sepulture  to 
Dunfermline.  In  Pennant's  day,  there  were  only  discoverable 
"  certain  slight  remains,  that  were  built  in  a  ridged  form,  and 
arched  within,  but  the  inscriptions  were  lost ;"  but  they  were 
still  called  the  Ridges  of  the  Kings.  Excavations  were  made 
in  1833  by  the  lona  Club,  which  demonstrated  that  there  were 
no  subterraneous  vaults  or  chambers,  but  brought  to  light  many 
interesting  tombstones.  In  Oran's  Chapel  the  inscription  is 
quite  legible  of  Angus  Og,  Lord  of  the  Isles — the  friend  of 
Bruce,  and  who  fought  with  him  at  Bannockburn — in  these 
words — 

"  Hie  jacet  corpus  Angusii,  filii  Domini  Angusii  M'Domhuil  de  Hay." 

This  Angus  died  in  1325.  "  Mr.  Frazier,"  says  Pennant,  "  son 
to  the  Dean  of  the  Isles,  informed  Mr.  Sacheverell,  governor  of 
the  Isle  of  Man,  who  visited  lona  in  1688,  that  his  father  had 
collected  there  300  inscriptions,  and  presented  them  to  the  Earl 
of  Argyle,  which  were  afterwards  lost  in  the  troubles  of  the 
family." 

To  the  north  lies  the  cathedral,  which  Mr.  Howson  thus  de- 
scribes : — "  The  Abbey  Church  of  the  Cluniac  Monastery  of  lona, 
and  Cathedral  of  the  Isles,  is  a  cross  church,  measuring  inter- 
nally 115  feet  from  east  to  west,  and  70  from  north  to  south. 
The  choir  and  nave  are  of  equal  length,  and  about  23  feet  in 


SECT.  VIII.  D.  CATHEDRAL.  597 

breadth.*  The  transepts  are  1 7  feet  in  breadth.  At  the  inter- 
section is  a  tower.  (1.)  This  tower  (which  once  possessed  a  fine 
peal  of  bells)  is  square  and  plain,  without  any  panelling,  with 
a  string  running  round  at  about  half  its  height,  and  a  plain 
cornice  above.  Between  these  two  parts  are  windows,  one  on 
each  side,  which  are  among  the  most  remarkable  parts  of  the 


Cathedral  of  lona. 

church.  They  are  strictly  square  openings,  filled  with  beautiful, 
but  each  with  different,  tracery,  which  seems  to  indicate  their 
date  to  be  in  the  Decorated  period.  That  to  the  south  is  pecu- 
liarly beautiful.  The  square  is  described  about  a  circle,  in 
which,  from  a  sexfoil  in  the  centre,  six  volutes  run  off"  in  a 
Flamboyant  form,  enclosing  six  others  in  the  intermediate 
spaces.  At  one  corner  of  it  is  a  detached  window  of  very  small 
dimensions,  with  two  quatrefoil  lights.  In  the  interior,  the 
opening  for  the  windows  is  divided  by  a  shaft,  with  a  capital 
and  two  bands,  not  unlike  those  which  are  thought  to  charac- 
terize Saxon  churches.  It  might  be  conjectured  that  the  tower 
and  its  openings  are  of  very  early  date,  and  that  the  tracery 
was  introduced  in  the  fourteenth  century,  more  especially  as 
the  shafts  from  which  the  transept  arches  spring  have  an  ancient 
*  By  pacing  we  make  the  lengths  150  and  75  feet,  and  the  breadth  27  feet. 


598  CATHEDRAL.  SECT.  VIII.  D. 

appearance.  (2.)  Of  the  transepts,  the  southern  has  the 
remains  of  a  Decorated  window  ;  in  the  northern,  Pennant's 
sketch  exhibits  two  Early  English  ones.  There  are  no  aisles, 
but,  in  the  north  transept,  the  remains  of  a  semicircular  arch. 
The  capitals  of  the  above-mentioned  shafts  are  ornamented  with 
grotesque  figures — one  group  said  to  represent  an  Angel  weigh- 
ing souls,  and  Satan  crouching  near.  The  arches  are  pointed. 
(3.)  The  nave  is  very  much  dilapidated,  with  a  trace  of  a  round 
arch  in  one  place,  and  buttresses  which  (as  those  in  the  south 
transept)  are  narrow,  and  lie  upon  the  wall  at  a  small  elevation. 
The  western  doorway  is  small  and  plain,  having  a  dripstone, 
and  moulding  running  continuously  to  the  ground.  (4.)  It  is 
not  easy  to  ascertain  the  original  appearance  of  the  choir.  At 
the  east  end  is  a  good  Decorated  window,  and  there  are  Deco- 
rated windows  in  the  north  and  south  wall,  on  each  side  of  it. 
There  is  no  other  window  in  the  north  wall,  which  in  one  part 
exhibits  two  Early  English  arches,  with  the  toothed  ornament, 
springing  from  round  piers  with  somewhat  rude  capitals.  These 
arches  are  quite  built  up  in  the  wall,  which,  however,  shews 
marks  of  recent  work.  Below  them  is  a  doorway  of  elaborate 
but  singular  form,  semicircular,  and  trefoiled.  On  examining 
the  engravings  of  Pennant,  I  find  that  in  his  time  these  arches 
were  free,  and  seem  to  have  opened  into  a  chapel  which  was 
attached  to  the  north  side  of  the  choir.  This  prepares  us  for 
considering  the  south  side,  where  there  seems  to  have  been  some- 
thing of  a  similar  arrangement.  Here  are  three  round  piers, 
about  10  feet  high  and  9  feet  in  circumference,  with  capitals 
covered  with  grotesque  figures,  and  pointed  arches,  with  several 
mouldings.  The  easternmost  pier  is  square,  with  a  square 
abacus.  To  these  piers  are  attached  overarching  buttresses  (if 
so  they  may  be  called),  which  formerly  have  been  roofed  over, 
thus  constituting  a  species  of  quadrantal  aisle.  The  whole  is 
walled  round,  with  an  elegant  window  apparently  Decorated,  to 
the  east ;  and  a  breast-wall  is  built  between  the  piers  them- 
selves. It  is  probable  that  what  at  first  sight  seems  to  have 
been  an  aisle  has  really  constituted  one  or  more  chapels  ;  and 
that  Dr.  Sacheverell  speaks  accurately  when  he  says  that  '  on 
each  side  of  the  choir  are  two  little  chapels,  the  entrance  to 
them  opening  with  large  pillars,  curiously  carved  in  basso 
relievo.' 

"  There  remain  three  well-worked  sedilia,  of  Early  English 


SECT.  VUI.  D,  CATHEDRAL.  599 

appearance,  formed  with  trefoiled  ogee  arches,  under  connected 
dripstones,  which  run  out  afterwards  into  a  horizontal  tablet, 
and  have  at  each  apex  the  remains  of  what  seems  to  have  been 
a  sculptured  head.  The  principal  altar  seems  to  have  remained 
until  a  late  period — Sacheverell,  who  saw  it  in  1688,  says  it 
measured  six  feet  by  four.  Martin,  whose  tour  was  written 
in  1702,  uses  these  words:  —  'The  altar  is  large,  and  of  as 
fine  a  marble  as  ever  I  saw.'  And  it  must  have  existed  in 
1772,  since  Pennant  says  that  he  and  his  companions  contri- 
buted to  diminish  it.  He  says  it  was  of  white  marble  veined 
with  gray. 

"  Pennant  merely  notices  the  remains  of  the  Bishop's  Palace ; 
and  now,  I  believe,  there  are  but  slight  traces  of  it.  Sacheverell 
tells  us  that  it  consisted  of  a  large  hall,  open  to  the  roof  of  a 
chamber,  into  which  he  supposes  it  must  have  been  necessary 
to  ascend  by  a  ladder,  and  under  this  chamber  a  buttery.  The 
offices  were  probably,  according  to  custom,  outside.  He  says 
it  put  him  in  mind  of  the  inscription  on  Bishop  Rutter's  tomb 
in  the  Isle  of  Man : 

'  Vide  et  ride  Palatium  Episcopi ! ' 

The  abbot's  house  stood  to  the  westward.  It  is  so  obvious  that 
this  church  has  been  patched  and  blocked  up  in  many  places 
since  it  became  a  rum,  that  a  minute  examination  would  be 
necessary  before  a  confident  opinion  could  be  pronounced  on  the 
date  of  all  its  parts.  But  when  the  windows  in  the  tower  and 
in  the  choir  are  considered,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  a  great 
portion  is  of  the  fourteenth  century.  Some  Norman  work  to 
the  north  of  the  church — possibly  also  the  piers,  the  buttresses, 
the  shafts  in  the  tower,  and  the  toothed  ornaments  in  the  choir 
— might  indicate  that  the  shell  of  the  building  was  a  century 
earlier,  or  even  more.  Nothing  can  be  more  probable  than  that 
the  Abbey  Church  was  originally  erected  by  some  of  the  island 
chieftains  in  their  days  of  power,  that  it  was  dismantled  during 
the  troubles  at  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century,  and 
repaired  in  more  tranquil  years  which  concluded  it — perhaps 
about  1380,  when  it  became  an  Episcopal  as  well  as  a  monastic 
church."  Mr.  Howson,  from  an  entry  in  Dean  Mylne's  Lives 
of  the  Bishops  of  Dunkeld,  afterwards  saw  reason  to  believe  that 
the  age  of  the  cathedral  may  have  been  forty  or  fifty  years 
older  than  what  he  mentions  above. 


600 


TOMBS — ST.  COLUMBA. 


SECT.  VIII.  I). 


One  of  the  finest  of  the  ancient  crosses  of  lona,  teller  (about 
fifteen  feet)  and  richer 
than  Maclean's,  has  been 
set  up  on  a  basement  of 
granite,  opposite  the  en- 
trance to  the  cathedral, 
and  within  the  enclo- 
sure now  very  properly 
formed  around  it.  The 
cross  is  exquisitely 
carved  in  high  relief, 
with  Rhunic  knotting 
of  great  freedom  of  de- 
sign, on  mica  slate. 

8.  The  earliest  tomb 
actually  bearing  a  date 
is  that  of  Lachlan  Mac- 
kinnon,  in  1489,  and  the 
next  in  point  of  anti- 
quity, as  yet  discovered, 
is  Abbot  Mackinnon's, 
near  the  altar,  dated  in 
1500.  The  inscriptions 
in  the  Gaelic  alphabet  Cross  near  Cathedral. 

are  not  dated  ;  swords,  ships  (some  of  them  exhibiting  the  an- 
cient forms  of  the  Hebridean  galleys,  with  the  stern  and  prow 
both  alike,  and  curved  upwards  like  the  Roman  vessels,  and  pro- 
vided with  a  single  square  sail),  and  armorial  bearings  with  ill- 
executed  bas-reliefs  of  warriors,  form  the  chief  objects  on  the 
sculptured  tombs. 

As  already  mentioned,  most  families  of  distinction  in  the 
Highlands  had  burying-places  here,  and  many  erected  votive 
chapels  in  different  parts  of  the  island.  Besides  the  veneration 
of  the  place,  a  prophecy  was  currently  handed  about,  that, 
"  seven  years  before  the  end  of  the  world,  a  deluge  shall  drown 
the  nations  ;  the  sea  at  one  tide  shall  cover  Ireland  and  the 
green-headed  Isla ;  but  Columba's  Isle  shall  swim  above  the 
flood  :"  thus  the  notion  of  protection  mingled  with  that  of  the 
sanctity  of  the  isle  in  making  it  the  resort  of  strangers  to  bury 
their  dead.  Out  of  the  last  Government  grant  for  erecting 
additional  places  of  worship  in  the  Highlands,  a  church  and 


SECT.  VIII.  D.  RELIGION.  601 

manse  have  been  built,  and  a  resident  minister  has  been  ap- 
pointed to  lona,  and  the  free  church  has  also  erected  here  a 
place  of  worship  and  residence  for  a  minister. 

The  cairns  and  circles  throughout  the  island,  and  the  Hack 
stones,  -or  stones  of  fate,  are  most  probably  Druidical,  and  give 
countenance  to  the  traditions  and  early  Irish  writings,  purport- 
ing that  St.  Columba  found  the  Druids  in  power  here  on  his 
arrival,  though  doubtless  many  of  the  details  are  fabulous,  and 
many  mere  monkish  inventions  of  later  times. 

The  distinguishing  features  of  the  religious  system  intro- 
duced into  Scotland  by  St.  Columba  (according  to  Mr.  Skene, 
Scot.  Highlanders,  I.  194),  were,  that  the  monks  were  ordained 
clergymen,  not  laymen,  as  was  common  on  the  continent  of 
Europe  under  the  Romish  church — that  they  dwelt  in  monas- 
teries, whence  they  issued,  as  occasion  presented,  to  convert  by 
their  preaching  the  neighbouring  savage  tribes — that  they  had 
abbots  over  them,  "  possessing  the  same  character,  exercising 
the  same  functions,  and  in  every  respect  occupying  the  same 
position  with  the  bishops  of  other  churches,"  and  enjoying  a 
territorial  jurisdiction  as  bishops  did.  As  in  Ireland,  so  also  in 
Scotland,  the  abbots  were  sometimes  styled  "  Bishop  Abbots," 
and  sometimes  "  Presbyter  Abbots ;"  but  the  great  peculiarity, 
according  to  Mr.  Skene,  of  the  Culdee  Church,  "  was  the  union 
of  the  clerical  and  monastic  order  into  one  collegiate  system, 
where  the  abbot  and  the  bishop  were  the  same  person,  and  the 
inferior  orders  of  presbyters  and  deacons  formed  the  monks  who 
were  under  his  control."  The  attempt  to  assimilate  this  state 
of  things  to  modern  Presbyterianism,  as  has  sometimes  been 
tried,  can  only  succeed  by  confounding  and  altering  the  mean- 
ing of  words  in  all  ancient  authorities.  In  the  middle  of  the 
seventh  century,  the  primacy  was  removed  from  Armagh,  in 
Ireland,  to  lona,  which  had  previously  been  of  the  subordinate 
class  which  was  ruled  only  by  a  Presbyter  Abbot ;  but  subse- 
quently, in  consequence  of  the  ravages  of  the  Danes,  the  pri- 
macy was  transferred  to  Dunkeld,  and  soon  after  to  St.  Andrews, 
where  the  Romish  clergy  early  succeeded  in  totally  altering  the 
constitution  and  government  of  the  church,  David  I.  having 
introduced  the  establishment  of  regular  parochial  clergy,  thereby 
superseding  the  missionary  system  of  St.  Columba.  He  erected 
monasteries,  with  lay  monks,  on  the  Romish  plan,  placing  over 
both  bishops,  whose  jurisdiction,  and  the  number  of  their  dio- 
2  D 


602  INNIS  KENNETH.  SECT.  VIII.  D. 

ceses  remained  unaltered,  "  being  just  those  who  had  previously 
existed  among  the  Culdees." 

9.  We  are  glad  to  say  that  a  small  party  can  now  be  accom- 
modated with  tolerable,  though  homely  lodgings  in  the  island, 
so  that  tourists — a  few  at  a  time — can  leisurely  examine  the 
whole  ruins,  and  afterwards,  if  the  weather  be  steady,  take  a 
boat  to  Staffa  and  Ulva,  and  after  resting  at  the  small  inn  at 
the  latter  place,  regain  the  main  coast  of  Mull,  or  rejoin  the 
steamers.*  If  they  take  the  course  by  Ulva,  they  should  not 
omit  a  visit  to  Innis  Kenneth,  rendered  classic  ground  by  Dr. 
Johnson,  and  of  which  he  observes,  that  "  Romance  does  not  often 
exhibit  a  scene  that  strikes  the  imagination  more  than  this  little 
desert  isle,  in  these  depths  of  western  obscurity."  Here  was 
a  seminary  for  many  centuries  dependent  on  lona,  and  here  the 
great  moralist  was  hospitably  and  politely  entertained  by  Sir 
Allan  Maclean  and  his  two  young  daughters,  "  the  elder  of  whom 
read  the  English  service "  on  Sunday.  "  The  chapel  (says  the 
Doctor)  is  about  sixty  feet  in  length  and  thirty  in  breadth.  On 
one  side  of  the  altar  is  a  bas-relief  of  the  blessed  Virgin,  and  by 
it  lies  a  little  bell,  which,  though  cracked  and  without  a  clap- 
per, has  remained  there  for  ages,  guarded  only  by  the  venerable- 
ness  of  the  place.  The  ground  round  the  chapel  is  covered  with 
gravestones  of  chiefs  and  ladies,  and  still  continues  to  be  a  place 

*  Were  more  commodious  accommodation  provided,  and  this  generally  made  known, 
a  few  days'  sojourn  in  lona  could  not  fail  to  oecome  a  frequent  occurrence,  and  the 
speculation  remunerative.  Few  intelligent  tourists  turn  their  backs  on  lona  and 
Staffa,  without  the  wish  that  circumstances  had  permitted  a  more  leisurely  exami- 
nation of  the  very  wondrous  works  of  the  Creator  in  the  one,  and  in  the  other  of 
relics  of  remote  antiquity,  so  impressively  heaped  together  in  these  distant  isles 
of  the  sea.  No  other  spot  in  Great  Britain  stands  so  extensively  associated  with 
the  past  as  Icolmkil ;  while  Staffa  is  unrivalled  in  its  own  peculiar  and  wonder- 
inspiring  style;  and  as  the  flocks  of  visitors  attest  the  force  of  their  combined 
attractions,  it  is  high  time  that  suitable  provision  were  made  for  the  full  gratification 
of  the  public  curiosity,  by  means  of  a  good  inn,  or  of  several  proper  lodging-houses. 
There  is  hardly  a  point  in  the  kingdom  more  frequented,  though  at  present  merely 
for  a  flying  visit,  and  we  hope  the  want  experienced  will  be  speedily  removed.  It  is 
gratifying  to  understand  that  Bishop  Ewing,  of  Argyle  and  the  Isles,  is  engaged  in 
having  a  work  compiled,  which  will  embrace  numerous  delineations  and  descriptions  of 
the  antiquities  and  scenery,  alon"  with  all  the  scattered  historical  notices  connected 
with  them  and  with  the  island,  collected  into  one— a  work  wliich  cannot  fail  to  be  h%hly 
acceptable.  But  it  is  matter  of  surprise  that  no  movement  is  now  made  to  do  all  that 
may  be  practicable  in  the  way  of  removing  rubbish,  and  rendering  all  discoverable  in- 
scriptions legible.  Were  subscriptions  opened  at  sight  of  any  bod)-  or  person  in  whom 
confidence  would  be  placed,  on  board  the  Staffa  and  lona  steamer,  and  at  the  Oban 
Caledonian  Hotel,  most  tourists  would  readily  contribute  to  a  fund  for  investigation 
and  further  protection.  It  might  also  not  be  amiss  that  something  more  were  done, 
hut  under  proper  superintendence,  in  the  way  of  ensuring  dry  footing  in  wet  weather 
for  the  parties  from  the  steamers  visiting  the  ruins.  Let  the  Messrs.  Burns  but 
direct  a  portion  of  their  characteristic  spirit  and  energy  to  these  matters,  and  all  diffi- 
culties will  disappear. 


SECT.  VIII.  D.  APPROACH  TO  STAFFA.  603 

of  sepulture." — (Journey?)  Sir  Allan's  house,  in  ruins,  now  adds 
to  the  desolation,  and,  in  the  language  of  Dr.  Macculloch,  "  the 
cemetery  is  unenclosed,  unprotected,  and  forgotten — the  haunt 
of  the  plover  and  the  curlew." 

10.  Let  us  hasten  on  to  our  tour  round  Mull.  Staffa  and 
loiia  have  nothing  imposing  about  them  when  seen  from  a  dis- 
tance. The  former  appears  as  a  round  lumpish  rock,  and  the 
latter,  in  nearing  it  from  the  north,  is  so  low,  that  at  first  it 
seems  as  but  a  dark  speck  of  cloud  resting  on  the  surface  of  the 
ocean. 

As  the  steamer  holds  on  her  course  towards  Staffa,  the  at- 
tention is  occupied  with  the  outlines  of  the  Treshnish  Isles,  and 
of  the  more  distant  forms  of  Coll  and  Tiree.  But  as  the  vessel 
draws  nigh  her  destination,  all  eyes  are  directed  to  the  rocky 
mass  a-head,  so  known  to  fame. 

It  is  only,  however,  when  we  have  approached  pretty  close 
that  the  beauties  of  Staffa  begin  to  unfold  themselves.  Let  the 
visitor — if,  like  Maclean  at  the  flood,  he  have  "  a  boat  of  his  own" 
— be  in  no  haste  to  reach  the  landing  place,  but  let  him  rather 
first  sail  along  the  whole  eastern  side  of  the  island.  He  will 
thus  pass  the  entrances  of  all  the  most  celebrated  caves,  will 
become  familiar  with  the  general  characters  of  the  colonnades, 
and,  as  he  approaches  the  south-western  extremity,  will  have 
a  most  imposing  view  of  the  main  entablature  of  the  island, 
supported  by  the  continuous  cliffs  of  basaltic  pillars.  A 
very  good  general  survey  is  also  to  be  had  from  the  steamers' 
decks. 

Staffa  is  of  an  irregular  oval  shape,  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
in  circumference,  presenting  an  uneven  table-land,  resting  on 
cliffs  of  variable  height.  The  greatest  elevation  lies  towards 
the  south-west,  and  appears  to  be  about  144  feet.  The  island 
is  composed  of  a  fundamental  ledge  of  rocks  of  conglomerated 
trap  or  tuffa,  to  which  succeeds  a  grayish  black,  hard,  and  com- 
pact columnar  basalt,  which  is  covered  by  a  mass  of  shapeless 
basalt  of  the  same  description,  with  small  columns  interspersed 
through  it.  The  whole  facade  of  the  island,  the  arches  and 
floorings  of  the  caves,  strongly  resemble  architectural  designs, 
and  have  been  described  by  terms  taken  from  works  of  art  ; 
and  even  the  surface  of  the  summit  of  the  island,  presenting  in 
several  places  the  ends  of  small  columns  jutting  up  from  the 


604      GENERAL  APPEARANCE  OF  STAFFA.  SECT  VHI.  D. 

amorphous  basalt,  has  much  the  appearance  of  a  tesselated 
pavement.  So  numerous  are  the  caves,  that  the  rock  may  al- 
most be  described  as  perforated  with  them  all  round,  but  the 
wonders  of  the  spot  are  concentrated  on  the  eastern  side,  and 
the  surge  which  constantly  beats  on  the  other  parts  of  the 
island  renders  the  examination  of  them  both  difficult  and  dan- 
gerous. 

Inclined  a  little  from  the  horizontal  position,  the  beds  of 
rock  dip  towards  the  north-east,  which  is  the  lowest  part  of  the 
island,  and  where  a  landing  can  be  effected  in  almost  any  state 
of  the  tide.  Proceeding  along  the  base  of  the  cliff  from  this 
point,  the  objects  the  visitor  has  to  examine  succeed  one  another 
in  the  following  order : — 1.  The  Clam  or  Scallop  Shell  Cave. 
2.  Bouchaillie,  or  the  Herdsman.  3.  The  Great  Colonnade  and 
Causeway.  4.  Fingal's  Cave.  5.  The  Boat  Cave.  6.  Mac- 
kinnon's  Cave  ;  which  last  occurs  close  by  the  south-western 
extremity  of  the  island. 

11.  (1.)  Approaching  the  Clam  Shell  Cave,  an  increase  in 
the  size  of  the  basaltic  columns  is  perceived,  and  on  one  side  of 
that  opening  they  are  beautifully  bent  or  curved,  presenting  an 
appearance  like  the  ribs  of  a  ship  ;  while  the  wall  on  the  oppo- 
site side  is  made  up  of  the  projecting  ends  of  horizontal  columns, 
having  a  resemblance  to  the  surface  of  a  honeycomb. 

(2.)  Detached  a  few  paces  from  the  shore,  is  the  very  sin- 
gular and  beautiful  islet  of  Bouchaillie,  or  the  Herdsman.  It  is 
about  thirty  feet  high,  and  seems  to  rest  on  a  series  of  horizon- 
tal pillars,  visible  only  at  low  water.  Composed  entirely  of 
small  columns,  which  are  closely  attached  to  one  another,  and 
inclined  as  to  a  central  nucleus,  it  possesses  a  conical  form,  and, 
from  its  symmetry  and  regularity,  is  altogether  one  of  the  most 
interesting  objects  about  the  island. 

(3.)  From  opposite  this  rock  the  pillars  become  erect,  and 
extend,  in  one  continued  colonnade,  along  the  whole  face  of  the 
cliff  to  the  entrance  of  Fingal's  Cave.  An  inclined  space,  formed 
of  irregularly  protruding,  horizontally  fractured  remnants  of 
broken  columns,  intervenes  between  the  base  of  the  cliff  and  the 
sea,  and  composes  the  grand  causeway. 

12.  (4.)  Increasing  in  breadth  as  it  proceeds,  this  pavement 
at  length  brings  us  round  a  projecting  abutment  of  the  rock  ; 
and  the  splendid  entrance,  deep  recesses,  and  clear  green  water 


SECT.  vni.  D.  FINGAL'S  CAVE.  605 

of  the  Uaimh  Binn,  the  Musical,  or  Fingal's  Cave,  bursts  upon 
our  view.  Description  has  long  been  exhausted  on  the  wonders 
of  this  cave.  "  Compared  to  this,  what  are  the  cathedrals  or 
the  palaces  built  by  men  1  Mere  models  or  playthings  !  imi- 
tations as  diminutive  as  his  works  will  always  be  when  com- 
pared to  those  of  nature.  Where  is  now  the  boast  of  the  archi- 
tect ?  Regularity — the  only  particular  in  which  he  fancied 
himself  to  exceed  his  mistress,  Nature — is  here  found  in  her 
possession,  and  was  for  ages  unknown  and  undescribed." 

The  dimensions  of  this  cave  were  minutely  taken  by  Dr. 
Macculloch,  from  whose  very  valuable  scientific  paper  on  Staffa 
we  make  the  following  extract : — 

Feet. 
Height  from  the  water  at  mean  tide  to  the  top  of  the  arch  ...  66 

Do.  from  the  top  of  the  arch  to  that  of  the  cliff  above 30 

Do.  of  the  pillars  on  the  western  side  36 

Do.  of  the  pillars  on  the  eastern  side    18 

Breadth  of  the  cave  at  entrance    42 

Do.  near  the  inner  extremity    22 

Length  of  the  cave    . 227 

The  causeway  on  the  eastern  side  continues  on  from  the  en- 
trance— but  very  narrow — almost  to  the  extremity  of  the  cave, 
formed  of  broken  pillars,  on  which  a  precarious  and  slippery 
footing,  aided  in  part  by  a  rope  to  hold  by,  is  got  by  those  who 
have  nerve  to  venture  in  without  a  boat.  We  have  seen  ladies 
attain  the  very  extremity  ;  but  it  is  hardly  worth  the  some- 
what trying  effort,  as  the  effect  is  most  striking  near  the  en- 
trance. 

The  sides  of  the  chasm  are  columnar,  and  for  the  most  part 
perpendicular.  A  deeply  channelled  fissure,  parallel  to  the 
sides,  extends  along  the  whole  length  of  the  ceiling,  which  is 
ornamented  by  pendant  clusters  of  columns,  whitened  with 
calcareous  stalagmite.  As  the  sea  never  entirely  ebbs  from  this 
cave,  having  indeed  a  depth  of  eighteen  feet  at  low  water,  it 
forms  its  constant  flooring,  along  which  a  boat  may  be  pushed, 
if  the  waves  are  not  breaking  too  fiercely  at  the  entrance  to 
admit  of  its  approach.  The  average  diameter  of  the  basaltic 
columns,  throughout  the  island,  is  about  two,  but  often  they 
extend  to  three  and  even  four  feet.  Their  general  forms  are 
pentagonal  and  hexagonal,  but  the  number  of  sides  is  some- 
times increased  to  seven  and  nine,  and  they  are  rarely  found 
rhomboidal  or  triangular. 


606  BOAT  AND  MACKINNON'S  CAVES.  SECT.  vm.  D. 

In  position  they  are  sometimes  erect,  sometimes  oblique, 
and  not  unfrequently  horizontal,  while  they  are  often  curved, 
and  variously  jointed  and  implicated. 

13.  (5.)  The  next  opening  we  have  to  notice  is  called  the 
Boat  Cave  ;  and  between  it  and  the  Great  Cave  is  the  highest 
portion  of  the  columnar  cliff,  the  upper  surface  of  which  is 
about  112  feet  above  high-water  mark.     This  cave  derives  its 
name,  we  may  suppose,  from  its  being  accessible  only  by  sea  ; 
and,  though  itself  insignificant  in  size,  the  symmetry  of  that 
part  of  the  columnar  range  under  which  it  lies,  is  even  greater 
than  near  the  Cave  of  Fingal.     The  height  of  this  cave  is  from 
fourteen  to  fifteen  feet  above  high  water,  and  its  breadth  is 
twelve  feet,  the  length  being  at  least  150  feet.     Both  the  sides 
and  roof  are  smooth,  like  the  gallery  of  a  mine,  without  interest 
or  beauty. 

(6.)  Still  further  to  the  south  is  Mackinnon's,  or,  as  it  is 
sometimes  called,  the  Scart  or  Cormorant  Cave,  and  is  the  last 
we  have  to  notice.  Situated  in  the  lower  conglomerate  rock, 
its  sides  are  smooth  ;  and  although  in  many  respects,  grand 
and  powerful  in  effect,  it  is  deficient  in  that  kind  of  beauty 
resulting  from  order  and  regularity,  so  remarkable  in  Fingal's 
Cave.  In  height  about  fifty  feet,  and  breadth  forty-eight  feet, 
it  presents  a  large  square  opening,  which  is  of  easy  access, 
there  being  no  protruding  rocks  at  the  entrance.  The  length 
is  224  feet,  and  its  interior  dimensions  are,  throughout,  nearly 
equal  to  the  external  aperture,  except  at  the  extremity,  where 
the  roof  and  walls  approach  a  little,  and  a  beach  of  pebbles  is 
thrown  up.  Parties  from  the  steamer  are  not  in  the  way  of 
visiting  these  two  last  caves.  But  a  ladder  of  steps  has  been 
formed  at  the  Clam  Shell  Cave,  giving  access  to  the  top  of  the 
island. 

We  have  now  described  all  the  most  interesting  objects  in 
this  island.  None  of  the  other  caves  on  the  south  and  north 
sides  are  remarkable  either  for  beauty  or  magnitude,  but  only 
for  the  loud  beating  of  the  waves  within  their  dark  recesses. 

14.  Finally,  if  the  visitor  be  a  geologist,  to  the  ample  food 
which  the  basaltic  rocks  of  this  island  will  afford  him  for  spe- 
culation, we  beg  to  refer  to  an  additional  phenomenon,  which 
may  escape  his  notice,  but  is  not  the  least  perplexing  of  the 
wonders  of  this  place.     We  allude  to  the  shingle  bank,  com- 
posed of  substances  very  different  from  the  trap  rocks  of  the 


SECT.  VIII.  D.  MINGARRY  CASTLE.  607 

island,  which  occurs  near  the  landing  place.  Though  a  green 
and  fertile  island,  Staffa  has  no  trees  on  it,  and  presents  no 
rare  or  peculiar  plants.  Like  its  name,  the  interest  with  which 
it  will  ever  continue  to  be  regarded  must  proceed  entirely 
from  the  peculiar  features  of  its  geological  structure,  and 
from  its  mineral  products,  which,  were  there  any  accommoda- 
tions on  the  island  for  the  visitor,  would  occupy  many  of  his 
leisure  days  fully  to  explore  and  comprehend.  At  present, 
there  is  not  a  hut  of  any  description  to  take  shelter  in  during 
a  storm. 

15.  Hastening  on  now  towards  the  Sound  of  Mull,  passen- 
gers, after  quitting  Staffa,  will  in  most  weathers  feel,  as  they 
will  also  have  experienced  in  the  first  part  of  the  voyage,  the 
heavy  swell  of  the  mighty  Atlantic,  rolling  on  towards  the 
Scottish  coast.  They  cannot  but  admire  the  curious  castel- 
lated forms  of  the  Treshnish  Isles,  like  so  many  fortifications, 
especially  of  the  extraordinary  rock  called  the  Dutchman's  Cap, 
backed  by  the  distant  masses  of  Tiree  and  Coll ;  and  the  grand 
mountain  screens  of  Rum,  and  to  the  northward  the  abrupt 
Scuir  of  Eig.  When  past  the  bluff  point  of  Caillich,  and 
opposite  the  long  headland  of  Ardnamurchan,  we  may  reckon 
ourselves  as  within  the  fauces  terrce,  and  will  soon  be  hurried 
on  to  the  snug  haven  of  Tobermory  seven  miles  distant,  survey- 
ing as  we  pass  the  ruins,  on  the  northern  shore,  of  Mingarry 
Castle.  Its  walls  rise  from  the  edge  of  a  small  projecting  rock, 
about  four-and-twenty  feet  in  height,  defended  on  the  landward 
side  by  a  dry  ditch.  Its  form  is  hexagonal,  with  every  alternate 
side  smaller  than  the  others.  The  castle,  which  occupies  two 
of  the  landward  sides,  is  of  three  storeys,  each  containing  two 
rooms,  the  staircase  being  in  the  centre.  The  remaining  sides 
are  formed  by  a  dead  wall,  nearly  as  high  as  the  highest  wall 
of  the  castle.  On  two  of  these  sides  are  outhouses  confining 
the  court  to  a  small  triangle.  Surmounting  battlements  extend 
round  the  whole.  The  length  of  the  main  building  is  fifty  feet, 
and  the  total  circumference  somewhat  more  than  two  hundred. 
With  the  exception  of  a  few  loop-holes,  there  is  no  external 
opening.  Two  small  cannon  still  remain,  but  it  is  difficult  to 
imagine  how  any  use  could  be  made  of  ordnance  on  such  narrow 
battlements.  The  roof  is  nearly  entire,  and  part  of  the  joists 
and  flooring  remains.  Mingarry  was  anciently  the  residence  of 
the  Mac  lans,  a  sept  of  the  Macdonalds,  descended  from  Ian,  or 


608  TOBERMORT — SHIP  FLORIDA.      SECT.  VIII.  D. 

John,  a  grandson  of  Angus  Og,  Lord  of  the  Isles.  The  last  time 
that  Mingarry  was  of  military  importance,  as  detailed  in  the 
Red  Book  of  Clanranald,  was  during  the  great  Montrose's  enter- 
prise of  1644,  when  it  was  besieged  for  him  by  Allaster  Mac- 
donald  of  Colkitto,  who  commanded  the  Irish  auxiliaries,  and 
took  it  after  a  considerable  resistance. 

16.  The  principal  village  in  Mull  is  Tobermory — "the 
Well  of  our  Lady  St.  Mary."  It  is  beautifully  situated  at  the 
extremity  of  the  inner  recess  of  a  close  bay,  encircled  by  high 
precipitous  banks,  and  in  front  protected  from  the  winds  and 
waves  by  a  low  island  ;  thus  rendered  one  of  the  most  secure 
havens  on  the  coast.  Shrubs  and  brushwood  adorn  the  face  of 
the  steep  sides  of  the  bay  ;  and  above  them  the  ground  rises 
into  a  gently  sloping  amphitheatre.  The  village  stretches 
along  the  base  and  the  brow  of  the  acclivity.  The  excellent 
quays,  frequently  crowded  with  snipping,  give  to  Tobermory  a 
gay  and  lively  character,  especially  when  approached  from  the 
sea,  while  its  very  sheltered  position  and  picturesque  accom- 
paniments are  quite  enticing.  It  has  not  yet  got  into  much 
repute  as  a  sea-bathing  quarter,  for  which  it  appears  very  elig- 
ible. Let  the  inhabitants  but  study  to  lay  themselves  out  for 
visitors,  by  suitable  accommodations,  and  they  cannot  fail  to 
have  an  influx,  now  that  so  many  steamers  come  the  way, 
affording  facilities  of  communication  in  all  directions.  The 
town  derives  its  name  from  a  celebrated  well,  which,  with  a 
small  chapel  now  in  ruins,  was  dedicated  to  the  Virgin  Mary. 
Near  the  chapel,  also,  are  the  remains  of  a  fortification  said  to 
have  been  Norwegian. 

The  Spanish  ship  Florida,  one  of  the  invincible  armada, 
was  sunk  here  by  an  emissary  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  This  vessel 
is  supposed  to  have  contained  a  great  deal  of  specie,  and 
attempts  have  been  made,  by  diving-bells,  to  get  at  the  stores, 
or  to  raise  the  ship.  Guns  of  brass  and  iron  have  been  brought 
up,  one  or  two  of  which  are  still  to  be  seen  at  Dunstaffnage 
Castle,  and  some  of  the  former  had  the  mark  of  an  English 
founder  on  them,  with  the  date  1584.  A  portion  of  the  ship's 
plank  was  presented  to  his  Majesty  George  IV.  on  his  visit  to 
Edinburgh  in  1822.  The  country  tradition  regarding  this 
vessel  is,  that  a  daughter  of  the  King  of  Spain  having 
dreamed  that  a  young  man  of  particularly  engaging  Bgure  had 
appeared  to  her,  determined  to  sail  the  wide  world  in  search  of 


SECT.  VIII.  D.      TOBERMORY — SOUND    OF   MULL.  609 

the  living  prototype  of  the  vision.  Maclean  of  Duart  realized 
in  the  young  princess'  eyes  the  creature  of  her  fancy.  His 
lady  became  jealous  of  his  attention  to  the  fair  stranger,  and 
sought  counsel  of  the  witches  of  Mull,  by  whose  agency  the 
vessel  was  sunk,  with  the  object  of  her  resentment. 

Tobermory  was  commenced  about  sixty  years  ago,  under 
the  auspicies  of  the  Society  for  the  Encouragement  of  the 
British  Fisheries,  to  whom  it  still  belongs.  Its  advantages  as 
a  fishing-station  are  not  great,  owing  to  its  distance  from  the 
banks  of  cod  and  ling ;  and  the  village  was  thus  for  a  long 
time  stationary.  Its  chief  dependence  is  on  the  victualling  of 
ships  navigating  the  Sound,  or  which  may  be  obliged  to  run 
to  its  harbour  for  protection  when  overtaken  by  storms  among 
the  Hebrides.  From  the  convenience  of  its  situation  in  this 
respect,  Tobermory  has  of  late  years  sprung  up  to  be  a  flour- 
ishing seaport.  In  its  immediate  vicinity  is  Drimfin,  better 
known  by  the  name  of  St.  Mary's  Lake,  a  romantic  spot  well 
worthy  the  notice  of  the  tourist,  situated  between  two  finely 
wooded  hills  rising  precipitously  from  its  banks.  Drimfin  is 
the  property  of  Hugh  Maclean,  Esq.,  of  Coll,  who  has  built  a 
splendid  mansion-house  on  the  banks  of  the  lake,  and  has 
otherwise  greatly  improved  the  place.  There  are  several  fine 
cascades  near  it,  one  of  which  is  worthy  of  attention.  By 
visiting  it  the  tourist  will  also  be  rewarded  by  a  magnificent 
view  of  the  lake,  the  romantic  beauties  that  surround  it,  the 
harbour  and  shipping,  the  village  and  Sound  of  Mull,  the  hills 
of  Morven,  and  the  picturesque  shores  of  Loch  Sunart,  with 
the  Ardnamurchan  hills  in  the  distance. 

17.  Taking  now  Sir  Walter  Scott's  Lord  of  the  Isles  in 
hand,  the  tourist  will  greatly  enjoy  the  sail  down  the  Sound  of 
Mull,  the  winding  strait  which  divides  that  rough  island  from 
the  mainland  of  Scotland.  The  channel  is  deep  enough  to  bear 
vessels  of  the  largest  burthen ;  it  sweeps  in  beautifully  curved 
lines  through  shores,  mountainous  on  the  one  side,  and  on  the 
Morven  coast  comparatively  low,  of  gentle  inclination,  and 
indented  by  deep  salt-water  lochs,  running  up  many  miles 
inland. 

On  each  cape  and  promontory,  as  we  wind  along,  the  frag- 
ments of  the  dark  gray  walls  of  the  ancient  Scandinavian  burghs, 
and  the  shattered  and  picturesque  battlements  of  the  more  recent 
castles,  of  which  we  are  presently  to  speak,  rise  up  before  us, 


610  SOUND  OF  MULL — AROS  CASTLE.  SECT.  VIII.  D. 

recalling  the  thoughts  of  the  stern  olden  time,  when  the  whole 
of  these  shores  were  exposed  to  continual  warfare  and  invasion. 
In  fine  weather,  a  grander  and  more  impressive  scene,  both  from 
its  naturaLbeauties  and  historical  associations,  can  hardly  be 
imagined.  When  the  weather  is  rough,  the  passage  is  both 
difficult  and  dangerous,  at  least  to  sailing  boats,  more  particu- 
larly from  the  "  conflicting  tides  that  meet  from  strait  and 
lake," — and  from  the  sudden  gusts  of  wind  that  issue  from  the 
mountain  glens. 

In  clear  moonlight,  also,  the  sail  is  most  delightful,  and 
then, — 

"  Awaked  before  the  rushing  prow 
The  mimic  fires  of  ocean  glow, 

Those  lightnings  of  the  wave ; 
Wild  sparkles  crest  the  hroken  tides, 
And,  flashing  round  the  vessel's  sides, 

With  elvish  lustre  lave." 

18.  At  Salin,  in  the  Bay  of  Arcs  (different  from  Salin  in 
Sunart),  eight  or  nine  miles  distant  from  Tobermory,  and  eighteen 
from  Auchnacraig  ferry-house,  opposite  to  Kerrera,  there  is  a 
small  public  house  where  the  tourist  can  put  up,  and  where 
also,  should  he  have  come  along  the  coast  of  Mull  from  Auchna- 
craig ferry,  he  can  get  post  horses  to  conduct  him  to  the  head 
of  Loch-na-Keal  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  island,  a  distance 
of  four  miles,  and  thence  to  Laggan-Ulva,  seven  miles  farther, 
the  usual  point  of  embarkation  for  Staffa  and  lona.      Aros  was 
one  of  the  residences  of  the  great  island  kings.      This  castle 
occupies  the  summit  of  a  high  rocky  peninsula,  at  the  mouth 
of  a  streamlet  falling  into  the  sea,  by  the  side  of  a  wide-spread- 
ing bay.   It  is  a  massy  oblong,  measuring  thirty  paces  by  twelve, 
and  about  forty  feet  high,  and  appears  to  have  comprised  but 
a  single  apartment,  lighted  by  a  few  large  sharp-pointed  win- 
dows.   A  spacious  esplanade  extends  from  the  front  of  the  rock, 
round  which  there  seems  to  have  been  an  enclosing  wall.    Only 
two  walls  of  the  castle  and  part  of  a  third  are  standing ;  but 
they  present  an  interesting  memento  of  the  rude  and  gloomy 
grandeur  of  former  days. 

19.  The  series  of  castles  here  alluded  to,  which  form  such 
interesting   objects   in   the  landscape,  and   the  many   others 
throughout  the  west  coast,  were  most  of  them,  probably,  erected 
by  the  island  chieftains,  after  the  downfall  of  the  Norwegian 
influence,  when  some  of  them  began  to  arrogate  to  themselves 
an  independent  sway.     The  round  Scandinavian  fortresses  were 


SECT.  VIII.  D.      CONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  OLD  CASTLES.          611 

erected  without  the  use  of  mortar ;  but  the  mixture  of  stone 
and  lime,  and  the  arched  doorways  and  windows,  show  that  the 
Gothic  style  of  architecture  was  known  when  the  square-shaped 
castles  were  commenced,  and  that  they  are  of  a  comparatively 
recent  period.  On  the  accession  of  the  Hebrides  to  the  Scottish 
crown,  Alexander  III.  set  vigorously  to  work,  in  repairing  and 
increasing  the  number  of  the  strongholds  of  the  kingdom ;  and 
the  recorded  accounts  of  the  sheriffs  and  public  officers  of  the 
day  still  remain,  to  attest  the  expenses  they  cost  him.  Not 
content  with  treaties,  he  encouraged  his  subjects  to  extend  and 
strengthen  these  defences,  and  those  on  the  west  coast  were 
peculiarly  styled  "  overbands  against  the  Danes."  At  that 
period  the  French  and  foreign  artisans  introduced  into  the  king- 
dom the  accommodation  and  provisions  for  defence,  displayed 
by  them  on  a  more  magnificent  scale  in  the  English  garrisons ; 
and  hence,  in  the  buildings  in  question,  an  obvious  imitation  of 
the  Normanic  castles  ;  while  those  of  the  island  chieftains 
themselves  partake  of  the  like  peculiarities. 

It  is  remarkable  that  we  perceive  very  few  oratories  or 
chapels  in  the  strongholds  of  the  Hebridean  chiefs ;  and  with 
the  new  improvements  introduced  into  their  stone  and  lime 
buildings,  they  retained  many  of  the  ruder  and  more  savage 
features  of  the  Scandinavian  burghs. 

Nothing  could  be  more  wild  than  the  situations  chosen  for 
these  fortresses  :  sometimes  on  detached  islets  or  pinnacles ; 
more  generally  on  promontories  surrounded  on  three  sides  by 
the  sea ;  and  on  high  precipitous  rocks  commanding  an  exten- 
sive view,  and  a  ready  communication  with  the  water.  Straight 
and  narrow  stairs,  little  better  than  stone  ladders,  and  arched 
vaults,  were  a  frequent  mode  of  access  ;  and  in  some  cases, 
between  the  top  of  these  stairs  and  the  main  building,  yawning 
chasms  intervened,  across  which,  as  occasion  required,  a  slender 
drawbridge  was  lowered.  Rude  but  strong  buttresses  propped 
up  the  walls,  which  occasionally  were  continued  to  a  distance 
from  the  principal  keep — so  as  to  form  a  court  or  ballium. 
But  great  extent  is  not  to  be  looked  for  in  these  buildings. 
Their  dimensions  are  small,  and  their  accommodations  slender 
and  simple,  compared  with  the  edifices  which  in  the  south 
remain  to  attest  the  warlike  propensities  and  state  of  ancient 
times. 

20.  Almost  due  east  from  Aros,  on  the  opposite  or  Morven 


612  ARDTORNISH   CASTLE.  SECT.  VIII.  D. 

shore,  frown  the  remains  of  the  rugged  walls  of  Ardtornish, 
one  of  the  principal  seats  of  the  Lords  of  the  Isles  during  the 
period  of  their  stormy  independence,  especially  during  the 
fifteenth  century,  in  the  times  of  Donald,  Alexander,  and  John, 
the  three  last  Lords  of  the  Isles,  and  Earls  of  Ross.  Prior  to 
this  age,  Islay  and  Cantyre  were  the  chief  places  of  residence 
of  the  island  princes ;  but  Islay  came  to  be  occupied  by  John 
Mor,  brother  of  Donald,  and  his  descendants.  The  situation  of 
Ardtornish  is  low,  but  wild  and  romantic,  having  on  one  hand  a 
chain  of  rocks  overhanging  the  sea,  and  on  the  other  the  entrance 
to  the  beautiful  salt-water  lake  called  Loch  Alline,  which  is  in 
many  places  finely  fringed  with  coppice-wood.  The  ruins  of  a 
single  keep  and  outer  defences  much  broken  down,  are  all  that 
is  now  to  be  seen  of  the  ancient  castle.  Here  the  old  lords  held 
their  courts,  or  parliaments,  as  they  have  been  called ;  and  here 
John  d'lle,  in  1461,  assuming  the  style  of  a  sovereign  prince, 
granted  a  commission  for  entering  into  a  treaty  with  Edward 
IV.  of  England.  The  conferences  ended  in  an  agreement,  by 
which  the  Lord  of  the  Isles  became  vassal  to  the  crown  of 
England,  and  engaged  to  assist  Edward  and  the  Earl  of  Douglas, 
then  in  banishment,  in  subduing  the  realm  of  Scotland. 

Killundine,  on  the  Morven  coast,  and  Kin-Loch  Alline 
Castle,  at  the  head  of  the  sea  loch  of  that  name,  may  be  added 
to  this  catalogue  of  strongholds,  as  worthy  of  examination 
while  the  tourist  is  in  this  neighbourhood.  The  former  is  quite 
decayed,  little  better  than  a  heap  of  rubbish  ;  the  latter,  though 
only  a  square  tower  with  turrets  and  a  corbel  table,  as  being 
perched  on  a  bold  rock  overhanging  the  sea,  and  surrounded 
with  pretty  fields  and  birch  copses,  and  from  being  uncommonly 
fine  in  its  proportions,  forms,  according  to  Dr.  Macculloch  "  one 
of  the  most  picturesque  of  the  Highland  castles."  In  the  ad- 
joining church-yards  of  Kilintuintaik,  (St.  Winifred's  cell),  and 
Kilcolumkill,  (St.  Columba's),  are  several  beautifully  carved 
crosses,  some  broken  and  some  entire,  and  in  the  latter  an  ele- 
gant south  porch  in  the  earliest  pointed  style  ;  besides  several 
broken  tomb-stones,  with  mitred  effigies,  which  we  suspect  have 
been  stolen  from  lona.  The  tourist  will  be  gratified  with  a  boat 
sail  up  Loch  Sunart,  now  visited  as  far  as  Salin  by  two  weekly 
steamers,  and  by  a  general  exploring  expedition  through  Mor- 
ven, the  scenery  and  antiquities  of  which  are  as  yet  but  little 
known. 


SECT.  VHI.  D.  DUART   CASTLE.  613 

21.  On  the  south-east  promontory  of  Mull  stands  one  of  the 
most  entire,  though  among  the  oldest,  of  the  castles  we  have 
to  notice  in  the  present  excursion — that  of  Duart.    It  belonged 
to  the  chief  of  the  clan  Maclean,  and  stands  on  the  brink  of  a 
high  cliff  at  the  extremity  of  a  long  and  elevated  peninsular 
headland,  and  within  a  gunshot  of  the  sea.     It  is  four  miles 
and  a  half  distant  from  the  ferry-house  of  Achnacraig.     The 
main  building  is  a  large  and  nearly  square  tower,  with  walls  of 
the  unusual  thickness  of  twelve  and  fourteen  feet,  reputed  to 
be  of  Danish  construction.     In  the  thickest  part  is  the  stair- 
case.    Two  buildings,  one  bearing  date  1663,  the  other  more 
recently  added  for  the  accommodation   of  a   small   garrison 
stationed  here  till  a  no  very  distant  period,  with  a  high  wall 
on  the  fourth  side,  form,  with  the  tower,  a  parallelogram  mea- 
suring forty  paces  by  twenty-six.     The  shell  of  the  structure 
is  entire.     The  windows  of  the  tower  are  large  and  wide,  and 
rounded  at  the  top  inside,  but  externally  they  contract  to  a 
small  oblong.     A  few  cannon,  fourteen-pounders,  are  still  lying 
in  the  court.     Off  this  castle  we  pass  the  Lady's  Rock,  visible  at 
low  water,  where  Maclean  of  Duart  caused  his  wife,  a  sister  of 
the  Earl  of  Argyle,  against  whom  he  had  conceived  a  violent 
aversion,  to  be  placed,  in  the  expectation  that  the  rising  tide 
would  drown  her.      Having  been  fortunately   observed   and 
rescued  by  some  of  her  father's  people,  who  were  passing  in  a 
boat,  Maclean  was  allowed  to  go  through  all  the  hypocritical 
ceremonial  of  a  mock  funeral ;    but  was  shortly  afterwards 
sacrificed  to  the  vengeance  of  the  infuriated  Campbells,  being 
assassinated  in  Edinburgh  by  one  of  her  brothers,  Sir  John 
Campbell,  who,  by  his  marriage  in  1500  with  the  heiress  of 
Cawdor  in  Nairnshire,  became  the  head  of  that  house. 

22.  Farther  north,  but  close  on  the  left  hand,  will  be  observed 
the  fertile  island  of  Lismore  (the  Great  Garden),  which  is  a 
mass  of  limestone  about  ten  miles  long  by  two  broad.     On  the 
north  side,  perched  on  a  high  rock,  stands  Auchindown  Castle, 
the  ancient  seat  of  the  bishops  of  Argyle.     This  castle  forms  a 
large  square  of  twenty-eight  paces  on  each  side,  with  walls 
about  forty  feet  in  height ;  the  area  being  divided  by  a  cross 
wall  into  two  unequal  parts,  of  which  the  smaller  alone  seems 
to  have  been  used  as  a  dwelling-place.      From  Auchindown, 
another  pretty  entire  square  keep  is  seen  on  the  coast  of  Mor- 
ven,  in  the  opening  of  Glen  Sanda,  called  Castle-en-Coer ;  and 


614  LISMORE    CATHEDRAL.  SECT.  VIII.  D. 

there  are  the  ruins  of  another,  on  the  same  side  of  Lismore  as 
Auchindown,  about  four  miles  to  the  north,  called  Balmackilchan. 
lona  always  contained  the  cathedral  church  of  the  diocese 
of  the  Isles,  at  least  of  the  Hebrides  or  North  Isles,  as  Man 
did  of  the  Sudories  or  South  Isles,  while  the  mainland  of  Argyle 
of  old  pertained  to  the  see  of  Dunkeld;  but  about  the  year 
1200  John,  Bishop  of  Dunkeld,  who  appears  to  have  been  an 
Englishman,  applied  to  and  obtained  permission  from  the  Pope 
to  erect  the  western  portion  of  his  great  diocese  into  a  separate 
one  in  favour  of  his  chaplain  Ereldus,  who  understood  the  Irish 
tongue,  with  Lismore  as  the  cathedral  seat ;  whence  the  bishops 
were  subsequently  styled  Episcopi  Lismorenses,  or  Episcopi 
Ergadienses,  the  latter  title  being  assumed,  we  suspect,  after 
the  donations  by  King  Alexander  II.  of  lands  on  the  continent 
of  Argyle.  The  cathedral,  now  converted  into  the  parish 
church,  stands  in  a  bare  place  near  the  centre  of  the  isle,  on 
the  verge  of  an  elevated  burying-ground,  and  commands  one  of 
the  most  extensive  and  grand  views  in  the  British  dominions. 
The  choir  alone  remains — it  had  no  aisles ;  and  Mr.  Howson 
thinks  (Camden  Society's  Transactions,  Part  ii.,  p.  99)  it  never 
had  a  nave  or  transept.  "  The  door-ways,"  he  says,  "  are  two — 
one  to  the  west,  with  a  pointed  arch ;  the  other  to  the  south, 
with  a  semicircular  arch  and  dripstone,  and  behind  the  latter 
a  small  enclosure,  which  seems  to  have  been  a  chantry.  The 
piscina  is  a  plain  recess,  having  a  pointed  arch,  the  further  end 
being  pierced  in  a  very  small  trefoiled  arch,  apparently  for  a 
shelf.  The  sidelia  are  remarkable.  They  are  in  their  usual 
position,  immediately, to  the  west  of  the  piscina:  the  arches 
are  semicircular,  without  mouldings,  the  eastern  one  wider  and 
higher  than  the  other  two ;  with  the  roll  and  fillet  moulding, 
which,  perhaps,  may  be  taken  as  indicative  of  the  Decorated 
period."  Hence  Mr.  Howson  conjectures  that  the  date  of  the 
church,  which  is  only  fifty-six  by  twenty-eight  feet,  and  which 
does  not  possess  any  peculiarly  beautiful  parts,  may  be  the 
middle  of  the  fourteenth  century ;  and  he  says,  "  it  cannot  be 
earlier."  It  was  dedicated  to  St.  Muluag  or  Molochus,  a  saint 
of  the  seventh  century.  The  bishop's  crozier  is  still  in  exist- 
ence, in  the  possession  of  the  hereditary  keepers,  a  family  of 
the  name  of  Livingstone.  Until  a  few  years  ago,  a  Eoman 
Catholic  collegiate  seminary  was  kept  up  on  Lismore,  but  which 
has  now  been  removed  to  Braemar  in  Aberdeenshire. 


SECT.  VIII.  E.  SKYE.  615 

23.  There  is  now  a  lighthouse  at  the  southern  point  of  Lis- 
more.  Crossing  hence  over  the  fine  breadth  of  Loch  Linnhe, 
we  soon  enter  the  bay  of  Oban  by  the  north-east  end  of  Ker- 
rera,  and  after  passing  the  guardian  tower  of  Dunolly  (Dun- 
olave),  repose  at  the  village  whence  we  set  out  ;  and  he  must 
be  a  dull  and  unimpressible  observer,  who,  if  the  day  have 
proved  favourable,  does  not  acknowledge  that  the  route  he  then 
traced  was  among  the  finest  things  his  eyes  have  ever  been 
gladdened  with,  and  if  he  does  not  find  his  mind  stored  with 
many  new  and  precious  ideas. 


SECTION  EIGHTH.— BRANCH  E. 
SKYE  AND  RASAY. 

DIVISION    I.   SKYE. FKOM   ARMADALE,    KYLE   RHEA,    AND    KYLE 

AKIN,    TO   DTJNVEGAN   AND   DUNTULM. 

General  Description  of  Skye,  1. — Isles  of  Rum,  Eig,  and  Muck ;  Tale  connected  with 
Cave  in  Eig,  2.— Armadale  Castle ;  Isle  Oronsay ;  Isle  Oronsay  to  Broadford,  3. — 
Kyle  Rhea,  4. — Kyle  Akin ;  Castle  Maoil,  5. — Broadford  to  Sconser  and  Portree,  6. 
Portree,  7- — East  Coast  of  Trotternish ;  Caves ;  Storr,  8. — Portree  to  Dunvegan, 
9. — Village  of  Stein,  10. — Dunvegan  Castle;  Antique  Belies  at  Dunvegan,  11. — 
Piper's  College ;  MacCrimmons  ot  Borreraig,  12. — Clach  Modha,  or  The  Manners' 
Stone  at  Galtrigil;  Phenomenon  at  Dunvegan  Head;  Glendale;  Vaterstein,  13. — 
Lady  Grange,  14. — Dunvegan  to  Sligachan ;  Lochs  Struan,  Bracadale,  and  Har- 
port;  Sepulchral  Cairns;  Episcopal  Chapel;  Round  Tower,  15. — Talisker,  16. — 
Trotternish;  Bay  of  Uig;  Duntuhn  Castle,  17. — Quiraing,  18.— Prince  Charles' 
Wanderings,  19. 


Miles. 

Armadale  to  Isle  Oronsay  .......................................  7 

Broadford  ............................................................  9 

(Kyle  Rhea  to  Broadford,  12  miles,  Kyle  Akin  to 

Broadford,  8J.) 

Sligachan  ............................................................  15 

Portree  ...............................................................  9| 

Kinloch  Snizort   ...................................................  6 

Coushletter    .........................................................  6 

Dunvegan  ............................................................  10 


(Back  to  Sligachan  by  Bracadale.) 
Struan  ...............................................................     11 

Sligachan  ............................................................     13 

24 


616  SKYE.  SECT.  VIII.  E. 

1.  SKYE  forms  no  inconsiderable  part  of  the  county  of  Inverness, 
and  is  the  largest  of  the  Western  Islands.  In  the  ancient  lan- 
guage of  the  country,  says  Martin,  it  is  called  Ealan  Skianach, 
or  the  Winged  Island,  "  because  the  two  opposite  northern  pro- 
montories (Vaternish  lying  north-west,  and  Trotternish  north- 
east) resemble  two  wings."  Though  its  extreme  length  is 
upwards  of  fifty  miles,  with  a  breadth  varying  from  ten  to 
twenty-five,  it  is  so  much  indented  by  arms  of  the  sea,  that  it  is 
said  there  is  not  a  spot  in  the  island  at  a  greater  distance  from 
the  sea  than  three  and  a  half  miles.  It  has  thus  as  rugged  an 
outline  as  any  of  the  inciso-serrated  fuci  with  which  its  shores 
abound.  The  predominating  character  of  the  island  is  perhaps 
that  of  a  great  mountainous  moorland ;  but  it  contains  exten- 
sive ranges  of  excellent  grazing,  many  green  hills,  and  in  some 
districts  a  considerable  extent  of  fertile  arable  land.  The  moun- 
tains stand  rather  in  groups  than  ranges,  and  are  no  less  strik- 
ing and  unusual,  than  diversified  in  their  character  and  outline. 
The  most  prominent  and  imposing  of  these  are  about  the  middle 
of  the  island,  and  are  visible  from  almost  every  part  of  it.  The 
coasts,  especially  on  the  west  and  north-east  sides,  are  rocky, 
bold,  and  varied  in  outline,  sometimes  rugged  and  precipitous, 
and  again  rising  by  gentle  slopes  into  irregular  terraces,  diver- 
sified by  projecting  crags,  deep  hollows,  and  lofty  pinnacles  of 
rock.  Few  countries  present  more  of  the  grand  and  sublime  in 
scenery  than  this  island  generally  affords ;  and  with  its  magni- 
ficent and  varied  sky  lines,  its  intermediate  elevations  and  un- 
dulation of  surface,  and  the  never-failing  presence  of  the  sea  in 
its  numerous  bays,  lochs,  and  creeks,  it  has  much  of  the  pic- 
turesque and  beautiful,  of  the  elements  of  which  little  is  want- 
ing except  wood,  and  the  more  frequent  presence  of  the  cheering 
proofs  of  human  industry  and  comfort  which  well  cultivated 
fields,  and  neat  rural  dwellings  and  gardens  would  supply. 
There  is  no  lack  of  fish  of  every  variety,  and  in  some  favourable 
localities  the  white  fishing  is  prosecuted  with  considerable  suc- 
cess. The  herring  fishery,  particularly  on  the  east  side  of  the 
island,  is  very  productive,  and  salmon  is  taken  in  considerable 
quantities  in  bag  nets  along  the  shores.  Oysters  are  very  abun- 
dant in  the  Sound  of  Scalpa,  and  are  also  to  be  had  of  very  fine 
quality  in  Loch  Snizort,  and  other  parts  of  the  island  shores. 
Other  shellfish — cockles,  mussels,  clams,  limpets,  periwinkles, 
&c.  &c. — are  very  numerous,  and  lobster  fishing  has  been  pur- 


DIV.  I.  SKYE.  617 

sued  successfully  on  the  west  side  of  Skye,  particularly  at  the 
island  of  Soa.  There  is  an  extensive  and  well-stocked  deer 
forest  at  the  head  of  Loch  Ainort.  Roe  deer  are  numerous  in 
the  woods  of  Armadale,  and  grouse,  black  game,  and  partridges 
afford  good  sport  all  over  the  island.  Pheasants  have  been  suc- 
cessfully introduced  at  Dunvegan,  and  at  Armadale  hares  have 
now  become  numerous,  though  former  attempts  to  introduce 
them  into  Skye,  where  they  are  not  indigenous,  had  been  un- 
successful. Until  within  the  last  three  or  four  years  no  hares 
were  to  be  found  in  Skye,  except  in  the  small  island  of  Paffa, 
near  Broadford. 

The  greatest  assemblage  of  mountains  occurs  on  the  southern 
border  of  the  central  portion  of  the  island,  called  Minginish. 
Here  the  Cuchullins,  so  often  mentioned  in  the  songs  of  Ossian, 
exhibit  a  series  of  lofty  and  splintered  peaks  which  meet  the 
eye  in  every  direction,  and  all  the  mountains  in  this  quarter  are 
peaked  or  conical,  and  present  a  very  unusual  appearance.  An 
excellent  road,  though  unavoidably  hilly,  has  been  opened  from 
the  south,  along  the  east  coast  of  Skye  as  far  as  Portree.  Here 
it  cuts  across  the  country  to  the  head  of  Loch  Snizort,  where  it 
divides  into  two  branches :  one  leading  along  the  west  coast  of 
Trotternish  past  the  bay  of  Uig ;  the  other  conducting  to  Stein 
and  Dunvegan,  whence  it  has  been  continued  by  Bracadale,  on 
the  west  coast,  back  to  the  head  of  Loch  Sligachan. 

2.  Of  the  roads  leading  from  the  Three  Ferries  betwixt  Skye 
and  the  mainland,  we  will  commence  with  the  most  southerly, 
that  from  Armadale  through  Sleat.  This  road  corresponds  with 
the  one  from  Fort-William  to  Arisaig.  In  crossing  the  ferry, 
or  now  by  the  steamer  which  calls  off  Arisaig,  and  has  super- 
seded the  ferry-boat,  we  enjoy  a  very  extensive  view,  command- 
ing the  whole  eastern  shore  of  Sleat,  the  opposite  coast  from 
Glenelg  to  the  point  of  Ardnamurchan,  the  hills  of  Applecross 
in  the  distant  north-eastern  horizon,  and  to  the  west  the  islands 
of  Rum,  Eig,  and  Muck.  These  islands  are  easily  visited  from 
Armadale  or  Arisaig.  The  produce  of  them  all,  as  of  most  of  the 
Western  Islands,  consists  principally  of  sheep  and  black  cattle. 

Eig  is  distinguished  by  a  peculiarly  shaped  hill — the  Scuir 
of  Eig* — terminating  in  a  lofty  pillar-like  peak,  surrounded  by 
high  and  perpendicular  precipices.  In  the  south  of  the  island 

*  Formed  of  pitchstone  porphyry.  The  trap  overlies  a  forest  of  petrified  trees 
of  an  extinct  flora,  allied  to  coniferous  genera. 

2n2 


618  ARMADALE  CASTLE.  SECT.  VIII  E. 

is  a  large  cave,  in  which  the  whole  of  the  inhabitants  were  at 
one  time  smoked  to  death  by  the  laird  of  Macleod,  in  revenge 
of  an  insult  offered  to  some  of  his  people.  The  inhabitants  of 
the  island  having  taken  refuge  in  this  cave,  the  entrance  of  which 
is  not  easily  found,  the  Macleods,  after  an  ineffectual  search, 
concluding  that  the  natives  had  all  fled,  were  about  to  return 
to  their  boats,  when  they  espied  a  man,  whom,  as  there  was 
snow  on  the  ground,  they  traced  to  this  his  own  and  his  fellow- 
islanders'  place  of  retreat.  Macleod  caused  a  fire  to  be  lighted 
at  the  mouth  of  the  cavern,  and  all  within  were  suffocated. 
The  floor  is  to  this  day  strewed  with  fragments  of  skeletons, 
evidences  of  the  truth  of  the  horrible  tale. 

Rum  is  a  bleak  mountainous  country :  its  only  remarkable 
productions  are  its  heliotropes,  or  bloodstones,  and  its  trap 
rocks.  Both  Rum  and  Eig  are  approachable  on  the  east  side 
only ;  the  western  coast  being  very  precipitous,  with  a  strong 
swell  always  rolling  in  from  the  Atlantic. 

3.  But  to  return  to  Skye.  Armadale  Castle,  on  the  south 
coast  of  Sleat,  the  seat  of  Lord  Macdonald,  is  a  modern  Gothic 
building ;  a  third  part  only  of  the  original  plan  of  which  has 
been  completed.  The  finished  portion  is  a  simple  broad  oblong, 
with  an  octagonal  solid  tower  rising  on  each  side  of  the  doorway. 
It  overlooks  the  sea,  and  commands  an  extensive  view  of  the 
bold  rocky  ranges  of  hills  opposite,  in  Glenelg,  Knoidart,  Morar, 
and  Arisaig,  with  the  openings  of  Loch  Hourn  and  Loch  Nevish. 
The  plantations  about  the  castle  are  extensive,  and  it  is  also 
surrounded  by  some  fine  old  trees.  Its  chief  embellishment  is 
a  large  staircase  window  of  painted  glass,  representing  Somerled 
of  the  Isles,  the  founder  of  the  family,  (who  flourished  in  the 
twelfth  century),  in  full  Highland  costume,  armed  with  sword, 
battle-axe,  and  targe. 

Lord  Macdonald's  estates  in  the  Western  Islands  are  so  ex- 
tensive, and  so  much  indented  by  the  sea,  that  the  coast  line  of 
his  possessions  is,  on  a  rough  calculation,  supposed  to  exceed 
900  miles,  and  the  number  of  people  on  the  property  to  be 
about  16,000. 

There  is  no  accommodation  for  travellers  near  Armadale, 
except  a  small  public-house,  a  mile  to  the  south  of  the  castle, 
where  a  pedestrian  might  contrive  to  pass  a  night.  The  parlia- 
mentary road  terminates  here ;  but  a  district  road  communicates 
with  the  point  of  Sleat. 


DIV.  I.  ISLE  ORONSAT.  619 

In  proceeding  to  Broadford,  two  miles  from  Armadale,  we 
pass  the  church  and  manse  of  Sleat,  and,  at  a  like  interval 
further  on,  the  house  of  Knock ;  beside  which  are  the  ruins  of 
an  old  square  keep.  Three  miles  beyond  Knock,  we  come  to 
Isle  Oronsay,  where  there  is  an  admirable  natural  harbour,  now 
regularly  visited  by  the  Glasgow  steam-boats,  which  proceed 
to  Portree  ;  a  constant  communication  being  thus  kept  up  be- 
tween Skye  and  the  south  of  Scotland.  A  small  steam-boat  inn 
is  also  to  be  found  at  Isle  Oronsay. 

The  distance  hence  to  Broadford  is  nine  miles.  The  road 
strikes  off  from  Kinloch,  a  small  farm-house  at  the  head  of 
Loch-in-Daal,  across  the  island,  and  joins  the  Kyle  Rhea  road, 
within  about  a  mile  and  a  half  of  Broadford.  The  east  coast 
of  Sleat  from  its  southern  position  and  excellent  exposure,  may 
perhaps  be  called  the  most  genial  portion  of  Skye,  but  in  fer- 
tility it  is  far  surpassed  by  Waternish  and  the  north  end  of 
Trotternish,  in  both  of  which  districts  there  is  much  arable  land 
of  very  excellent  quality.  But  for  the  most  part  our  course 
through  Skye  lies  through  moorland,  almost  uninterruptedly 
bleak  and  dreary,  with  no  features  akin  to  the  rich  and  sylvan 
beauties  of  other  parts  of  the  country.  But  Skye  is  not,  there- 
fore, devoid  of  interest :  on  the  contrary,  in  the  novelty,  wild- 
ness,  and  grandeur  of  some  of  its  scenes,  it  has  as  much  to  boast  of 
as  it  is  deficient  in  fertility  and  the  softer  graces  of  landscape. 

4.  We  proceed  now  to  conduct  the  reader  into  the  centre  of 
the  island  by  way  of  Kyle  Rhea  and  Kyle  Akin.  The  extremi- 
ties of  the  strait  between  Skye  and  the  mainland  have  been 
called  Kyle  Rhea,  "  King's  Kyle,"  and  Kyle  Akin  or  Haken,  in 
commemoration  of  incidents  which  occurred  on  the  expedition 
of  Haco,  king  of  Norway,  in  the  year  1263.  The  ferry  at  Kyle 
Rhea  is  about  a  third  of  a  mile  in  breadth,  and  the  tide  runs 
with  great  velocity  through  the  narrow  channel ;  but  the 
ferry-boats  are  good,  and  the  crews  attentive.  On  either  side 
stands  a  solitary  public-house,  affording  pretty  good  accom- 
modation. From  the  shores  of  Skye  a  very  fine  view  is  obtained 
of  Glenelg,  with  the  old  barracks  of  Bernera,  and  an  extended 
line  of  coast.  The  whitewashed  houses  observable  near  the 
barracks,  are  part  of  a  village  which  the  late  Mr.  Bruce  of 
Glenelg  projected,  solely  for  retired  officers  ;  where  they  might 
at  once  enjoy  "  otium  cum  dignitate,"  and  the  society  of  old 
comrades  and  brothers  in  arms. 


620  BROADFORD.  SECT.  VIII.  E. 

The  stage  from  Kyle  Rhea  to  Broadford,  a  distance  of  twelve 
miles,  is  extremely  hilly  and  uninteresting,  if  we  except  the 
view  which,  in  descending,  is  presented  of  the  celebrated 
Cuchullins,  the  hills  of  Glamack,  and  the  table-shaped  summit 
of  Duncaan,  which  surmounts  the  island  of  Rasay.  The  road 
is  joined  by  the  Kyle  Akin  road,  four  miles  and  a  quarter  from 
that  place,  and  rather  more  than  four  from  Broadford. 

5.  At  Kyle  Akin,  the  late  Lord  Macdonald  contemplated  the 
establishment  of  a  considerable  seaport  town,  and  had  imposing 
and  splendid  plans  prepared  for  it ;  but  the  scheme  proved  quite 
abortive.     The  scale  of  houses  fixed  upon — two  storeys,  with 
attics — was  beyond  the  means  of  the  people,  and  no  man  of 
capital  was  got  to  settle  in  the  place  ;  and  hence  Kyle  Akin  has 
never  attained  a  greater  status  than  what  about  a  score  of  re- 
spectable-looking houses  can  lay  claim  to  ;  but  it  possesses  a 
good  inn.      Close  to  the  village  are  the  ruins  of  an  old  square 
keep,  called  Castle  Muel,  or  Maoil,  the  walls  of  which  are  of  a 
remarkable  thickness.      It  is  said  to  have  been  built  by  the 
daughter  of  a  Norwegian  king,  married  to  a  Mackinnon  or  Mac- 
donald, for  the  purpose  of  levying  an  impost  on  all  vessels  pass- 
ing the  kyles,  excepting,  it  is  said,  those  of  her  own  country. 
For  the  more  certain  exaction  of  this  duty,  she  is  reported  to 
have  caused  a  strong  chain  to  be  stretched  across  from  shore  to 
shore  ;  and  the  spot  in  the  rocks  to  which  the  concluding  links 
were  attached  is  still  pointed  out. 

6.  The  village  of  Broadford,  which  is  a  tolerable  one,  consists 
of  only  a  few  houses  and  the  inn.     The  charges,  as  in  most 
part  of  Skye,  are  moderate. 

Sligachan,  at  the  head  of  Loch  Sligachan,  fifteen  miles 
distant,  is  now  the  first  stage  from  Broadford.  Along  the 
Sound  of  Scalpa  the  slope  of  the  hill  is  clad  with  hazel 
and  birch  bushes,  among  which  several  little  streams  are 
seen  precipitating  their  waters  in  foamy  cascades ;  and  in 
the  autumn  months  a  considerable  number  of  herring  smacks 
are  generally  to  be  seen  at  anchor  in  the  Sound.  From  hence 
the  road  leads  along  the  side  of  Loch  Ainort ;  and,  cross- 
ing at  its  head  a  small  river  of  the  same  name,  ascends  the 
lower  slope  of  the  lofty  and  precipitous  mountains  of  Glamack. 
The  road  to  Portree  makes  a  circuit  round  the  head  of  Loch 
Sligachan,  where  the  assemblage  of  mountains  at  the  entrance 
of  Glen  Sligachan  is  not  a  little  striking  and  remarkable.  On 


DIV.  I. 


PORTREE.  621 


one  hand  the  Cuchullin  mountains  shoot  their  naked  rocky  peaks 
into  the  clouds  ;  on  the  other,  a  series  of  dome-shaped  hills  rises 
from  the  plain,  the  rounded  tops  of  which,  washed  bare  by  the 
incessant  rains,  expose  to  view  an  uncommonly  red,  gravelly 
surface,  variegated  only  with  occasional  stripes  of  green  sod. 
In  a  small  fresh-water  loch  above  the  commodious  and  well 
kept  inn  of  Sligachan,  is  found  that  very  rare  plant  the  Erio- 
caulon  septangulare. 

7.  The  rest  of  the  way  to  Portree  (the  king's  port  or  haven, 
where  James  V.  is  said  to  have  lain  for  some  time  at  anchor  on 
his  voyage  round  Scotland)  is  an  uninteresting  moorland,  until 
we  approach  within  three  or  four  miles  of  the  village,  to  which 
the  road  leads  through  the  pastoral  valley  of  Glenvarigil,  and 
along  the  shores  of  Loch  Portree.  In  approaching  the  village, 
the  eye  is  caught  by  the  bold  cliff  of  the  mountain  Storr  (2100 
feet  high)  and  the  lofty  pinnacles  of  rock,  which,  springing 
from  the  bosom  of  the  hill  at  a  great  elevation,  arise  steeple  like 
in  front  of  the  precipice.  Close  to  the  village,  the  well-en- 
closed and  sheltered  fields  and  thriving  plantations,  in  the 
midst  of  which  the  residence  of  Lord  Macdonald's  commissioner 
is  situated,  afford  a  most  agreeable  and  refreshing  contrast  to 
the  waste  and  dreary  tract  through  which  the  tourist  has  pro- 
ceeded since  leaving  Sligachan.  The  village  is  prettily  situated 
on  the  north  side  of  the  fine  bay  of  Portree,  which,  running 
inland  upwards  of  two  miles,  affords  a  safe  and  spacious  har- 
bour, the  entrance  to  which  is  marked  by  bold  rocky  headlands, 
while  in  front  of  the  bay,  and  at  a  distance  of  about  four  miles, 
extends  the  Island  of  Rasay.  The  village  boasts  of  two  branch 
banks  (National  and  North  of  Scotland),  the  parish  church,  a 
court-house,  a  recently  erected  prison,  and  a  comfortable  and 
well-conducted  inn.  From  the  centre  of  the  village  there  juts 
into  the  bay  a  wooded  and  craggy  promontory,  to  which  the 
rather  cockneyish  name  of  Fancy  Hill  has  been  given.  On  its 
summit  a  neat  octagonal  tower  has  been  built,  and  walks  have 
been  very  tastefully  formed  along  its  sides,  from  which  delight- 
ful views  of  the  harbour  and  the  surrounding  country  are 
obtained.  In  spring  and  early  summer,  when  the  hill  is  adorned 
with  a  profusion  of  wild  flowers,  and  its  woods  are  instinct  with 
the  movements  and  voices  of  birds  (it  is  a  favourite  resort  of 
the  cuckoo),  a  vacant  hour  cannot  well  be  more  pleasantly 
spent  than  in  a  lounge  on  Fancy  Hill.  On  the  top  of  the  hill 


622  CLIFFS — RU-NA-BRADDEN.  SECT.  VIII.  E. 

there  is  pointed  out  the  grave  of  a  man  who  was  executed  there 
for  murder  and  robbery  about  ninety  or  hundred  years  ago.  His 
victim  was  a  pedlar,  or,  in  the  language  of  the  country,  a  tra- 
velling merchant.  He  was  stabbed  with  a  dirk,  and  then 
thrown  over  a  rock  on  the  wild  coast  of  the  east  side  of  Trotter- 
nish.  The  murderer  escaped  apprehension,  and  wandered  through 
the  country  for  many  months,  but  was  at  last  taken  by  a  gen- 
tleman in  the  neighbourhood  of  Portree,  and  hanged  on  this  hill. 
It  is  a  singular  circumstance,  that  during  this  wretched  fugi- 
tive's wanderings  he  composed  a  song,  which  is  still  remem- 
bered, in  which  the  circumstances  of  the  murder  are  minutely 
described. 

There  is  direct  steam  communication  with  Glasgow  (Dunoon 
Castle  and  Mary  Jane)  twice  a- week  during  summer  and  autumn, 
and  weekly  during  the  rest  of  the  year.  Portree  has  increased 
considerably  since  the  publication  of  the  last  edition  of  this  work. 
Two  or  three  neat  villas  have  arisen  in  the  vicinity ;  a  handsome 
Free  Church  is  being  erected,  and  a  woollen  manufactory,  the 
machinery  driven  by  water  power,  has  been  established  by  Mr. 
Hogg,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Highland  Destitution  Relief 
Board.  From  this  establishment  the  women  of  Skye  receive  un- 
limited employment  in  knitting,  at  a  rate  of  remuneration  equal 
to  that  paid  for  similar  work  in  Aberdeenshire  ;  from  twenty  to 
thirty  persons  will  be  employed  in  and  about  the  mill  itself ; 
and  there  is  every  reason  to  anticipate  that  the  establishment 
will  prove  remunerative  to  its  intelligent  and  enterprising 
proprietor,  and  contribute  essentially  to  the  welfare  of  the 
district. 

8.  The  cliffs  towards  the  mouth  of  the  bay  are  remarkably  fine, 
and  form  the  commencement  of  a  magnificent  range  of  coast 
scenery,  which  stretches  along  the  east  side  of  Trotternish  to 
the  Point  of  Aird.  The  first  portion  to  Ru-na-bradden  consists 
of  high  precipitous  and  continuous  cliffs,  occasionally  broken 
into  successive  terraces  characteristic  of  the  trap  rocks  of  which 
they  are  formed,  and  presenting  no  indentations  or  landing- 
places.  About  the  centre  rises  the  Storr,  a  lofty  mountain,  the 
sea  side  of  which  is  quite  perpendicular,  especially  towards  the 
summit,  and  affords  some  singular  appearances,  having  poised 
on  its  lower  acclivity  several  detached  and  sharply  pinnacled 
masses  of  rock  of  great  height.  One  of  these  is  strikingly  like 
the  monument  to  Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  Princes  Street,  Edin- 


DIV.  I.  LOCH  POETREE.  623 

burgh  ;  and,  singularly  enough,  there  is  a  projecting  part  of 
the  same  rock,  which,  when  viewed  from  a  certain  point, 
strongly  resembles  the  bust  of  the  Great  Novelist.  The  tourist 
ought  by  no  means  to  omit  a  visit  to  Storr,  and  he  will  find 
himself  amply  repaid,  not  only  by  the  solitary  grandeur  of  the 
scene  itself,  with  its 

Crags,  knolls,  and  mounds  confusedly  hurled, 
The  fragments  of  an  earlier  world ; 

but  also  by  the  magnificent  view  which  it  commands.  Storr 
is  generally  visited  by  the  land  route,  but  when  the  weather  is 
favourable  the  trip  may  be  combined  with  a  boating  excursion. 
Viewing,  as  we  proceed,  a  natural  bridge  of  rock  in  a  severed 
reef  running  out  from  Storr,  and  then  visiting  the  caves  at 
the  south  entrance  of  the  bay,  of  one  of  which  Martin,  in  his 
Western  Highlands,  says, — "  On  the  south  side  of  Loch  Por- 
tree,  there  is  a  large  cave,  in  which  many  sea  cormorants  do 
build  ;  the  natives  carry  a  bundle  of  straw  to  the  door  of  the 
cave  in  the  night  time,  and  there  setting  it  on  fire,  the  fowls  fly 
with  all  speed  to  the  light,  and  so  are  caught  in  baskets  laid 
for  that  purpose."  After  leaving  the  caves  the  boat  will  cross 
to  the  north  headland,  and  when  passing  along  the  fine  cliff 
scenery  of  the  coast  of  Scorribreck,  the  party  may  land  and  visit 
a  cave,  about  two  miles  north  from  the  entrance  of  the  bay,  in 
which  Prince  Charles  Edward  found  a  temporary,  but  comfort- 
less refuge,  when  wandering  among  the  Hebrides  a  hunted  and 
miserable  fugitive.  It  is  partially  encrusted  with  stalactite 
of  a  yellowish  colour,  and  the  entrance  is  a  piece  of  very 
picturesquely  ornamented  natural  architecture,  gracefully  fes- 
tooned with  ivy. 

A  little  further  on,  the  boat  will  pass  the  small  rocky  island 
of  Holm,  where,  if  the  party  have  taken  the  trouble  to  supply 
themselves  with  hand-lines  and  bait,  some  excellent  fishing  may 
be  had,  and  then  proceed  to  the  beach  below  Storr.  This  is  a 
salmon-fishing  station  during  the  season  ;  and  not  far  from  the 
landing-place,  a  stream,  shooting  over  the  face  of  a  lofty  cliff, 
forms  a  fine  cascade.  From  the  beach  to  the  base  of  the  preci- 
pice and  pinnacles  of  Storr,  there  is  an  ascent  of  varying  steep- 
ness, but  equivalent  to  a  three  miles'  walk.  Tourists  to  whom 
a  boating  excursion  has  no  attractions,  will  probably  be  content 
to  forego  the  caves  and  the  magnificent  cliff  scenery,  and  to 
approach  Storr  by  land.  In  doing  this  they  may  either  pro- 


624  PORTREE  TO  DDNVEGAN.  SECT.  VIII.  E. 

ceed  by  a  track  through  the  fine  pastoral  farm  of  Scorribreck 
for  about  eight  miles,  during  which,  if  they  be  free  of  the  gentle 
craft  of  angling,  they  may  have  good  sport  on  the  hill-lochs  of 
Fadda  and  Leathan,  which  they  pass  on  their  way,  or  they  may 
adopt  an  easier,  though  more  circuitous  route,  and  proceed  by 
the  parliamentary  road  to  Snizort,  and  breaking  off  at  Renitra, 
advance  to  Storr  through  Glenaulton  with  very  little  fatigue. 

9.  From  Portree  to  Dunvegan  the  distance  is  twenty-two 
miles.     About  six  miles  from  the  former  village  it  reaches  the 
head  of  Loch  Snizort,  where  there  is  a  public-house,  and  passes 
by  the  house  of  Skeabost  ( Macdonald),  fenced  by  haw- 
thorn hedges,  and   sheltered   by  well-grown   trees.      A  little 
further  on,  and  clustered  together,  stand  the  Free  Church,  the 
manse,  and  school-house  of  Snizort.     On  the  opposite  side  of  the 
loch  are  seen  the  houses  of  Tote  and  Skirinish,  and  the  parish 
church  and  manse  of  Snizort ;  and  beyond  them  the  house  of 
Kingsburgh  (Donald  Macleod,  Esq.)      About  two  miles  beyond 

Skeabost  is  the  cottage  of  Treasland  ( Gray),  and  a  mile 

further  on,  the  public-house  of  Tayinlone,  being  the  half-way 
stage  between  Portree  and  Dunvegan. 

About  a  mile  and  a  half  from  Tayinlone  there  is  an  eminence 
of  considerable  elevation,  which  is  surmounted  by  one  of  those 
interesting  vestiges  of  antiquity,  the  duns  or  round  towers.  It 
is  a  circular  dry  stone  building,  the  thick  walls  of  which,  though 
dilapidated,  remain  yet  of  considerable  height,  after  having 
weathered  the  storms  of  more  than  1000  years.  The  view  from 
this  dun  is  very  extensive,  including  the  points  of  Trotternish 
and  Vaternish,  the  Minch,  and  the  distant  mountains  of  Harris. 
Resuming  our  journey  from  Tayinlone,  we  next  pass  the  house 
of  Lyndale,  pleasantly  situated  at  the  sea-side,  surrounded  by 
large  fields,  and  sheltered  by  thriving  wood.  The  road  now 
approaches  the  head  of  Loch  Grishernish,  and  passes  Edinbain 
and  Cushletter.  In  descending  to  these  places — in  both  of  which 
there  are  numerous  patches  of  arable  land,  indicating,  by  their 
minute  subdivision  and  defective  draining,  the  disadvantages 
under  which  agriculture  is  pursued  in  Skye — we  obtain  a  glimpse 
of  the  mansion-house  of  Grishernish  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
loch,  redeeming,  in  some  measure,  by  its  comfortable  and  plea- 
sant aspect,  the  dreariness  which  generally  characterises  the 
routes  from  Lyndale  to  Dunvegan. 

10.  At  Fairy  Bridge,  about  three  miles  from  Dunvegan, 


DIV.  I.  DUNVEGAN  CASTLE.  625 

the  Vaternish  road  strikes  off  in  a  northerly  direction,  and,  pro- 
ceeding along  the  northern  shore  of  Loch  Bay,  passes  the  farm- 
house of  Bay,  the  mansion-house  of  Fasach  (Major  Allan  Mac- 
donald),  and  the  village  of  Stein,  on  to  Hulin  and  Ardmore,  a 
district  seldom  surpassed  in  the  fertility  of  its  arable  land,  and 
the  excellent  quality  of  its  pasture.  The  village  of  Stein  was 
established  by  the  Fishery  Board,  and  was  once  an  important 
station  for  the  herring  fishing,  but  its  importance  in  that  re- 
spect is  now  at  an  end,  the  herring  shoals  having  almost  wholly 
abandoned  the  west  coast  of  Skye,  and  betaken  themselves  to 
the  sounds  and  lochs  on  the  east  side.  A  manufactory  of  tile- 
drains  was  a  few  years  ago  established  by  Macleod  of  Macleod, 
at  Bay,  but  the  subsequent  misfortunes  of  that  estimable  and 
public-spirited  proprietor,  brought  the  undertaking  to  a  prema- 
ture close. 

11.  After  leaving  Fairy  Bridge,  the  parliamentary  road 
approaches  and  passes  close  to  the  plantations  which  surround 
Dunvegan  Castle.  This  venerable  and  imposing  structure, 
which  possesses  at  once  all  the  amenities  of  a  modem  residence, 
and  the  associations  connected  with  the  far-away  and  bar- 
barous time  in  which  it  originated,  stands  near  the  head  of 
a  long  bay,  interspersed  with  numerous  and  flat  islands,  and 
formed  by  two  low  promontories,  between  the  extremities  of 
which  are  seen  the  distant  mountains  of  the  Long  Island.  To 
the  west  are  two  hills,  which,  from  their  singularly  flat  and 
horizontal  summits,  are  called  Macleod's  Tables.  The  castle 
stands  upon  a  rock  projecting  into  the  water,  and  protected 
by  a  stream  on  one,  and  a  moat  on  another  side :  it  occupies 
three  sides  of  an  oblong  figure  enclosing  an  open  area  on  the 
side  next  the  sea,  which  is  laid  out  as  a  parterre,  and  fenced 
by  a  low  wall,  pierced  with  embrasures.  It  is  a  very  ancient, 
highly  imposing,  and  extensive  structure,  still  in  perfect  repair, 
and  is  the  family  seat  of  Macleod  of  Macleod.  There  are  two 
towers,  one  of  which  is  said  to  have  been  built  in  the  ninth, 
the  other  was  added  in  the  thirteenth  century.  The  walls  of 
the  former  are  from  nine  to  twelve  feet  thick,  and  contain 
many  secret  rooms  and  passages.  Very  considerable  alterations 
have  lately  been  made  on  the  edifice.  The  north  wing,  which 
was  modern,  has  been  replaced  by  a  building  to  correspond 
with  the  rest  of  the  castle.  The  walls  of  the  centre  building, 
which  had  been  slated,  have  been  raised  and  surmounted  by 
embrasures,  as  on  the  great  tower ;  turrets  placed  at  all  the 
2  E 


626  ANTIQUITIES  IN  MACLEOD  FAMILY.      SECT.  VIII.  E. 

corners,  and  the  flag-staff  tower  raised  two  storeys.  The  interior 
has  undergone  much  alteration  and  improvement,  and  alto- 
gether, Dun  vegan  is  now  one  of  the  finest  buildings  of  its 
kind,  and  one  of  the  most  comfortable  residences  in  the  High- 
lands. The  best  point  of  view  is  the  slope  of  the  hill  to  the 
south  of  the  castle  ;  whence  the  long  vista,  formed  by  the 
island-studded  bay,  and  terminated  by  the  blue  mountains  of 
the  outer  Hebrides,  composes  an  admirable  back-ground. 

Several  antiques  are  preserved  in  the  family  of  Macleod, 
the  most  remarkable  of  which  are,  the  fairy  flag,  the  horn  of 
Rorie  More,  and  a  very  old  drinking  cup,  or  chalice.  Of  the 
fairy  flag,  only  a  small  remnant  is  now  left :  its  peculiar  virtue 
was,  at  three  different  times  to  ensure  victory  to  the  Macleods, 
on  being  unfurled  when  the  tide  of  battle  was  turning  against 
them.  Twice  has  it  been  produced  with  the  desired  effect ; 
but  the  return  of  peaceful  times  has  precluded  any  further 
occasion  for  its  services,  and  a  portion  of  its  magical  influence 
is  still  in  reserve  for  a  future  emergency.  The  fairy  flag,  which 
is  of  a  stout  yellow  silk,  is  said  to  have  been  taken  by  one  of 
the  Macleods  from  a  Saracen  chief  during  the  crusades ;  but 
the  probability  is,  that  it  had  been  a  consecrated  banner  of  the 
Knights  Templars.  The  Horn  of  Rorie  More,  a  celebrated 
hero  of  the  house  of  Macleod,  has  a  curve  adapted  to  the  bend 
of  the  arm,  by  the  aid  of  which  its  contents  can  be  conveniently 
transferred  to  the  mouth,  on  slightly  raising  the  hand.  Each 
young  chief,  on  coming  of  age,  should,  by  ancient  custom,  drain 
at  a  draught  this  lengthy  wine  cup  full  of  claret,  being  a 
magnum  of  three  bottles.  The  literal  achievement  of  this  feat 
belongs  to  the  manners  and  men  of  the  olden  times,  and  the 
greater  part  of  the  horn  is  now,  by  a  proper  and  allowable 
device,  filled  up  when  the  ceremony  is  to  be  performed.  The 
chalice  is  a  piece  of  antiquity  of  most  venerable  age  and  curious 
workmanship ;  it  is  about  a  foot  in  height,  rests  on  four  short 
legs,  and  is  made  of  a  solid  block  of  oak,  richly  encased  and 
embossed  with  silver,  on  which  is  a  Latin  inscription,  in  Saxon 
black  letter,  engraved  in  a  very  superior  style,  which,  tran- 
slated, is  as  follows : — 

L'fo,  the  son  of  John, 

The  son  of  Magnus,  Prince  of  Man, 

The  grandson  of  Liahia  MacgryneiX 

Trusts  in  the  Lord  Jesus, 

That  their  works  will  obtain  mercy. 

0  Neil  Oimi  made  this  in  the  year  of  God 

Nine  hundred  and  ninety-three. 


DIV.  I.  PIPERS'    COLLEGE    AT   BORRERAIG.  627 

It  is  said  to  have  been  part  of  the  spoil  taken  from  an  Irish 
chief,  "  Nial  Glundubh  "— Niel  of  the  Black  Knees.  The  author 
of  the  admirable  Statistical  Report  of  this  parish  doubts  the 
correctness  of  the  century ;  the  first  nine  being  very  indistinct, 
and  the  introduction  of  the  Arabic  numerals  into  Europe  having 
been  only  two  years  previous  to  993,  and  their  use  not  at  all 
common  in  western  Europe  for  a  considerable  time  thereafter. 
It  is,  however,  unquestionably  of  great  antiquity,  and  a  very 
interesting  object.  These  relics  accord  well  with  the  high 
antiquity  of  the  family  of  Macleod,  descended  from  Liot,  or 
Leod,  son  of  Thorfinn,  son  of  Torf  Einar,  first  Earl  of  Orkney, 
and  grandson  of  Rognvallar  of  Norway,  brother  of  the  famous 
Rollo  the  Dane,  founder  of  the  duchy  of  Normandy.  Leod 
settled  in  Lewis,  and  the  Macleods  of  Macleod,  or  of  Skye,  are 
descended  from  his  son  Tormoid,  and  settled  in  this  island  in 
the  tenth  century,  while  the  Lewis  Macleods  are  sprung  from 
Leod's  other  son,  Torquil. 

12.  There  is  a  very  good  inn  at  Dunvegan.  On  the  west 
side  of  the  bay,  opposite  Dunvegan  Castle,  stands  the  farm- 
house of  Uiginish,  now  the  residence  of  the  parish  minister  of 
Durinish.  A  few  miles  further  down  the  bay,  and  close  to  the 
shore,  is  seen  the  pleasantly  situated  mansion-house  of  Husa- 
bost,  the  residence  of  Nicol  Martin,  Esq.,  on  whose  property, 
and  still  farther  down  the  bay,  is  the  farm  of  Borreraig,  once 
the  site  of  a  school  or  college  of  pipers,  instituted  by  the  Mac- 
Crimmons,  long  the  hereditary  pipers  of  the  Macleods,  and  the 
acknowledged  most  accomplished  masters  of  pipe-music  in  the 
Highlands,  adding,  for  several  generations,  to  musical  talent 
other  equally  distinguishing  qualities.  A  cave,  opening  towards 
the  bay,  is  pointed  out  as  the  place  where  the  disciples  received 
their  instructions,  and  one  may  fancy  that,  issuing  from  the 
rock,  and  mingling  with  the  sounds  of  the  wind  and  waves  of 
a  wild  Highland  loch,  even  the  strains  of  the  bagpipe  may  have 
been  softened  into  sweetness  and  melody.  The  course  of  in- 
struction was  systematic  and  protracted.  Macleod  bestowed 
on  them  the  farm  of  Borreraig,  rent  free ;  but  when  rents  rose, 
having  proposed  to  resume  one-half,  but  to  secure  the  remainder 
to  MacCrimmon  in  fee,  the  sensitive  musician  broke  up  the 
establishment ;  and  from  that  day  the  Borreraig  MacCrimmons 
dropped  their  professional  cultivation  of  the  great  Highland 
instrument,  though  it  is  believed  their  representative,  now  an 


628  PHENOMENON  AT  DUNVEGAN  HEAD.       SECT.  VIII.  E. 

officer  in  the  British  army,  retains  more  characters  of  his  race 
than  the  family  name.  A  similar  establishment  existed  in 
Trotternish,  at  a  place  called  Peingowen,  which  was  settled  by 
M 'Donald  on  his  pipers,  the  M' Arthurs ;  and  a  little  green 
hill,  called  Cnocphail,  was  their  daily  resort,  and  that  of  their 
pupils.  Among  the  other  most  celebrated  pipe  performers  in 
the  Highlands  were  the  Macgregors  of  Fortingal,  the  Mackays 
of  Gairloch,  the  Rankins  of  Coll,  and  the  M'Intyres  of  Rannoch. 

13.  Adjoining  Borreraig,  and  extending  to  Dunvegan  Head, 
is  the  farm  of  Galtrigil,  on  which  is  a  stone  of  no  little  cele- 
brity, called  Clach  Modha,  or  the  Manners'  Stone.  It  is  a  flat 
circular  stone,  on  which,  it  is  said,  written  characters,  probably 
Runic,  might  formerly  be  traced ;  but  if  so,  they  are  no  longer 
distinguishable,  and  the  stone  is  now  interesting  chiefly  from 
its  mystic  virtue  in  communicating  to  all  who  sit  upon  it  a 
degree  of  politeness  and  good  manners  not  otherwise  attainable. 
Should  a  desire  of  testing  the  eflicacy  of  this  Hebridean  rival 
of  the  celebrated  Blarney  Stone  of  Ireland  lead  any  tourist  to 
Galtrigil,  it  will  be  worth  his  while  to  extend  his  walk  for  a 
mile  further,  to  Dunvegan  Head,  and  enjoy  the  prospect  which 
that  promontory  offers  of  the  shores  of  the  Long  Island,  as  they 
dimly  appear  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Minch.  On  the  face 
of  a  precipitous  cliff  near  Dunvegan  Head,  a  curious  pheno- 
menon has  been  occasionally,  though  rarely,  observed.  A  jet 
of  vapour  or  smoke,  resembling  the  column  of  steam  discharged 
from  the  escape-valve  of  a  steamer,  has  been  seen  to  issue 
horizontally  from  the  face  of  the  cliff.  This  eruption  of  vapour 
is  always  preceded  by  a  rumbling  noise,  which  continues  for 
some  time,  and  increases  in  loudness,  until  the  appearance  of 
the  vapour  or  smoke.  This  phenomenon  was  described  to  us 
by  three  several  individuals  resident  in  Galtrigil,  one  of  whom 
mentioned,  in  order  to  give  an  idea  of  its  continuance,  that  a 
boy  who  was  herding  near  the  scene,  on  one  of  the  occasions 
when  the  phenomenon  was  observed,  came  running  to  our  in- 
formant's house,  which  was  nearly  a  mile  distant,  in  a  state  of 
much  excitement,  to  tell  of  the  wonder  he  had  witnessed,  and 
our  informant  having  proceeded  to  the  place,  arrived  in  time 
to  hear  the  noise  and  see  the  eruption. 

Extending  westerly  from  the  foot  of  Macleod's  Tables,  and 
opening  upon  Loch  Poltiel,  is  the  fine  arable  valley  of  Glendale, 
about  the  centre  of  which,  shaded  by  venerable  trees,  is  the 


DIV.  I.  VATERSTEIK — LADY  GRANGE.  629 

farm-house  of  Hummir,  once  the  residence  of  the  enthusiastic 
and  credulous  author  of  the  Treatise  on  the  Second  Sight,  a 
curious  tract,  which  has  been  reprinted  in  the  Miscellanea 
Scottica.  Thence,  a  short  walk  through  the  moor  of  Millevaig 
leads  into  the  secluded  glen  of  Vaterstein,  the  soil  of  which  is 
of  excellent  quality,  terminating  in  the  rocky  peninsula  of 
Feast,  the  most  westerly  point  in  Skye. 

14.  We  may  here  most   fittingly  allude  to  the,  in  this 
country,  unprecedented  and  pitiable  story  of  Lady  Grange. 
This  gentlewoman,  the  lady  of  Lord  Justice  Clerk  Grange, 
brother  of  the  Earl  of  Mar,  having,  contrary  to  her  husband's 
wish,  become  privy  to  his  and  others  being  in  concert  with  the 
rebel  chiefs  of  the  1715,  and  being  on  bad  terms  with  each 
other,  it  was  resolved,  at  a  hasty  conference  of  some  of  the 
leading  persons,  that  it  was  necessary  for  their  safety  to  have 
her  removed  to  a  remote  part  of  the  country.     The  chiefs  of 
Macleod  and  M'Donald  undertook  her  seclusion,  and  she  was 
conveyed  away  by  force,  two  of  her  teeth  being  knocked  out  in 
the  struggle.     Meanwhile,  a  report  of  her  death  was  got  up. 
The  unfortunate  lady  was  confined   for  some  time  in   some 
miserable  hut  in  Skye;   she  was  then  transported  to  Uist, 
thence  to  St.  KildaJ  where  she  was  detained  seven  years.    From 
that  she  was  carried  back  to  Uist  and  Skye.     While  there  she 
ingeniously  enclosed  a  letter  in  a  ball  or  clue  of  worsted,  which 
was  sent  with  others  for  sale  to  the  Inverness  market.     The 
purchaser  forwarded  the  letter  to  its  destination.     The  conse- 
quence was,  that  government  despatched  a  vessel  of  war  in 
search  of  her.     But  even  the  awakened  vigilance  of  the  authori- 
ties was  unavailing.     This  persecuted  woman  was  reconveyed 
to  Uist,  her  conductors  having  by  them  a  rope  with  a  running 
noose  and  a  heavy  stone  attached,  wherewith  to  commit  her  to 
the  deep  should  occasion  require.     She  finally  died  in  Water- 
nish,  and  was  buried  in  the  churchyard  of  Trumpan,  in  that 
parish.     The  perpetration  and  the  impunity  of  such  a  course 
of  outrage  strikingly  illustrates  the  lawless  state  of  the  High- 
lands and  Islands  previous  to  the  Disarming  Act. 

15.  We  have  already  said  that  the  Portree  and  Dun  vegan 
road  has  been  extended  through  Durinish  and  Bracadale  to 
Sligachan,  a   distance   from  Dunvegan  of  about  twenty-four 
miles.     This  extension  of  the  road  is  very  interesting  to  the 
tourist,  as  it  opens  up  to  him  the  fine  scenery  of  Bracadale  and 


630  TALISKER.  SECT.  VIII.  E. 

Talisker,  while  it  induces  him  to  prosecute  his  wanderings,  by 
removing  all  necessity  for  retracing  his  steps  by  the  dull  road 
between  Dunvegan  and  Portree.  Leaving  the  inn  of  Dunvegan, 
the  road  passes  close  in  front  of  the  castle,  and  thence  by  Kil- 
muir,  where  stands  the  neat  parish  church  of  Durinish,  by 
Vatten,  Feorlig,  Caroy,  Ose,  Ebost,  and  Ulinish,  to  Struan, 
near  the  head  of  Loch  Bracadale,  where  there  is  a  small  but 
comfortable  public-house,  which  conveniently  divides  the  dis- 
tance to  Sligachan.  On  the  farm  of  Feorlig,  and  close  to  the 
road,  are  some  sepulchral  cairns  of  considerable  magnitude. 
At  the  head  of  Loch  Caroy  stands  the  only  Episcopal  chapel  in 
Skye,  a  small  but  neat  building.  The  cure  is  at  present,  and 
for  some  time  back  has  been  vacant.  A  few  miles  further  on, 
on  the  farm  of  Ulinish,  stands  the  best  specimen  to  be  found  in 
the  island  of  the  Danish  dun  or  burgh,  and  which  is  described 
by  Dr.  Johnson  in  his  Journey  to  the  Western  Islands.  From 
the  inn  of  Struan,  the  road  proceeds  close  to  the  church  of 
Bracadale,  round  the  head  of  Loch  Struan,  and  thence,  ascend- 
ing the  hill  above  Gesto,  goes  on  to  Drynoch,  at  the  head  of 
Loch  Harport,  and  thence  through  a  fine  pastoral  valley  to 
Sligachan,  where  it  rejoins  the  road  to  Portree.  The  whole 
route  from  Dunvegan  to  Sligachan  is  very  pleasing,  and  con- 
trasts favourably  with  the  other  lines  of  road  in  Skye,  which 
seem,  as  if  of  set  purpose,  to  have  been  drawn  along  the  bleakest 
and  dreariest  tracts  of  the  island. 

16.  The  road  to  Talisker  breaks  off  from  the  Bracadale  road 
at  the  head  of  Loch  Harport,  on  the  south  side  of  which  it 
proceeds.  The  distance  from  Sligachan  to  Talisker  is  thirteen 
or  fourteen  miles.  About  four  miles  from  Talisker,  and  on  the 
shore  of  the  loch,  is  Carbost,  the  site  of  a  distillery,  where 
whisky  is  manufactured,  which,  in  the  opinion  of  every  genuine 
Skyeman,  is  unrivalled  in  excellence.  Around  the  distillery 
there  is  a  large  extent  of  arable  ground,  improved  and  brought 
into  admirable  cultivation  by  the  spirited  proprietors  of  that 
establishment,  Messrs.  H.  and  K.  M'Askill.  The  road  from 
Carbost  to  Talisker  is  wild  and  dreary,  giving  no  indication  of 
the  beauty,  warmth,  and  fertility  of  the  sheltered  valley  into 
which  it  rather  abruptly  descends.  The  house  of  Talisker 
(Hugh  M'Askill,  Esq.)  stands  at  the  head  of  a  singularly  rich, 
flat  vale,  scooped  out,  as  it  were,  from  the  lipe  of  lofty  and 
precipitous  rocks  which  fences  that  part  of  Skye,  lying  open  to 


DIV.  I.  LOCH  SNIZORT.  631 

the  sea  on  the  west,  and  almost  encircled  in  every  other  direc- 
tion by  impending  high  grounds.  The  house  is  surrounded  by 
sycamores  and  other  trees,  of  venerable  age  and  large  growth, 
and  it  possesses  a  garden,  the  products  of  which,  in  fruit  and 
flowers,  may  vie  with  those  of  the  gardens  of  the  most  favoured 
parts  of  Scotland.  Behind  the  house  rises  a  singularly  shaped 
rock,  which  may  be  ascended  with  some  little  difficulty,  and 
commands  an  extensive  prospect.  From  the  cliffs  around 
descend  many  cascades,  more  than  one  of  which  present  at 
times  a  singular  spectacle,  for  the  water,  rushing  from  the  edge 
of  the  cliff,  is  met  by  the  blast,  and  carried  up  in  a  thin,  curved 
column,  like  the  smoke  from  a  cottage  chimney,  which,  falling 
into  its  former  channel  behind  the  ledge,  again  and  again 
renews  its  unsuccessful  efforts  to  descend  to  the  lower  level. 

17.  We  will  now  return  to  Loch  Snizort,  for  the  purpose 
of  shortly  describing  the  district  of  Trotternish,  along  the  west 
side  of  which  a  parliamentary  commissioners'  road  has  been 
opened  to  the  extent  of  about  fourteen  miles,  terminating 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  beyond  the  Bay  of  Uig.  It  strikes  off 
from  the  Dunvegan  road,  within  a  short  distance  of  the  head 
of  Loch  Snizort.  Trotternish  is  the  richest  district  in  Skye, 
and  contains  a  good  deal  of  excellent  arable  ground.  Passing 
the  church  and  manse  of  Snizort,  about  two  miles  from  the 
latter,  we  leave  on  the  left  the  house  of  Kingsburgh.  The 
circular  Bay  of  Uig  is  distant  five  miles  from  Kingsburgh ; 
and,  in  the  words  of  a  late  eminent  writer,  whose  works, 
on  their  first  appearance,  occasioned  no  slight  sensation  in  this 
and  other  remote  quarters  of  the  Highlands  "presents  one  of  the 
most  singular  spectacles  in  rural  economy — that  of  a  city  of 
farms."  The  sloping  sides  of  the  bay  are  crowded  with  houses  ; 
and  each  cultivable  patch  of  land  has  found  an  industrious  and 
successful  occupant.  At  the  head  of  the  bay  the  ground  rises 
steeply,  and  environs  about  a  couple  of  hundred  arable  acres, 
in  which  some  six  hundred  people  live  in  a  scattered  hamlet. 
A  short  way  from  Uig  is  the  old  house  of  Monkstadt,  or  Moug- 
stot,  for  some  time  the  seat  of  the  chief  of  the  powerful  family 
of  MacDhonuill,  after  Duntulm  Castle,  the  ancient  family  re- 
sidence, had  fallen  into  ruins.  On  an  islet,  in  a  lake,  imperfectly 
drained,  adjoining  Monkstadt,  are  the  remains  of  a  religious 
house  ;  whence,  no  doubt,  its  name  is  derived,  and  as  in  other 
parts  of  Skye  the  remains  of  round  towers  or  Danish  forts,  and 


632  DUKTULM    CASTLE — QU1RAING.      SECT.  VIII.  E. 

of  stone  circles,  are  frequent.  Duntulm  Castle  stands  near  the 
point  of  Trotternish,  about  seven  miles  farther  on.  Little  of  it 
now  remains,  and  it  was  in  no  respect  different  from  the  ordi- 
nary towers  on  other  parts  of  this  coast.  On  the  way  to  it  will 
be  observed  some  beautiful  specimens  of  columnar  basaltic 
rock,  and  close  by  it  Lydian  stone  occurs  in  small  nodules,  or 
layers.  Towards  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  dun- 
geon of  Duntulm  witnessed  the  dying  agonies  of  a  nephew  of 
Donald  Gorm  Mor,  the  then  Macdonald,  who  was  here  confined 
for  a  detected  purpose  of  conspiring  against  his  uncle.  He 
was  fed  with  salt  beef,  and  then  denied  the  means  of  satiating 
his  craving  thirst,  in  the  torments  of  which  he  closed  his  exis- 
tence. Duntulm  was  visited  in  1540  by  a  royal  fleet,  with 
which  James  V.  proceeded  to  the  Hebrides,  to  quell  the  turbu- 
lent island  chiefs,  several  of  whom,  including  Macleod  of  Lewis, 
Macleod  of  Dunvegan,  and  several  chieftains  of  the  clan  Mac- 
donald, he  carried  prisoners  to  the  south. 

18.  There  is  a  remarkable  bowl-shaped  hollow  called  Qui- 
raing,  on  a  hill  top,  or  rather  in  the  heart  of  a  hill,  on  the  east 
side  of  Trotternish,  about  three  miles  distant  from  Steinscholl 
Bay,  and  twenty-two  miles  from  Portree,  by  a  good  road.      It 
is  approached  from  Uig,  from  which  it  is  distant  about  seven 
miles.     It  resembles  the  crater  of  an  extinct  volcano.     The 
hill  may  be  about  a  thousand  feet  in  height,  and  it  presents  to 
the  north-east  a  front  of  rugged  basaltic  precipices,  over  which 
various  little  streamlets  occasionally  trickle.     In  the  hollow  is 
a  level  oblong  green  platform,  measuring  100  paces  by  60,  and 
around  rises  on  all  hands  a  circle  of  rocks,  for  most  part  innac- 
cessible,  rising  from  the  surrounding  declivities,  and  which 
shoot  up  above  into  detached  columnar  and  pyramidal  masses 
of  varied  figure.     Through  the   intervening  chasms  confined 
views  are  obtained  of  the  sea  and  surrounding  country.     As 
may  be  readily  conceived,  the  effect,  whether  of  sunshine  or 
mist,  streaming  or  circling  amidst  the  broken  summits  of  this 
deeply  imbedded  and  secluded  spot,  is  not  a  little  singular. 
The  main  inlet  is  by  a  steep  narrow  passage,  the  access  to 
which  is  strewed  with  broken  fragments  of  stone,  and  near  the 
entrance  of  which  stands  an  isolated  needle-shaped  rock. 

19.  Trotternish  has  long  been  familiar  to  the  public  as  the 
scene  of  some  of  Prince  Charles  Edward's  adventures. 

Under  the  escort  of  Flora  Macdonald — a  name  which,  as 


DIV.  i.  PRINCE  CHARLES'S  WANDERINGS.          633 

Dr.  Johnson  predicted,  will  live  in  history — he,  in  the  course 
of  his  wanderings,  after  the  battle  of  Culloden,  landed  from  the 
Long  Island.*  Miss  Macdonald  repaired  to  Mougstot  to  com- 
municate to  Lady  Margaret,  lady  of  Sir  Alexander  Macdonald, 
and  who  had  been  expecting  the  Prince,  notice  of  their  arrival. 
Sir  Alexander  had  withheld  himself  from  the  rebellion,  though 
one  of  the  first  applied  to  on  the  Prince's  landing.  He,  how- 
ever, had  a  leaning  to  the  cause,  and  the  fugitive  adventurer 
found  a  stanch  friend  in  his  lady  in  the  day  of  need.  The 
Macdonalds  have  the  proud  distinction  of  having  been  almost 
exclusively  the  first  to  join  the  Prince  ;  and  to  them  he  was 
peculiarly  indebted,  during  his  eventful  and  extraordinary 
wanderings,  when  the  sun  of  his  prosperity  had  for  ever  set. 
No  wonder,  then,  that  in  parting  with  Captain  Roy  Macdonald 
at  Portree,  he  should  thus  have  given  utterance  to  his  regret, 
that  "  he  had  always  found  himself  safe  in  the  hands  of  the 
Macdonalds  ;  and  so  long  as  he  could  have  a  Macdonald  with 
him,  he  still  would  think  himself  safe  enough."  A  party  of 
soldiers  were,  at  the  moment  of  Miss  Macdonald's  appearance, 
stationed  in  the  house  of  Mougstot.  Miss  Macdonald  remained 
in  the  house,  to  converse  with  the  officer  in  command,  while 
Lady  Macdonald,  Mr.  Macdonald  of  Kingsburgh,  and  Captain 
Donald  Roy  Macdonald,  who  happened  to  be  there  at  the  time, 
in  the  garden,  concerted  measures  for  the  Prince's  further  pro- 
gress, who  had,  in  the  meantime,  stayed  at  the  beach.  The 
Prince  and  Kingsburgh  walked  together  to  the  residence  of  the 
latter,  which  has  been  mentioned  above.  Miss  Macdonald  pro- 
ceeded to  the  same  quarter  on  horseback,  along  with  a  Mrs. 
Macdonald,  Kirkibost,  North  Uist,  and  their  servants  ;  while 
Captain  Macdonald  went  in  search  of  young  Macleod  of  Rasay, 
to  whose  keeping,  and  that  of  his  kinsmen,  the  adventurer  was 
shortly  afterwards  committed. 

At  Kingsburgh  the  poor  Prince  seems  to  have  given  way  to 
the  overflowings  of  his  heart  at  the  temporary  relaxation  from 
the  hardships  to  which  he  had  lately  been  subjected.  His  host 
and  he  became  quite  like  two  intimate  friends  of  equal  rank 
and  long  acquaintance.  The  little  china  toddy  bowl  was  re- 
plenished once  and  again ;  and  it  was  only  after  a  friendly  alterca- 
tion, on  Kingsburgh  insisting  on  removing  the  bowl,  and  in  the 
course  of  which  it  was  broke,  that  the  Prince  could  be  persuaded 
*  See  Long  Island,  Branch  F.  of  this  Section. 


634          PRINCB  CHARLES'S  WANDERINGS.    SECT.  vni.  E. 

to  retire  to  rest.  From  Kingsburgh,  changing  his  female  habit 
for  the  Highland  dress,  he  proceeded  next  day  to  Portree, 
where  Captain  Malcolm  Macleod,  and  two  sons  of  Macleod  of 
Rasay,  took  charge  of  him,  and  conducted  him,  first  to  Raaza, 
and  afterwards  to  Scorribreck,  in  Trotternish.  At  Scorribreck, 
we  are  told  by  Captain  Macleod,  that  he  "  entreated  the  Prince 
to  put  on  a  dry  shirt,  and  to  take  some  sleep  ;  but  he  continued 
sitting  in  his  wet  clothes,  and  did  not  then  incline  to  sleep. 
However,  at  last  he  began  to  nap  a  little,  and  would  frequently 
start  in  his  sleep,  look  briskly  up,  and  stare  boldly  in  the  face 
of  every  one  of  them,  as  if  he  had  been  to  fight  them.  Upon 
his  waking  he  would  sometimes  cry  out,  '  Oh,  poor  England ! 
oh !  poor  England  ! ' " 

Captain  Macleod  and  the  Prince  went  from  Scorribreck 
to  Strath,  where  the  old  Laird  of  Mackinnon  and  Mr.  John 
Mackinnon,  Ellighuil,  undertook  to  convey  him  to  the  conti- 
nent of  Scotland.  The  party  landed  on  the  south  side  of  Loch 
Nevish,  opposite  the  point  of  Sleat,  and  afterwards  sailed  up 
to  the  head  of  the  lake,  making  a  very  narrow  escape  from  a 
boat  with  a  party  of  armed  men,  by  whom  they  were  pursued. 
They  directed  their  steps  to  Borradale.  Meantime,  the  mili- 
tary hearing  of  his  having  landed,  had  adopted  precautions  which 
promised  to  render  escape  impossible,  having  placed  a  chain  of 
sentinels  within  sight  of  each  other,  between  the  terminations 
of  the  various  long  arms  of  the  sea  and  fresh-water  lakes,  by 
which  the  country  is  indented  from  Loch  Hournhead  to  the 
head  of  Loch  Shiel.  Large  fires  were  at  night  lighted  at  the 
different  posts,  and  the  sentinels  kept  constantly  in  motion 
from  fire  to  fire.  One  only  chance  was  inadvertently  left.  The 
sentinels  passed  each  other  between  the  fires,  and  thus  for  a 
few  minutes,  when  their  backs  were  turned,  the  space  between 
was  left  unobserved.  Accompanied  by  Mr.  Macdonald  of 
Glenaladale,  and  two  other  gentlemen  of  the  same  name,  and 
by  Mr.  Donald  Cameron,  Glenpaean,  the  Prince  skulked  about 
within  the  enclosed  grounds  in  the  most  imminent  danger ;  but 
at  length  taking  advantage  of  the  imperfection  in  the  toils  of 
their  adversaries,  they  succeeded  in  making  their  way  up  the 
course  of  a  small  mountain  stream  between  two  posts,  towards 
the  head  of  Loch  Hourn. 

Hence  they  hied  them  to  Glen  Moriston,  and  Charles  spent 
three  weeks  in  a  cave  in  a  high  mountain  between  that  glen 


mv.  i.          PRINCE  CHARLES'S  WANDERINGS.  635 

and  Strathglass,  tenanted  by  seven  men,  whose  occupation  was 
plunder,  yet  who,  notwithstanding  the  large  price  set  on  the 
Prince's  head,  tended  him  with  the  greatest  fidelity  and  kind- 
ness, putting  themselves  to  much  trouble  to  supply  his  wants, 
and  even  occasionally  procuring  him  the  newspapers  of  the 
day. 

Removing  to  Lochaber,  the  Prince  for  some  weeks  lived 
concealed,  along  with  Mr.  Cameron  of  Clunes,  among  the 
recesses  of  the  woods  and  mountains  bordering  Loch  Arkaig 
and  Loch  Lochy.  At  last  he  was  enabled  to  join  Lochiel  and 
Cluny,  who  were  securely  secreted  on  the  confines  of  Perth- 
shire, and  with  whom  he  remained  for  about  three  weeks,  in 
the  memorable  cage,  a  half  aerial  habitation,  in  the  rocky  face 
of  Benalder,  amidst  the  even  now  remote  solitudes  of  Loch 
Ericht.  Here  intelligence  reached  him  that  two  French  vessels, 
sent  on  purpose,  were  lying  waiting  him  in  Loch-na-Nuagh  ; 
whither  he  immediately  hied  him  with  his  friends  :  "  and  thus 
was  he  destined, "  as  Mr.  Chambers  remarks,  "  like  the  hare, 
which  returns,  after  a  hard  chase,  to  the  original  form  from 
which  it  set  out,  to  leave  Scotland,  where  he  had  undergone 
so  long  and  so  deadly  a  chase,  precisely  at  the  point  where  he 
had  set  foot  upon  its  territory."  A  considerable  body  of 
fugitives,  with  their  friends,  were  soon  assembled  upon  the 
shore,  opposite  the  vessels.  The  unfortunate  prince  attempted 
to  brave  the  desperation  of  his  fortunes,  by  holding  out  pro- 
spects of  a  brighter  season,  when  he  should  return  under  cir- 
cumstances to  insure  the  means  of  recompensing  his  gallant 
Highlanders  for  all  their  devotedness,  and  all  its  consequences. 
"  But  the  wretchedness  of  his  present  appearance  was  strangely 
inconsistent  with  the  magnificence  of  his  professed  hopes.  The 
many  noble  spirits  who  had  already  perished  in  his  behalf,  and 
the  unutterable  misery  which  his  enterprise  had  occasioned  to 
a  wide  tract  of  country,  returned  to  his  remembrance  ;  and 
looking  round  him,  he  saw  the  tear  starting  into  many  a  brave 
man's  eye,  as  it  cast  a  farewell  look  back  upon  the  country 
which  it  was  never  again  to  behold.  To  have  maintained  a 
show  of  resolution  under  circumstances  so  affecting,  was  impos- 
sible. He  had  drawn  his  sword  in  the  energy  of  his  harangue, 
but  he  now  sheathed  it,  with  a  force  which  spoke  his  agitated 
feelings  ;  he  gazed  a  minute  in  silent  agony,  and  finally  burst 
into  a  flood  of  tears.  Upwards  of  a  hundred  unfortunate 


636          PRINCE  CHARLES'S  WANDERINGS.     SECT.  vm.  E. 

gentlemen  accompanied  him  on  board  ;  when  the  anchor  being 
immediately  raised,  and  the  sails  set,  the  last  of  the  Stuarts 
was  quickly  borne  away  from  the  country  of  his  fathers."* 

The  remains  of  Flora  Macdonald,  latterly  Mrs.  Allan  Mac- 
donald  of  Kingsburgh,  after  an  eventful  life,  of  which  part  was 
passed  in  North  Carolina  during  the  American  war,  lie  interred 
within  the  Kingsburgh  burying-ground,  in  the  churchyard  of 
Kilmuir,  in  Trotternish.  She  died  in  1790.  A  good  portrait 
of  her  may  be  seen  in  the  town  hall  of  Inverness. 

We  are  aware  of  the  geological  appearances  of  Skye  being 
extremely  important  and  interesting,  though  the  plan  of  our 
present  volume  does  not  admit  our  enlarging  on  them.  The 
preceding  sketch,  and  the  next  division  of  the  present  section 
of  our  subject,  will  be  found,  we  trust,  to  contain  a  sufficient 
number  of  practical  directions  to  the  tourist,  and  descriptions 
of  all  the  general  features  and  most  important  objects  in  the 
island. 


SECTION  EIGHTH.— BRANCH  E. 

DIVISION    II.    SKYE. CAVE    OF    STRATHAIRD,    COKTJISHK,    GLEN 

SLIGACHAN. 

The  most  prominent  objects  of  attraction  in  Skye.  Skye  Marble,  1.— Strathaird's 
Cave,  2. — Sail  to  Scavaig ;  Bay  of  Scavaig  and  Loch  Coruishk ;  Brace's  En- 
counter, 3. — Glen  Sligachan ;  The  Saddle ;  Haunts  of  the  Deer ;  comparison  with 
Glencoe;  The  Cuchullins;  Pass  of  Hartie  Corrie,  4.— General  Remarks  on 
Skye  ;  Kelp  ;  The  Caschrome  ;  Farming;;  Quern,  5. — Dwellings,  6. — Dress  of 
the  Islanders ;  Hospitality;  Women's  Apparel ;  Ornaments,  7.— Population ;  Croft 
System ;  Poverty  and  recent  distress ;  Change  in  the  Condition  ot  the  Highland 
peasantry  in  progress,  8. 

1.  THE  Spar  cave,  Scavaig,  and  Coruishk,  Glen  Sligachan,  and 
the  Cuchullins,  are  the  objects  which  chiefly  induce  the  stranger, 
except  he  be  a  geologist,  to  visit  Skye.  The  attention  of  tra- 
vellers has  hitherto  been  chiefly  directed  to  the  Spar  Cave 
and  Coruishk,  and  Glen  Sligachan  is  comparatively  but  little 
known  ;  though  it  will  be  found  equally  worthy  of  observation. 
As  all  three  can  be  comprehended  in  one — a  long  day's  excur- 
sion— we  recommend  tourists  to  arrange  their  plans  so  as  to 
combine  this  last  scene  with  the  others,  as  it  can  be  compared 
*  See  Chambers'  Rebellion  and  Jacobite  Memoirs  of  1715- 


DIV.  II.  SKTE  MARBLE STRATHAIRD'S  CAVE.  637 

only  to  Glencoe ;  but  may  be  said,  like  Coruishk,  in  some  points 
to  surpass  that  celebrated  spot  in  the  very  characters  for  which 
it  is  supposed  unrivalled  in  this  country. 

In  proceeding  to  view  these  objects  from  Armadale  or  Isle 
Oronsay,  it  is  necessary  to  ride  across  to  Gillean  (which  can  be 
done  in  about  two  hours),  or  any  other  point  on  the  opposite 
coast  of  Sleat,  where  a  boat  can  always  be  procured.  If  we 
wish  to  visit  them  from  Broadford,  we  cross  through  Strath  to 
Kilbride,  a  distance  of  five  miles,  and  there  take  boat.  In 
Strath  there  are  quarries  of  marble,  which  were  worked  for  a 
short  time,  but  are  now  greatly  neglected.  The  marble  is 
chiefly  of  a  light  grey  colour,  of  which  a  very  fine  mantle-piece 
is  to  be  seen  at  Armadale ;  but  some  blocks  are  found  as  pure 
and  close-grained  as  the  finest  statuary  marble.  Had  Arma- 
dale Castle  been  built  of  masses  from  these  quarries,  which  it 
could  have  been  at  no  great  additional  expense,  Skye  might 
boast  of  one  of  the  greatest  architectural  curiosities  in  Scotland. 
It  may  be  proper  to  add,  that  Strathaird's  cave  can  be  approached 
from  Sconser  or  Glen  Sligachan,  and  that  a  boat  can  be  pro- 
cured at  some  huts,  about  a  mile  to  the  west  of  the  cave. 
Coming  from  Kilbride,  we  pass  the  house  of  Mr.  M'Allister  of 
Strathaird. 

2.  Of  the  objects  before  us,  this  cave  first  demands  attention. 
It  occurs  on  the  north  side  of  Loch  Slapin,  on  the  west  coast 
of  Skye,  and  occupies  the  further  extremity  of  a  long,  straight, 
deep,  and  narrow  excavation,  which  the  sea  has  made  in  the 
face  of  a  high  and  perpendicular  range  of  cliffs,  such  as  are  so 
common  in  the  Orkney  Islands,  and  there  technically  termed 
Ghoes.  As  the  sea  often  dashes  with  violence  into  this  narrow 
recess,  the  approach  is,  at  times,  difficult.  On  first  entering, 
the  cave  has  the  appearance  of  an  ordinary  fissure,  gradually 
widening  as  we  advance ;  but  we  soon  come  to  an  inclined  plane 
of  rock,  covered  with  a  beautiful  white  and  hard  calcareous 
deposit,  the  walls  on  each  side  being  also  encrusted  with  a 
coating  of  the  same  substance.  The  inclination  of  this  plane 
is  pretty  steep ;  and  the  surface,  from  its  glistening  appearance, 
seems  so  slippery,  that  one  hesitates  before  attempting  to  climb 
it.  It  is  sufficiently  rough  and  granular,  however,  to  admit  of 
safe  footing;  and  having  surmounted  this  little  acclivity,  we 
are  ushered  into  a  lofty  chamber,  lined  from  top  to  bottom  by, 
and  paved  with,  translucent  and  white  stalactite.  The  surface 


638  BAY    OF    SCAVAIG.  SECT.  VIII.  E. 

of  the  floor  is  unequal,  and  the  further  extremity  of  the  gallery 
is  occupied  by  a  deep  and  clear  well.  On  the  inner  side  of  this 
well  the  rock  has  assumed  a  fanciful  and  gigantic  resemblance 
to  a  human  figure,  which,  in  its  robes  of  pure  white,  may  be 
regarded  as  the  guardian  genius  of  this  beauteous  sparry  grotto. 
Not  many  years  ago,  large  stalactites  hung  from  the  roof,  and 
there  were  even  some  pillars  extending  from  the  floor  to  the 
ceiling ;  these  have,  however,  been  unfortunately  destroyed,  and 
the  cave  has  not  altogether  recovered  from  the  effects  of  the 
injudicious  introduction  of  tar  torches,  instead  of  candles,  which 
are  generally  used. 

3.  From  Strathaird  to  Coruishk  is  a  long  sail  round  the 
projecting  headland  of  Aird.  In  the  western  horizon  are  seen 
the  islands  of  Rum,  Muck,  and  Eig,  and,  more  near,  a  small 
island  called  Soa. 

The  Bay  of  Scavaig,  into  which  Loch  Coruishk  discharges 
itself,  is  a  scene  of  almost  unexampled  grandeur ;  and,  being 
less  confined  than  the  latter,  presents  an  interesting  difference 
of  character.  It  is  flanked  by  stupendous  shivered  mountains 
of  bare  rock,  which  shoot  up  abruptly  from  the  bosom  of  the 
sea.  They  are  of  a  singularly  dark  and  metallic  aspect,  being 
composed  of  the  mineral  called  hyperstein.  On  the  left  are 
three  shattered  peaks : — Garbshen,  or  "  the  shouting-mountain," 
Scuir-nan-Eig,  "  the  notched  peak,"  and  Scuir  Dhu,  "  the  black 
peak  ;"  and  on  the  opposite  side  is  a  similar  and  very  high  hill, 
called  Scuir-nan-Stree,  "  the  hill  of  dispute,"  or  "  the  debate- 
able  land."  A  little  island  at  the  base  of  Scuir-nan-Stree  is 
styled  Eilan-nan-Lice,  "  the  island  of  the  slippery  step,"  from 
a  dangerous  pass  in  the  face  of  the  rock,  which  makes  it  im- 
prudent in  a  stranger  to  visit  these  scenes  by  land. 

The  river  which  falls  into  Scavaig  Bay  is  not  above  250 
yards  in  length.  Ascending  its  rocky  channel,  we  suddenly 
find  ourselves  on  the  margin  of  a  fresh-water  lake.  Loch 
Coruishk  is  a  narrow  lake,  about  two  miles  in  length,  from  the 
edge  of  which,  on  all  sides,  rise  naked,  lofty,  and  precipitous 
mountains,  of  the  same  dark,  barren,  hyperstein  rock,  and  fur- 
rowed with  numerous  hollows,  or  corries.  A  few  rocky  islets, 
partially  covered  with  dwarf  mountain-ash  and  long  grass, 
afford  a  secure  nestling-place  to  flocks  of  sea-gulls,  which  are 
the  only  living  creatures  to  be  seen,  unless  a  stray  goat  be 
descried  among  the  recesses  of  this  wilderness,  where  they  are 


DIV.  II.  LOCH   CORUISHK.  639 

become  as  wild  and  uncontrolled  as  on  Robinson  Crusoe's  island 
of  Juan  Fernandez.  An  inclined,  rugged,  and  irregular  plat- 
form of  sharp-surfaced  naked  rock,  with  detached  rocky  masses, 
and  a  stunted  sward  interspersed,  immediately  encircles  the 
waters  of  the  lake,  and  enhances  its  sterile  desolation,  except 
at  the  upper  extremity,  where  it  gives  place  to  a  grassy  plain 
of  refreshing  verdure,  where  the  red  deer  oft  times  resort. 

We  are  now  treading  on  classic  ground.  It  was  here  the 
Bruce  encountered  Cormac  Doil ;  and  the  scenes  around  have 
been  celebrated  by  the  gifted  pen  of  our  great  poet  and  novelist. 
Perhaps  few  of  his  vivid  descriptive  passages  are  more  felicitous 
than  the  following : — 

"  The  wildest  glen,  but  this,  can  show 
Some  touch  of  Nature's  genial  glow ; 
On  high  Benmore  green  mosses  grow, 
And  heathbells  bud  in  deep  Glencroe, 

And  copse  on  Cruchan-Ben ; 
But  here— above,  around,  below, 

On  mountain  or  in  glen, 
Nor  tree,  nor  shrub,  nor  plant,  nor  flower, 
Nor  aught  of  vegetative  power, 

The  weary  eye  may  ken. 
For  all  is  rock  at  random  thrown ; 
Black  waves,  bare  rocks,  and  banks  of  stone, 

As  if  were  here  denied 
The  Summer  sun,  the  Spring's  sweet  dew, 
That  clothe  with  many  a  varied  hue 

The  bleakest  mountain  side." 

These  lines  by  no  means  exaggerate  the  barren  grandeur  of 
Coruishk ;  indeed,  it  is  impossible  to  do  justice  to  this  rude 
scene.  The  grisly  acclivities  rise  so  abruptly,  and  encompass 
so  closely  the  dark  and  narrow  lake,  that,  but  for  the  reflection 
of  the  sunbeam,  its  shores  might  almost  be  said  to  be  veiled  in 
eternal  night ;  while,  frequently,  dense  vapours,  curling  round 
the  circling  rocks,  bestow  an  indistinctness  of  form  and  outline 
the  eye  of  Superstition  might  quail  to  contemplate.  The  re- 
moteness of  this  solitude,  and  the  gloomy  silence  that  reigns, 
and  the  savage  forms  that  surround  it,  impress  a  solemn  serious- 
ness on  the  mind.  Few,  indeed,  finding  themselves  on  the 
shores  of  Coruishk,  can,  with  reason,  refuse  to  exclaim  with  the 
Bruce — 


"  A  scene  so  wild,  so  rude  as  this, 


Yet  so  sublime  in  barrenness, 

Ne'er  did  my  wandering  footsteps  press, 

Where'er  I  happ'd  to  roam." 

Lord  of  the  Isles,  canto  iii. 

4.  Glen  Sligachan  terminates  in  a  bay  adjoining  Scavaig  to 


640  GLEX    SLIGACHAN.  SECT.  VIII.  E. 

the  south,  whence  it  stretches  across  the  Island  to  Loch  Sli- 
gachan.  A  farm-house  at  the  west  end  of  the  glen,  called 
Camusunary,  (Mr.  Mac-Rae),  is  the  only  dwelling-place  to  be 
seen  along  the  shores  of  this  remote  region,  where  its  white  walls, 
its  freestone  window-lintels,  its  slates,  and  green  door,  are 
viewed  with  the  agreeable  surprise  one  feels  at  unexpectedly 
meeting  old  friends.  Mr.  Mac-Rae's  boat  is,  of  course,  the  only 
one  to  be  had ;  and,  as  his  shepherds  are  seldom  at  hand  to  man 
her,  it  is  imprudent  in  the  traveller  to  pass  through  Glen  Sli- 
gachan  on  his  way  to  Coruishk.  He  should  proceed  to  it  by  boat, 
from  Sleat  or  Kilbride,  and  reserve  Glen  Sligachan  for  the  latter 
part  of  his  day's  excursion.  We  would  warn  him,  however,  that 
he  will  take  three  or  four  hours  to  walk  to  the  inn  at  the  other 
end  of  the  glen,  (eight  miles  distant).  The  bottom  of  the  valley 
is  very  uneven,  and  quite  pathless,  excepting  the  track  which 
has  been  worn  by  the  few  ponies  which  pass  the  way :  the  burns, 
also,  are  numerous,  and  after  rain  swell  very  suddenly,  and 
sometimes  to  a  considerable  depth. 

The  extreme  breadth  of  the  valley,  between  the  precipitous 
parts  of  the  mountains,  may  be  about  a  mile ;  in  some  places 
they  approach  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  each  other.  A 
river  runs  out  at  either  end,  fed  by  numerous  torrents,  which 
channel  the  sides  of  the  mountains.  The  western  one,  and  the 
river  Scavaig,  abound  with  salmon.  On  either  side  of  the  rivers 
is  a  tract  of  broken,  sloping,  rocky  moorland,  out  of  which  the 
mountains  tower  up  on  very  abrupt  acclivities.  They  are  chiefly 
composed  of  the  same  black-looking  hyperstein  rock  which  sur- 
rounds Coruishk ;  and  are  almost  equally  destitute  of  vegetation, 
except  some  of  the  declivities,  which  are  tinted  with  patches  of 
verdure.  Near  Camusunary  are  two  small  lakes,  Loch-nan- 
Aanan,  "  the  lake  of  fords,"  and  Loch-na-Creich,  "  the  lake  of 
the  wooded  valley,"  a  name  certainly  not  applicable  to  its 
present  condition,  but  which,  with  the  appearance  of  some 
stumps  of  trees  among  the  moss,  prove  this,  like  many  other 
parts  of  the  Highlands,  to  have  been  once  covered  with  wood. 
The  first  mountain  on  the  west,  next  Camusunary,  is  Scuir-nan- 
Stree,  already  noticed  as  dividing  the  glen  from  Coruishk  ;  and 
opposite  it  is  Blaven,  (Blath  Bhein),  a  long,  sharply-ridged,  and 
pointed  mountain,  not  properly  one  of  the  Cuchullin  group,  but 
of  the  same  distinctive  character.  One  ascent  of  this  latter 
mountain  is  peculiarly  hazardous,  as,  at  a  part  called  "  The 


DIV.  II.          GLEN  SLIGACHAN — THE  CUCHULLINS.  641 

Saddle,"  the  top  of  the  ridge  is  for  two  yards  scarcely  above  a 
foot  in  breadth.  We  have  met  with  shepherds  who  have  crossed 
this  dangerous  pass ;  to  them  the  steepest  hills  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood are  accessible,  but  they  declared  some  of  the  pinnacles 
to  be  so  needle-peaked,  that  a  man  could  hardly  venture  to  stand 
on  the  top  of  one  of  them. 

The  next  mountain  to  Blaven,  is  Ruadhstach ;  and  the  lofty 
and  perpendicular  one  beyond  it  is  Marscodh.  Both  are  favou- 
rite haunts  of  the  red  deer,  who  may  generally  be  descried 
browsing  about  the  summit.  Among  the  singular  assemblage 
of  pinnacles  on  the  west  side,  above  Sligachan,  are  Basader  and 
Scuir-nan-gillean,  the  highest  of  that  extensive  and  peculiar 
series  of  mountains  included  in  the  general  term,  Cuchullin, 
several  of  which,  with  Blaven,  and  others  on  the  south  of  the 
glen,  exceed  3200  feet  in  altitude.  On  the  rough  sides  of  Glen 
Sligachan  are  reared  large  flocks  of  goats. 

The  mountains  of  this  wild  glen  are  considerably  higher, 
and  not  less  savage  than  those  of  Glencoe.  The  two  contrast 
in  that  the  gigantic  barriers  of  Glencoe  are  more  perpendicular, 
and  hem  in  the  glen  more  closely — meeting  the  eye  at  times. 
especially  in  the  descent  from  King's-house,  in  close  proximity, 
challenging  emotion  by  their  impassable  and  threatening  front ; 
while  in  Glen  Sligachan,  the  character  is  that  of  a  vast  display 
of  dark,  naked  rock,  which,  if  it  lose  in  impressiveness,  from 
being  less  absolutely  precipitous,  and  also  in  being  further  re- 
moved from  the  spectator,  compensates  by  comprehending  the 
full  expanse  of  the  mountain  acclivities,  from  base  to  summit, 
in  continuous  sheeted  masses  of  naked  sterility,  on  a  scale  rarely 
to  be  witnessed,  and  assuming  in  the  mountain  outlines  very 
marked,  and  even  fantastic  features.  The  scenery  of  the  Cu- 
chullins  is  rendered  the  more  effective  from  the  mountains 
springing  almost  from  the  sea  level :  thus  presenting  elevations 
as  striking  as  inland  mountain  countries  of  much  greater 
actual  altitude.  In  traversing  the  solitudes,  too,  we  feel  a  con- 
stant, and  almost  painful  consciousness,  that  no  other  form  of 
mortal  mould  exists  within  their  desert  precincts.  A  solemn 
silence  generally  prevails,  but  is  often  and  suddenly  interrupted 
by  the  strife  of  the  elements.  The  streams  become  quickly 
swollen,  rendering  the  progress  of  the  wayfaring  stranger  not  a 
little  hazardous ;  while  fierce  and  fitful  gusts  issue  from  the 
bosom  of  the  Cuchullins.  The  heaven-kissing  peaks  of  this 
2  E2  . 


(J42  SKYE —  KELP.  SECT.  VIII.  E. 

strange  group  never  fail  to  attract  a  portion  of  the  vapours, 
which,  rising  from  the  Atlantic,  are  constantly  floating  eastward 
to  water  the  continent  of  Europe ;  and  fancy  is  kept  on  the 
stretch,  to  find  resemblances  for  the  quick  succession  of  fantastic 
appearances  which  the  spirits  of  the  air  are  working  on  the 
weather-beaten  brow  of  these  hills  of  song. 

Instead  of  being  conveyed  to  Camusunary,  and  proceeding 
from  thence  along  Glen  Sligachan,  the  latter  may  be  reached 
across  a  wild  pass,  called  Hartie  Corrie,  which  traverses  the 
Cuchullins,  and  gives  the  advantage  of,  in  going,  a  grand  moun- 
tain ravine,  while  it  leads  into  Glen  Sligachan  at  a  point  where 
the  most  imposing  view  is  presented  of  the  Cuchullins.  Let 
not  the  view-hunter,  however,  select  this  mode  of  approach  to 
Coruishk.  The  fatigue  of  the  walk  helps  to  blunt  the  appre- 
ciation of  its  characteristics,  and  the  previous  familiarity  with 
scenes  of  gloomy  grandeur,  tends  to,  perhaps,  a  degree  of  disap- 
pointment of  the  expectations  entertained.  The  first  impression, 
indeed,  looking  down  upon  Coruishk  from  the  high  hill  which 
separates  it  from  Hartie  Corrie,  is  perhaps  one  rather  of  savage 
beauty,  though  unquestionably  to  adopt  a  bold  image — "  beauty 
reposing  in  the  lap  of  terror." 

5.  In  concluding  our  remarks  on  Skye,  we  may  observe, 
that  black  cattle,  sheep,  and  kelp  form  its  chief  riches.  For 
the  sale  of  the  former,  two  or  three  markets  are  held  annually 
at  Portree.  Kelp  is  formed  by  burning  sea-ware,  previously 
dried  in  the  sun,  in  small  circular  and  oblong  pits,  attended  by 
men  to  rake  the  crackling  ingredients.  The  smoke  of  these 
pits  spreads  during  the  summer  months  in  dense  volumes  round 
the  shores,  and  diffuses  a  disagreeable  pungent  odour.  This 
alkaline  substance,  as  is  well  known,  is  chiefly  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  glass.  The  best  kind  is  made  from  the  sea- 
weed cut  from  the  rock,  which  is  generally  done  every  third 
year ;  that  made  from  the  drift-ware  is  naturally  more  impure. 
During  the  late  war,  kelp  yielded  above  .£20  per  ton.  Now, 
from  the  introduction  of  Spanish  barilla,  and  other  causes,  the 
price  scarcely  averages  a  fourth  of  that  sum.  It  may  be  con- 
ceived that  it  is,  or  at  least  lately  was,  a  chief  source  of  the  re- 
venue of  the  west  coast  and  Orkney  proprietors,  from  the  cir- 
cumstance of  Clanranald's  estate  having  some  years  produced 
1500  tons  of  this  article.  We  trust  that  the  alleged  valuable 
properties  of  the  recently  discovered  alkali,  called  kelpina,  may 


DIV.  II.  THE    CASCHROME.  643 

restore  to  kelp,  as  some  anticipate,  a  portion  of  its  former  value. 
The  climate  of  this  island  is  exceedingly  damp :  the  farmers,  in 
consequence,  are  all  provided  with  wattled  barns,  having  lateral 
openings,  closed  only  by  twigs  and  boughs  of  trees,  where  they 
are  able  to  dry  part  at  least  of  their  scanty  crops  in  the  most 
rainy  seasons.  In  husbandry,  the  caschrome,  or  ancient  crooked 
spade,  is  a  good  deal  used  by  the  poor ;  it  is  a  clumsy  substitute 
for  a  plough,  with  which  an  active  man  will  sometimes  prepare 
about  a  fourth  of  an  acre  in  a  day  ;  and  is  certainly  of  advan- 
tage in  the  cultivation  of  their  miserable  crofts,  which  are  fre- 
quently altogether  scarcely  equal  in  value  to  the  purchase  price 
of  a  plough.  The  caschrome  is  formed  either  of  a  stout  obtusely 
angled  knee  of  wood,  or  two  pieces  bound  together  with  iron : 
the  upper  limb  or  handle  is  four  or  five  feet  long ;  the  lower 
about  two  and  a  half  feet,  and  shod  at  the  point  with  a  sharp 
flat  piece  of  iron,  which  is  driven  into  the  soil  by  means  of  a 
lateral  wooden  peg  projecting  from  the  angle,  on  which  the  right 
foot  acts.  The  rest  of  the  farming  of  the  cottars  is  of  a  piece 
with  this.  Harrowing  is  performed  with  a  rake,  or  light  har- 
row with  wooden  teeth,  drawn  by  a  man  or  woman — for  the 
women  put  their  hands  to  many  a  piece  of  drudgery  not  allotted 
to  them  elsewhere — or  this  implement  is  sometimes  drawn  by 
a  horse,  to  whose  tail  it  is  attached  by  a  straw  rope.  The  peo- 
ple of  all  classes  are  extremely  partial  to  drying  their  grain  in 
iron  pots  over  the  fire,  before  being  converted  into  meal ;  and 
till  a  recent  period  the  whole  sheaf  was  passed  through  the  fire 
to  the  entire  sacrifice  of  the  straw.  No  rotation  of  crops  is  ob- 
served except  from  potatoes  to  oats,  and  from  oats  to  potatoes ; 
and  a  series  of  oat  crops  is  often  taken  till  the  land  is  run  out, 
when  it  is  allowed  to  rest  for  another  term  of  years  useless  under 
weeds.  Among  the  larger  tacksmen  regular  rotation  and  many 
improvements  are  observed,  but  the  dampness  of  the  climate, 
notwithstanding  the  accompanying  mildness  of  temperature,  is 
unfavourable  to  agriculture.  The  Cheviot  sheep  are  now  com- 
mon. 

The  quern,  or  handmill,  is  to  be  found  in  some  of  the  remote 
districts  of  Skye.  It  consists  of  two  flat  stones,  about  twenty 
inches  in  diameter,  selected  for  their  hardness  and  grittiness. 
Across  the  central  hole  in  the  upper  stone,  is  a  piece  of  wood, 
with  a  small  tapering  hollow,  which  fits  a  wooden  pivot  on  the 
lower  stone.  Placing  the  finger,  or  a  stick,  in  a  hole  sunk  for 


644  THE   QUERN DWELLINGS.        SECT.  VIII.  K. 

that  purpose,  close  to  the  exterior  edge  of  the  upper  stone,  it  is 
with  the  greatest  facility  made  to  revolve  with  the  desired  velo- 
city ;  and  the  whole  machine  being  placed  on  a  sheet,  or  sheep- 
skin, the  grain  gradually  poured  in  at  the  hole  in  the  upper 
stone,  is  speedily  ground  into  meal,  which  falls  out  at  the  cir- 
cumference between  the  two  stones.  This  seems  to  have  been 
the  first  grinding  instrument  in  all  countries,  and  is  evidently 
that  alluded  to  in  Scripture : — "  Two  women  shall  be  grinding 
at  the  mill"  (that  is,  one  feeding  and  the  other  turning  it), 
"  the  one  shall  be  taken,  and  the  other  left." 

6.  The  dwellings  of  the  poorer  Hebrideans  generally  are 
extremely  mean  and  comfortless.     They  consist  of  three  apart- 
ments, of  which  the  first  is  appropriated  to  the  cattle,  and  the 
access  to  the  whole  is  through  the  byre,  the  door  being  at  the 
end ;  and  this  byre  being  only  cleaned  out  twice  a-year,  the 
consequent  filth  requires  no  comment.     The  apartments  are  se- 
parated by  low  partitions  of  stone,  board,  or  wattle- work.     In 
the  centre  is  the  sitting-room — the  fireplace  in  the  middle  of 
the  floor,  and  the  smoke  pervading  all  parts,  there  being  only 
an  outlet  in  the  roof.     A  rough  table,  one  or  two  stools,  an 
arm-chair  of  plaited  straw,  reserved  for  the  exclusive  use  of  the 
goodwife,  occasionally  a  rude  sofa-bench  for  four  or  five  persons, 
and  a  chair  or  two,  but  as  frequently  mere  stones,  covered  with 
turf,  for  seats ;  and  in  the  innermost,  the  sleeping-apartment, 
a  couple  of  bedsteads,  filled  with  heather,  ferns,  or  straw,  com- 
prise the  bulk  of  the  furniture.     The  walls  are  of  stone,  gene- 
rally double,  the  vacancy  being  crammed  with  earth.     They  are 
at  times,  particularly  in  the  Long  Island,  seven  or  eight  feet 
thick,  and  form  a  ledge  on  the  outside,  on  which  a  couple  of 
sheep  can  graze  abreast,  or  two  persons  might  walk  round  the 
roof,  which  is  supported  by  a  few  rough  undressed  couples. 
A  single  small  window,  often  without  glass,  is  all  there  is  for 
light.     The  soot-saturated  thatch  is  commonly  removed  every 
year,  to  serve  as  manure  for  the  potatoes.     The  fare  of  the  pea- 
santry is  chiefly  potatoes,  with  fish,  shell-fish,  milk,  and  a  little 
meal,  but  little  or  no  animal  food. 

7.  The  dress  of  the  Islesmen  has  always  differed  from  that 
of  the  mainland  Highlanders.     The  kilt,  which,  no  doubt,  is 
now  falling  into  general  disuse,  is  not  to  be  met  with  in  Skye, 
and  it  seems  never  to  have  been  worn  here.     At  present,  the 
ordinary  fashion  of  short  coats  and  trousers  of  coarse  cloth  uni- 


DIV.  II.  DRESS  OF  THE  SKYE  ISLANDERS.  645 

versally  prevails.  From  their  frequent  boating,  one  would  expect 
to  find  the  dress  of  the  Skyemen  adapted  to  the  seafaring  life ; 
but  even  a  cut-away  jacket  is  seldom  to  be  seen.  The  people 
have  none  of  those  distinctive  marks  which  at  once  betray  the 
occupation  of  those  curious  tribes — the  fishermen  of  the  east 
coasts.  Indeed,  except  during  the  herring  season,  these  islanders 
seldom  trouble  their  heads  about  fishing,  unless  it  be  to  catch 
a  few  rock-cod,  lythes,  and  cuddies,  for  the  use  of  their  families  ; 
and  even  this  duty  ordinarily  devolves  on  the  younger  urchins. 
Various  efforts  have  been  made  to  extend  the  deep-sea  fishing, 
but,  unless  under  the  immediate  stimulus  of  individual  enter- 
prize,  it  does  not  seem  to  make  sensible  progress — except  in 
the  Lewis,  where  the  quantity  of  cod  and  ling  taken  is  now  very 
considerable — while  the  more  uncertain  fruits,  and  more  fitful 
labour,  of  the  herring  fishery  finds  general  favour  in  all  parts 
of  the  Highlands  and  Islands.  It  is  strange  that  constant  ex- 
posure to  the  sea-breeze  does  not  teach  the  general  use,  in  the 
Isles,  of  the  small  felt  bonnet,  or  some  substitute  for  the  com- 
mon hat,  which  is  generally  worn.  The  west  coast  Highlanders 
or  Islesmen,  when  they  make  their  appearance  in  any  of  the 
towns  of  the  east  coast,  may  almost  be  detected  by  their  hats, 
from  the  picturesque  shapelessness  and  amphibious  consistency 
which  their  head-gear  speedily  acquires  from  steeping  in  the 
Atlantic  mists.  The  Orkney  boatmen,  who  are  more  constantly 
on  the  water,  understand  these  things  better,  and  by  their  com- 
fortable southwesters — a  glazed,  or  leathern  skull-cap,  shaped 
like  that  of  an  Edinburgh  carter,  with  a  broad  flap  hanging 
down  behind  to  protect  the  neck — give  proof  of  their  experi- 
enced wisdom.  Such  a  thing  as  a  straw  bonnet  is  rarely  to 
be  found  among  all  the  female  peasantry  of  Skye,  or  of  the 
Islands  in  general.  The  lasses  go  bareheaded,  trusting  to  the 
attraction  of  the  emblematic  snood;  matrons  bedizen  them- 
selves with  the  varieties  of  the  venerable  and  simple  mutch, 
curtch,  and  toy ;  and  the  clothing  of  the  female  population  of 
Skye  is  hence  generally  coarse  and  mean  in  the  extreme.*  No 
comfortable  cloak  of  "  guid  blue  cloath,"  which  many  of  the 
east  coast  Highland  wives  have  added  to  their  wardrobes,  is  to 
be  seen.  The  old  women  throw  a  dirty  breachdan,  resembling 
a  blanket,  over  their  shoulders :  the  others  have  seldom  any- 
thing to  vary  their  simple  gowns  of  dark  blue  or  brown  stuff. 

*  Straw  bonnets  and  caps  are  come  much  more  into  use  of  late  years  in  the 
mainland  Highlands. 


G46  LADIES — CROFT  SYSTEM.  SECT.  VIII.  E. 

An  air  of  squalid  penury,  too,  soon  settles  about  them ;  and  in 
middle  age  their  prematurely-pinched,  care  and  penury-worn 
features,  are  far  from  engaging  !  Kindly  feelings  and  affections, 
however,  live  under  this  unpromising  exterior.  The  people  of 
Skye  and  the  adjacent  islands,  and  west  coast  of  the  adjoining 
counties,  are  of  short  stature,  firmly  knit,  active,  and  more  mer- 
curial than  the  central  Highlanders.  Such  generalizing  obser- 
vations must  of  course  not  be  strictly  interpreted.  The  gentry 
of  these  parts  are  wonderfully  numerous.  They  are  exceedingly 
hospitable ;  and  the  Southron  will,  perhaps,  be  astonished  to 
find  in  their  houses  all  the  comforts  and  elegancies  of  life.  The 
ladies  are  characterized,  for  the  most  part,  by  fair  complexions, 
tall,  slender  forms,  and  blue  eyes,  indicative  of  their  northern 
origin.  The  peasant  women  are  remarkable  for  their  industry, 
at  least  in  spinning ;  for  they  are  always  to  be  seen  with  the 
old  rock  and  distaff  in  their  hands,  whether  walking  or  seated 
by  their  hearths,  or  at  their  cottage  doors.  A  brooch  of  pewter, 
brass,  copper,  or  silver,  used  by  the  old  women  to  fasten  their 
blanket-plaids  in  front,  is  almost  the  only  ornament  indulged 
in.  It  is  often  preserved  with  much  care,  and  handed  down 
from  mother  to  daughter  as  a  valuable  family  relic. 

8.  The  population,  as  of  the  other  Hebrides,  is  very  redun- 
dant, owing  to  the  system  of  small  crofts,  which,  becoming 
subdivided,  are  too  small  for  the  support  of  a  family — a  perni- 
cious system,  to  which  the  kindly  feelings  and  the  cupidity  of 
landlords  and  tacksmen  have  been  alike  tempted  :  for,  while  it 
is  painful  to  the  most  ordinary  sensibility  to  dispossess  the  people, 
the  high  nominal  rents  increasing  according  to  the  minuteness 
of  subdivision,  occasionally  may  have  subserved  a  purpose,  and 
thus  led  to  the  same  result  as  the  disinterested  and  benevolent 
feelings  which,  in  general,  prompt  to  the  perpetuation  of  the 
mistaken  system.  Now  the  pressure  of  the  recent  Poor  Laws 
has  alarmed  Highland  proprietors,  and,  of  late,  precipitated 
more  frequent  occasional  summary  ejectments,  and  compulsory 
emigration.  Unfortunately  it  too  often  happens  that  their  own 
embarrassed  or  straightened  circumstances  stand  in  the  way  of 
those  gradual  changes  which  humanity  and  sound  policy  dic- 
tate. The  failure  of  the  potatoe  crop,  occasioning  an  excessive 
degree  o'f  distress,  where,  as  in  the  Highlands  and  Islands,  it 
had  been  a  staple  source  of  sustenance,  has  contributed  to 
hasten  on  a  general  change  in  the  condition  of  the  Highland 
peasantry.  Much  difference  of  opinion  prevails  as  to  the  best 


DIV.  in.  RASAr.  647 

system  for  their  permanent  welfare,  as  to  size  of  croft  and  other 
details ;  and  public  attention  is  kept  so  much  alive  on  the 
subject,  that  though  many  of  the  poor  Highlanders  must  needs 
be  subjected  to  many  a  bitter  pang  in  their  present  transition 
state ;  and  no  people  endure  the  ills  of  life,  and  the  pinching 
poverty  of  their  lot,  with  so  much  of  unrepining  and  quiet 
endurance,  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  eventual  and  permanent 
amelioration  must  be  the  result ;  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
all  persons  immediately  concerned  will  act  under  an  increasing 
sense  of  responsibility  towards  those  committed  by  providence 
in  subordination  to  them.  The  young  men  in  Skye  and  other 
islands  go  to  the  south  in  summer  to  seek  work,  and  return  in 
winter :  the  young  women  for  a  shorter  time  in  harvest.  A  large 
portion  of  the  middle-aged  resort  to  the  herring  fishing  on  the 
east  coast,  during  June,  July,  and  August — a  migratory 
character  which  is  not  favourable  to  morals  or  religious 
principle. 


SECTION  EIGHTH.— BRANCH  E. 

MQes. 
DIVISION  III. — BBOADPORD  TO  BROCHEL  CASTLE,  IN  RASAY,      16 

Island  of  Rasay,  1. — Brochel  Castle ;  Tradition  respecting,  2. — 
Dr.  Johnson's  Remarks  on  Rasay,  3. 

1.  THE  ruins  of  Brochel  Castle,  almost  the  only  object  in  Rasay 
(excepting  the  fossil  contents  of  its  rocks)  deserving  of  parti- 
cular notice,  form  a  scene  that  may  serve  as  the  object  of  a 
day's  excursion  from  Broadford.  They  are  situated  on  the 
north-east  point  of  the  island  of  Rasay ;  and,  as  the  distance  is 
fifteen  or  sixteen  miles,  it  is  prudent  to  take  a  four-oared  boat. 
On  leaving  Broadford,  we  pass  a  large  house  by  the  water-side, 
belonging  to  Mr.  Mackinnon  of  Corrychatachan.  Our  course 
lies  between  Scalpa,  which  possesses  no  features  of  any  interest, 
and  a  low,  flat  island,  called  Pabba.  Crossing  thence  to  Rasay, 
we  continue  to  coast  along  its  eastern  side,  which  consists  of  a 
range  of  lofty  and  perpendicular  cliffs,  surmounted  with  patches 
of  cultivated  ground.  The  base  of  the  cliffs  is  in  some  places 
strewed  with  large  fragments  of  rock,  and,  looking  upwards,  we 
discover  that  the  finger  of  Time  has  been  marking  out  other 


648  BROCHEL    CASTLE.  SECT.  VIII.  E. 

large  portions  for  similar  destruction.  The  gradual  advances, 
and  final  triumph  of  decay,  lend  additional  interest  to  the  high 
and  mural  precipices,  and  afford  numerous  interesting  studies 
of  rock  scenery. 

2.  Brochel  Castle  stands  in  a  little  bay,  where  the  cliffs  have 
sunk  to  a  moderate  height ;  and  the  site  judiciously  chosen  for 
it  is  a  conglomerate  rock,  the  upper  portion  of  which  is  isolated, 
and  detached  from  the  surrounding  strata.  This  rock  consists 
of  two  ledges ;  on  the  lower  of  which,  rising  from  the  very  edge, 
is  a  small  building  of  two  low  storeys,  having  a  narrow  court 
within  it ;  on  the  top  of  the  rock  has  been  perched  another 
diminutive  building  of  two  storeys,  with  but  one  apartment  in 
each,  surmounted  by  battlements  and  a  warder's  room.  Two 
triangular  and  loop-holed  recesses  adjoining  occupy  all  the  re- 
maining space.  The  castle  is  quite  inaccessible,  save  by  the 
single  approach  which  has  been  cut  on  the  side  next  the  sea ; 
and  even  here  the  ascent  is  so  steep,  as  to  require  the  aid  of 
one's  hands  in  climbing  it :  the  entrance  is  by  a  steep,  narrow, 
and  roofed  passage,  between  the  lower  building  and  the  rock  ; 
and,  altogether,  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  a  situation  more 
happily  adapted  for  security  and  defence,  in  an  age  when  the 
great  engines  of  modern  warfare  were  unknown. 

The  following  tradition,  regarding  the  building  of  the  castle, 
is  taken  from  the  narrative  of  an  old  man,  an  inhabitant  of  an 
adjoining  hut.  John  More  M'Gillicallum  (a  cadet  of  the  family 
of  Macleod  in  the  Lewis,  commonly  called  Shiel  Torquill)  was 
hunting  in  the  hills  of  Glamack,  near  Sconser,  in  Skye,  accom- 
panied by  a  henchman,  who,  from  his  great  size  and  strength, 
was  distinguished  by  the  name  of  Gillie-More.  Their  two  dogs, 
while  in  pursuit  of  a  deer,  had  got  a  considerable  way  a-head, 
and  out  of  sight.  They  were  observed  from  a  galley,  which  was 
lying  at  anchor  near  the  shore,  by  her  commander,  young 
Kreshinish,  who,  seeing  the  dogs  overtake  their  prey,  went 
ashore,  and  had  them  and  the  deer  conveyed  on  board.  Gilli- 
callum  coming  up,  demanded  restitution  of  his  dogs :  Kreshinish 
refused  compliance,  and  a  scuffle  ensued,  which  was  speedily 
ended  by  the  latter  receiving  a  death-blow  from  the  powerful 
arm  of  the  Gillie-More.  Some  time  thereafter  the  elder  Kreshi- 
nish came  to  Skye  to  seek  for  the  murderer  of  his  son ;  and, 
being  at  Dun  vegan,  in  company  with  Macleod  of  Dun  vegan, 
M'Donald  of  the  Isles,  and  John  More  M'Gillicallum,  he,  after 


DIV.  III.  TRADITION  OF  BROCHEL  CASTLE.  649 

dinner,  produced  a  bag  of  silver,  which  he  said  he  would  give 
to  the  man  who  would  discover  the  name  of  the  murderer.  The 
Gillie-More  composedly  walked  into  the  hall,  acknowledged 
himself  author  of  the  deed,  but  desired  to  be  allowed  to  explain 
the  circumstances  of  it.  He  then  narrated  the  seizure  of  the 
dogs,  and  how  young  Kreshinish  brought  his  death  upon  himself 
by  the  uncourteous  and  unjustifiable  detention  of  them.  Seeing 
no  reason  to  doubt  the  truth  of  the  story,  Kreshinish  expressed 
himself  perfectly  satisfied ;  but  now  the  stalwart  islesman 
claimed  the  promised  reward,  which  the  sorrowing  father  un- 
hesitatingly gave  him.  The  Gillie-More,  determined  to  make 
a  good  use  of  his  treasure,  offered  to  give  it  to  his  master,  John 
More  M'Gillicallum,  on  condition  that  he  would  expend  it  in 
building  a  stronghold ;  to  which  the  latter  cheerfully  agreeing, 
they  settled  in  Rasay,  says  the  tradition,  and  built  the  Castle 
of  Brochel. 

3.  Of  the  Island  of  Rasay,  Dr.  Johnson  said  with  truth, 
"  that  it  has  little  that  can  detain  a  traveller,  except  the  Laird 
and  his  family ;  but  their  power  wants  no  auxiliaries.  Such  a 
seat  of  hospitality,  amidst  the  winds  and  waters,  fills  the  ima- 
gination with  a  delightful  contrariety  of  images.  Without  is 
the  rough  ocean  and  the  rocky  land,  the  beating  billows  and 
the  howling  storm ;  within  is  plenty  and  elegance,  beauty  and 
gaiety,  the  song  and  the  dance.  In  Rasay,  if  I  could  have  found 
an  Ulysses,  I  had  fancied  a  Phoeacia." 


2  F 


650  THE  LONG  ISLAND.  SECT.  VIII.  F. 


SECTION  EIGHTH.  — BRANCH  F. 

THE    OUTER    HEBRIDES,    OR    THE    LONG   ISLAND. 

"  As  when  a  shepherd  of  the  Hebrid  Isles, 
Placed  far  amid  the  melancholy  main  ; 
(Whether  it  be  lone  fancy  him  beguiles; 
Or  that  aerial  beings  sometimes  deign 
To  stand  embodied,  to  our  senses  plain), 
Sees  on  the  naked  hill  or  valley  low, 
The  whilst  in  ocean  Phrebus  dips  his  wain, 
A  vast  assembly  moving  to  and  fro, 
Then  all  at  once  in  air  dissolves  the  wond'rous  show." 

THOMSON. 

General  features;  Emigration;  Mr.  Mathcson's  Improvements;  Botany  and  Geo- 
logy, foot-note,  1. — Produce ;  Fisheries ;  Distance  of  Inns ;  Aspect  of  the  Islands,  2. 
Cave  in  Lewis;  Antiquities;  Monastery  and  Church  at  Rodel;  Stone  Circle  at 
Loch  Bernera,  3. — Stornoway;  Stornbway  Castle,  4. — Implements;  Packets; 
Steam-boat ;  Road  and  Inns,  5.— Climate  of  Long  Island,  6.— Storms,  7- — Scenery, 
8. — Occurrences  in  Rebellion  of  1745, 9. — Prince  Charles'  Wanderings,  10. 

1.  UNDER  the  general  denomination  of  the  Long  Island  are 
comprehended  that  large  group  of  islands  called  the  Outer 
Hebrides,  the  principal  of  which  are  Lewis,  or  Lews  (the  land 
of  Leod  or  M'Leod,  and  commonly  styled  the  Leics),  and  Harris, 
North  and  South  Uist,  Benbecula,  and  Barra ;  and  the  whole 
length  of  which,  from  Barra-head  to  the  Butt  of  Lewis,  is  about 
120  miles.  The  northern  part  of  this  great  chain,  viz.  the  Lews 
(a  tract  of  ground  about  forty  miles  in  length,  and  in  some 
places  twenty-four  in  breadth)  is  in  the  county  of  Ross ;  Har- 
ris, though  in  the  same  island,  and  all  the  other  islands  belong 
to  the  shire  of  Inverness.  Lews,  long  ago  won  and  retained  by 
the  sword  as  an  appendage  of  the  Seaforth  family,  "  high  chiefs 
of  Kintail,"  and  head  of  the  Clan  Mackenzie,  has  now,  by  pur- 
chase, passed  into  the  hands  of  James  Matheson,  Esq.  of  Achany 
and  Lews,  Member  of  Parliament  for  the  combined  counties  of 
Ross  and  Cromarty,  who  is  himself  a  descendant,  and  the  head 
of  the  very  ancient  Celtic  race  who  possessed  the  Mackenzies' 
country  about  Loch  Duich  and  Lochalsh,  in  the  reign  of  Alex- 
ander III.  (A.D.  1264).  Harris,  separated  from  the  Lews  by  a 
narrow  isthmus  of  about  six  miles  in  width,  formerly  the  pro- 
perty of  an  old  and  distinguished  branch  of  the  Macleod  family, 
now  belongs  to  Lord  Dunmore ;  Lord  Macdonald  possesses  the 
whole  of  North  Uist ;  the  island  of  Benbecula,  and  great  part 
of  South  Uist,  formerly  the  property  of  Macdonald  of  Clanranald, 


SECT.  VIII.  F.  GENERAL   FEATURES.  651 

is  now  that  of  Colonel  Gordon  of  Cluny ;  and  the  remainder  of 
South  Uist  is  the  inheritance  of  Macdonald  of  Boisdale ;  whilst 
Barra,  with  its  surrounding  isles,  belongs  also  to  Colonel  Gor- 
don. The  whole  of  these  islands,  though  now  completely  des- 
titute of  wood,  with  the  exception  of  some  ornamental  planta- 
tions around  Mr.  Matheson's  residence  at  Stornoway  Castle,  and 
a  thriving  plantation  of  oak,  ash,  rowan-tree,  and  poplars,  at 
Rodel  House,  in  Harris,  shew,  by  the  large  roots  and  stems 
found  in  the  mosses  and  along  the  water  courses,  that  they  were 
once  well  clothed  with  trees.  The  surface  now  (as  if  a  great 
change  of  climate  had  ensued)  is  everywhere  covered  with 
stunted  heather  and  moss,  and  extensive  peat  bogs.  The  islands 
are  all  more  or  less  hilly,  though  not  rising  to  any  considerable 
size,  except  one  hill  in  Lews,  and  in  the  district  of  Harris  where 
the  mountains  attain  the  extreme  height  of  from  2000  to  3000 
feet,  are  there  more  crowded  together,  and  more  rocky  and  bar- 
ren than  in  the  other  islands.  The  splintered  and  spiry  granite 
rocks  in  some  parts  of  Harris,  present  scenery  of  the  most  pic- 
turesque character.  To  the  south  of  the  Sound  of  Harris,  the 
hilly  ground  is  chiefly  confined  to  the  east  coast,  and  is  suc- 
ceeded by  a  wide  tract  of  flat  peat  moss.  The  western  shore  of 
the  islands  consists  of  a  sandy  soil,  yielding  good  arable  ground. 
There  are  here  prodigious  tracts  of  shell  sand,  miles  in  breadth, 
and  the  downs  along  them  are  covered  with  the  richest  vegeta- 
tion, and  present  a  most  brilliant  mass  of  colouring,  from  the 
profuse  and  luxuriant  flowers  of  the  white  clover,  intermingled 
with  innumerable  daisies,  butter-cups,  and  diminutive  meadow 
plants.*  In  summer  this  part  of  the  country  presents  an  agree- 

*  In  the  ruts  of  streams,  lacustrine  islets,  and  clefts  of  rocks  throughout  these 
islands,  a  few  stunted  stems  may  occasionally  he  seen  of  the  common  birch,  the  broad 
leaved  elm,  the  rowan-tree  or  mountain  ash,  the  hazel  and  aspen,  with  a  few  dwarfish 
willows — Rubus  corylifolius,  Rosa  tomentosa,  Lonicera  Periclymenum,  and  HederaHelix, 
arethe  only  shrubs  worth  mentioning — (Professor MacGillivray.)  Thalictrum  Alpinum 
is  almost  the  only  Alpine  plant  to  be  found  in  Harris.  Ajuga  pyramidales,  Osmunda 
regalis,  and  Pinguicula  htsitanica  occur  along  a  rocky  burn  about  a  mile  south  of 
Stornoway ;  but  Menziesia  cerulea  is  not  now  to  be  found  in  the  Shiant  Isles.  Dr. 
Balfour,  in  his  report  to  the  Edinburgh  Botanical  Society  in  1841,  remarks,  that 
"  there  is  hardly  a  true  Alpine  or  rare  plant  to  be  found  in  the  Long  Island.  The 
phanerogamous  species  amount  to  316,  of  which  15  or  1-21  part  are  true  ferns,  and 
22  belong  to  the  order  Filices  Lycopodiacece  and  Equisilacea.  The  geology  of  the  dis- 
trict is  equally  simple — the  whole  islands  being  composed  of  various  modifications  of  a 
hard  gneiss,  with  but  here  and  there  a  basaltic  or  trap  dyke ;  and  in  one  peninsula  to 
the  eastward  of  Stornoway,  a  small  deposit  of  old  red  sandstone  conglomerate — the 
remains  of  those  extensive  sheets  of  sandstone  which  once  united  it  with  the  masses 
of  the  same  rock  on  the  Scottish  mainland.  In  the  outer  Hebrides  there  seems  to 
be  an  unusual  scantiness  of  the  debris  and  gravel  beds  which  cover  the  rest  of  the 
kingdom ;  but  there  are  in  a  few  places  sea  margins  and  ancient  terraces,  and  some 
beds  of  deep  clay,  indicative  of  the  same  agencies  which  elsewhere  have  given  rise  to 


652  EMIGRATION.  SECT.  VHI.  F. 

able  and  smiling  aspect ;  but  in  winter  it  shares  the  general 
desolation  of  the  adjoining  islands.  On  this  side  the  great  mass 
of  the  population  of  the  southern  islands  is  collected ;  elsewhere 
the  country  is  left  uninhabited,  except  in  the  immediate  vici- 
nity of  the  bays  and  arms  of  the  sea.  Poverty  is  but  too  pre- 
valent among  the  people — a  mixed  Celtic  and  Scandinavian  race 
— shell-fish  forming  almost  their  only  subsistence  during  the  lat- 
ter summer  and  earlier  autumn  months.  Yet,  under  all  their 
privations,  these  poor  people  are  hardy,  cheerful,  and  contented. 
Their  number  is  redundant ;  for  which  the  only  remedy  appears 
to  be  a  well-arranged  system  of  progressive  emigration. 

A  deal  of  angry  discussion  has  of  late  years  taken  place  on 
this  subject,  one  party  maintaining  that  there  is  no  necessity 
for  emigration,  were  the  people  duly  fostered  and  instructed 
how  to  avail  themselves  of  the  resources  within  their  reach,  in 
the  sea  and  land,  and  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  landlords  to  do 
everything  for  them,  save  turning  them  away  from  their  native 
holdings.  Another  party,  on  the  contrary,  maintain  that  where 
a  population  has  within  60  years  doubled  itself,  and  the  great 
means  of  their  support,  in  later  times,  (the  kelp  trade),  has 
vanished,  whereby  the  lower  orders  have  become  pauperized,  it 
is  vain  to  expect  that  they  can  be  recovered,  except  by  their 
engaging  in  new  employments,  (as  the  deep-sea  fishing),  or  be- 
taking themselves  to  new  abodes ;  and  that  no  race  of  land- 
owners can  long  afford  to  let  their  possessions  be  occupied  by 
others  totally  rent  free.  Whatever  the  necessities,  on  speculative 
views,  of  some  of  the  proprietors  may  induce  them  to  do,  it  is 
fortunate  for  the  great  district  of  the  Lews,  that  it  is  now  in 
the  hands  of  a  gentleman  both  able  and  willing  to  give  the  ex- 
periment, of  what  can  be  effected  by  local  improvement  and 
exertion,  the  fairest  and  most  ample  trial.  The  late  proprietrix, 
the  Honourable  Mrs.  Stewart  Mackenzie,  (daughter  of  the  last 
Lord  Seaforth),  and  her  husband,  the  Honourable  S.  Mackenzie, 
Lord  High  Commissioner  of  the  Ionian  Islands,  than  whom  the 
Highlanders  had  no  more  warm  or  intelligent  friends,  introduced 


iiammy  me  rmcs  ui  uiai  greui  line  ui  nr\uiru  iiiuuiuiuus,  wmuii,  rir  uir  I.IM  change 
of  level  of  the  ocean  in  this  hemisphere,  seems  to  have  extended  from  the  coasts  of 
Spain  and  Portugal,  northwards  along  the  Welsh,  Cumbrian,  and  western  side  of 
Scotland,  and  whence  dipped  eastwards  the  shelving  strata  of  secondary  rocks  which 
extended  to  the  great  European  plains,  across  the  bed  of  what  is  now  the  German  and 
Baltir  seas. 


SECT.  vin.  F.     MR.  MATHESON'S  IMPROVEMENTS.  653 

many  spirited  improvements  (which,  however,  long  absence 
latterly  interrupted),  and  laid  a  commencement  in  the  for- 
mation of  roads  and  bridges  for  a  regular  system  of  drainage, 
and  an  internal  communication  of  the  districts  with  one  another. 
Mr.  Matheson  has  followed  up  those  measures  on  a  more  exten- 
sive scale,  under  the  superintendence,  for  a  time,  of  a  perse- 
vering, though  sanguine  agriculturist,  the  late  Mr.  Smith  of 
Deanstoun.  Already  he  has  drained,  trenched,  enclosed,  and 
brought  into  culture,  nearly  2000  acres  of  waste  land,  and  of 
which  a  large  proportion  is  now  under  crop,  and  let  to  tenants. 
There  are,  we  believe,  about  a  hundred  times  as  much  more 
reclaimable  ground  on  his  vast  property.  To  overtake  its  cul- 
ture must  be  the  work  of  generations ;  but  meanwhile,  the  pas- 
turage of  the  whole  is  being  greatly  improved.  The  most 
humble  of  the  tenants  (called  crofters,  from  having  only  small 
plots  or  crofts  to  cultivate)  have  got  leases,  and  are  improving 
their  land  according  to  a  regular  plan — the  money  being  ad- 
vanced by  the  proprietor  in  the  first  instance,  on  an  annual 
charge  of  5  per  cent,  interest  for  the  use  of  it.  Besides  im- 
proving and  repairing  80  miles  of  roads  constructed  by  his  pre- 
decessors, Mr.  Matheson  has  also  formed  about  100  miles  of  new 
roads,  and  erected  upwards  of  twenty  bridges,  thus  rendering 
almost  every  corner  of  the  island  accessible  to  carriages,  exclu- 
sive of  the  improvements  in  the  town  of  Stornoway,  to  be  after- 
wards noticed ;  and,  besides  his  encouragement  of  the  fisheries,  he 
has  likewise  granted  feu  rights  of  building-stances  to  his  villagers 
on  easy  conditions — simply  binding  them  to  certain  general 
police  and  sanitary  regulations ;  to  perfect  the  drainage  he  has 
erected  an  extensive  brick  and  tile  work,  driven  by  steam,  at  a 
locality  where  the  finest  clay  exists,  in  an  inexhaustible  bed ; 
he  has  formed  extensive  canals,  or  general  drains,  to  carry  away 
the  moss  water  where  the  surface  is  low ;  has  planted  about 
800  acres  with  forest-trees,  and  has  introduced  improved  breeds 
of  horses  and  cattle.  By  a  bold  and  judiciously-managed  ex- 
periment, Mr.  Matheson  has  likewise  succeeded  in  raising  from 
seed,  in  several  places  in  the  close  vicinity  of  the  sea,  the  cele- 
brated tussac  grass  from  the  Falkland  Islands,  a  most  invaluable 
succulent  plant  for  all  sorts  of  ruminant  animals,  and  which, 
should  it  continue  to  thrive,  will  of  itself  most  amply  reward 
his  patriotic  exertions.  Under  such  auspices,  the  capabilities 
of  the  soil  and  climate,  and  the  power  and  energy  of  the  people 


654  HERRING   AND    COD    FISHING.        SECT.  VIII.  P. 

to  arouse  themselves  from  their  present  abject  condition,  and 
the  occasional  risk  of  starvation,  from  failures  in  their  potato 
and  grain  crops,  will  be  fully  tested,  and  the  policy  or  impolicy 
of  emigration  on  a  great  scale  demonstrated. 

2.  The  chief  product  of  these  islands  has  hitherto  been  kelp, 
of  which  several  thousand  tons  are  annually  exported ;  sea- 
ware  being  peculiarly  abundant,  owing  to  the  very  extended 
line  of  sea-coast,  produced  by  the  arms  of  the  sea,  by  which 
the  Long  Island  is  indented,  and  the  numerous  rocks  and 
islands  with  which  the  coasts  and  the  passages  or  straits 
between  the  larger  islands  abound.  As  an  example  of  the  in- 
tricate winding  of  the  salt-water  lochs,  and  the  number  of 
islands  with  which  they  are  studded,  we  may  refer  to  Loch 
Maddy  in  North  Uist,  which  covers  about  ten  square  miles,  and 
yet  the  coast  line  of  its  numerous  windings,  creeks,  bays,  and 
islands,  approaches  to  three  hundred  miles.  The  cod,  ling,  and 
herring  fishery,  are  the  other  chief  sources  of  subsistence  for 
the  over-abundant  population  of  these  remote  islands.  A  Lon- 
don company  have  an  agent  regularly  settled  at  Loch  Roag  for 
the  purpose  of  transmitting  lobsters  to  the  tables  of  the  London 
gourmands.  A  vessel  sails  weekly  for  the  Thames,  constructed 
so  as  to  contain  a  large  well,  in  which  the  fish  are  conveyed 
alive,  and  in  this  way  an  average  of  15,000  lobsters  are  sent 
every  week  to  the  London  market.  Sometimes  the  number  has 
been  as  great  as  40,000 !  The  agent  at  Loch  Roag  distributes 
from  £3000  to  J4000  per  annum  among  the  men  engaged  in 
this  traffic.  We  are  delighted  to  observe,  in  the  Report  of  the 
British  Fisheries  Commissioners  for  1849,  that  the  Long  Island 
returns  stand  as  follows  : — 

Barrels 

Herrings  cured  16,438J 

Herrings  taken  and  consumed,  and  not  cured  3,600 

Cwt 

Cod,  ling,  or  hake  cured  14,090^ 

Cod,  ling,  or  hake  taken  and  consumed,  and  not  cured 10,500 

Boats  employed,  decked  and  undecked 614 


Manned  by  fishermen  and  boys 3,736 

Total  number  of  persons  employed 4,900 

The  formation  of  a  harbour  at  West  Loch  Tarbet,  in  Harris 


SECT.  VIII.  F.  SCENERY.  (555 

has  proved  of  the  utmost  benefit  in  the  prosecution  of  the 
fisheries.  With  the  wages  they  earn  in  fishing,  and  the  burn- 
ing of  kelp,  the  poor  cottars  contrive  to  eke  out  the  rents  of 
their  crofts,  which  of  themselves,  at  least  as  formerly  managed, 
are  barely  sufficient  for  the  maintenance  of  the  persons  who 
labour  them.  To  these  means,  shell-fish,  which  are  found  in 
great  variety  and  abundance,  form  a  valuable  addition.  The 
quantities  of  these,  particularly  of  cockles,  on  the  shores  of  the 
most  parts  of  the  Long  Island,  is  almost  inconceivable.  Sheep 
are  pretty  numerous ;  but  these  islands  are  more  celebrated 
for  their  black  cattle  and  ponies,  of  which  great  numbers  are 
annually  exported.  Red  deer,  grouse,  woodcocks,  plovers,  and, 
in  some  few  places,  rabbits,  are  plentiful ;  and  all  the  varieties 
of  sea-fowl  that  frequent  the  coasts  of  Scotland  are  found  in 
great  abundance,  as  also  eagles,  hawks,  and  other  carnivorous 
birds. 

Besides  the  small  tenants,  there  are  in  most  of  the  islands 
tacksmen,  who  rent  large  farms,  chiefly  well  educated  and 
gentlemanly  men,  and  distinguished  for  their  hospitality. 

The  hills  are  generally  too  heavy  and  smooth  in  their  out- 
line, and  the  cliffs  too  low,  to  exhibit  much  interesting  scenery. 
Indeed,  Lewis  and  Harris  alone  present  any  peculiar  features  ; 
as  the  openings  of  Lochs  Seaforth  and  Clay,  in  the  vicinity  of 
Gallanhead  and  the  Butt  of  Lewis,  and  the  coasts  and  interior 
and  Sound  of  Harris  ;  and  also  the  islands  of  Bernera  and  Min- 
galay,  at  the  south  of  Barra,  in  the  latter  of  which  the  rocks 
are  said  to  be  1200  or  1400  feet  in  height,  and  tenanted  by  pro- 
digious flocks  of  sea-fowl.  Each  kind  maintains  its  own  pecu- 
liar portion  of  the  rock.  Their  serried  ranks  of  white  breasts 
and  red  bills,  when  at  rest,  are  not  less  remarkable  than  their 
dissonant  clamour  on  being  roused,  when  they  darken  the  air 
with  their  fluttering  masses.  But  the  bird's-eye  view  from  any 
of  the  hills  is  curious,  owing  to  the  strange  and  intricate  inter- 
mixture of  land  and  water.  In  addition  to  the  arms  of  the  sea 
by  which  the  Long  Island  is  cut  up,  it  is  also  intersected  (par- 
ticularly to  the  south  of  the  Sound  of  Harris)  with  numerous 
fresh-water  lakes.  These  are  generally  shallow,  and  their  waters 
are  tinged  of  a  brown  colour  from  the  peat,  but  they  abound  in 
trout.  They  have  seldom  any  inlets  or  feeding  streams,  being 
in  many  cases  mere  deposits  of  rain  water — in  fact,  brooks  are 
rare,  except  in  the  Lewis. 


656  RUINS  OF  RELIGIOUS  HOUSES.         SECT.  VIII.  K. 

3.  Of  the  objects  worthy  of  the  traveller's  attention,  one  of 
the  principal  is  the  remarkable  cave  near  Gress,  in  the  parish 
of  Stomoway,  which  used  to  be  annually  invaded  by  a  body 
of  the  natives,  to  despatch  the  seals,  which  flock  hither  in 
great  numbers.  It  is  upwards  of  200  yards  in  length,  and 
is  partially  covered  with  stalactite,  like  Strathaird's  Cave  in 
Skye. 

As  respects  antiquities,  numerous  remains  of  the  circular 
towers,  called  Dunes  or  Burghs,  are  to  be  seen  on  the  hills  and 
islands  in  the  lochs.  To  these  last,  causeways  often  conduct 
from  the  shore,  raised  nearly  to  the  present  surface  of  the 
water.  Of  the  circles  of  stones  so  common  in  the  Highlands, 
and  generally  designated  as  Druidical,  there  are  also  a  great 
number,  called  by  the  natives  fir  bhreig,  or  false  men,  from  their 
resemblance,  when  seen  at  a  distance,  to  the  human  form.  The 
largest  collection  of  them  occurs  near  Loch  Bernera,  in  Lewis, 
and  which  has  been  figured  and  minutely  described  by  Dr.  Mac- 
culloch  (Western  Isles,  vol.  i.,  p.  185).  The  principal  structure 
consists  of  a  wide  circle,  with  a  large  central  stone,  from  the 
circumference  of  which  branch  off  four  lines  of  upright  stones, 
opposite  each  other  in  a  cruciform  shape.  The  extreme  points 
of  two  of  these  lines  are  about  650  feet  apart,  and  of  the  other 
two  about  200  feet.  One  of  those  lines  consists  of  a  double  row 
of  stones,  which,  like  the  others,  average  about  four  feet  in 
height.  There  are  also  some  ruins  of  very  early  Christian 
churches,  hermits'  cells,  and  other  religious  houses,  in  these 
islands,  and  of  a  few  nunneries — the  last  of  which  are  now  char- 
acteristically called  "Teagh  nan  cailichan  dhu" — "  The  houses 
of  the  old  black  women."  The  churches  and  most  of  the  smaller 
chapels  appear  to  have  depended  immediately  on  the  monastery 
at  Rodel,  or  Rowadill,  in  Harris,  founded — as  remarked  by 
Spottiswoode,  in  his  Account  of  the  Religious  Houses,  appended 
to  Keith's  Catalogue  of  the  Scottish  Bishops — "  by  Macleod  of 
Harris,  and  situated  on  the  south-east  point  of  the  island,  on 
the  sea-coast,  under  Ben  Rowadill."  It  was  one  of  the  twenty- 
eight  monasteries  in  Scotland  belonging  to  the  Canons  Regulars 
of  St.  Augustine,  who  here,  as  at  Oronsay  and  Colonsay,  were 
most  likely  superinduced,  through  the  influence  of  Rome,  upon 
more  ancient  and  simple  foundations  of  St.  Columba's  disciples. 
The  establishment  of  this  monastery  (dedicated  to  St.  Clement) 
is  usually  ascribed  to  King  David  I.,  but,  we  believe,  on  no 


SECT.  VIII.  F.      CASTELLATED  RUINS — STORNOWAY.  657 

good  authority.  The  church  is  still  in  tolerable  repair ;  it  is 
cruciform,  with  a  tower  about  sixty  feet  high,  forming  one  side 
of  the  transept,  and  which  is  conspicuous  from  a  great  distance. 
On  Norman  foundations,  the  superstructure  is  of  Early  English ; 
the  altar  window  is  simple  but  beautiful,  and  the  capitals  of 
the  columns  have  grotesque  figures  and  carvings  like  those  of 
lona.  There  are  two  nude  figures ;  and,  as  Dr.  Macculloch  re- 
marks, "  the  sculpture  presents  some  peculiarities  which  are 
well  worthy  the  notice  of  an  antiquary,  and,  from  their  analogy 
to  certain  allusions  in  Oriental  worship,  are  objects  of  much 
curiosity." 

The  most  entire,  indeed  almost  the  only,  castle  is  on  the 
island  of  Barra,  and  was  the  ancient  residence  of  the  Macneils. 
It  is  a  sort  of  fort,  standing  on  an  islet  in  Chisamil  Bay.  Walls 
about  sixty  feet  high  enclose  an  irregular  area,  within  which 
are  a  strong  square  keep,  and  other  buildings.  There  is  a  dock 
of  the  exact  dimensions  of  a  galley,  and  good  anchorage  on  all 
sides  of  the  rock.  Martin  was  informed  that,  in  his  time,  this 
building  was  reputed  to  be  of  500  years'  standing.  In  the 
island  of  Eriskay,  in  the  Sound  of  Barra,  is  another  picturesque 
ruin,  called  Castle  Stalker,  well  known  to  sailors  as  a  land- 
mark. 

4.  The  only  town  is  Stornoway,  on  the  east  coast  of  Lews — 
a  burgh  commenced  by  James  VI.  to  civilize  the  natives — on 
reaching  which,  the  stranger  is  surprised  at  finding  so  consi- 
derable and  flourishing  a  place  in  so  remote  and  uninviting  a 
corner.  It  is  a  fishing  establishment,  with  several  streets  of 
substantial  and  slated  houses,  and  numerous  shops,  inns,  and 
public-houses.  There  is  a  Masonic  Lodge,  spacious  and  elegant 
Assembly  Rooms,  with  a  handsome  Reading-room.  With  the 
surrounding  tract  of  cultivated  fields  and  plantations,  and  some 
remains  adjoining  of  an  old  castle,  said  to  have  been  dismantled 
by  Cromwell's  soldiery — and  the  modern  castle,  separated  only 
by  a  narrow  channel  of  the  bay  from  the  town — and  its  spa- 
cious piers  and  capacious  bay,  protected  by  two  low  headlands 
and  an  island,  Stornoway  forms  a  remarkable  relief  to  the  pre- 
vailing dull,  barren,  and  dreary  appearance  of  the  country. 
Occasionally,  from  the  crowded  shipping,  it  is  a  place  of  much 
life  and  gaiety.  The  town's  people  are  distinguished  by  an  eager 
pursuit  of  commerce,  and  the  shipping  belonging  to  the  port  is 
extensive.  It  is  the  seat  of  a  district  Sheriff-court .  The  sea- 


658  STORNOWAY — EDUCATION.        SECT.  VIII.  F. 

beach  consists  of  fine  shingle,  well  adapted  for  drying  fish  upon, 
and  on  which  many  tons  of  fish,  piled  up  in  great  heaps,  may 
often  be  seen  in  various  stages  of  preservation. 

Besides  promoting  the  cleanliness  and  comfort  of  the  town 
by  every  means  in  his  power,  such  as  founding  gas  and  water 
companies,  and  taking  up  half  the  stock  of  each — laying  down 
a  Morton's  patent  slip,  worked  by  steam,  and  which  will  haul 
up  a  vessel  of  800  tons — constructing  a  market  place  for  the 
sale  of  butcher  meat  and  vegetables  to  the  shipping — pur- 
chasing up  and  completing  a  neat  Episcopal  chapel  built  by 
subscription,  but  which  had  been  encumbered  with  debt ; — Mr. 
Matheson  of  Lews  has  also  taken  a  deep  interest  in  the  cause 
of  education  generally  throughout  the  island,  and  especially 
at  Stornoway.  In  the  year  1847,  he  built  an  industrial  female 
school,  with  an  endowment  for  the  schoolmistress,  to  which  a 
handsome  additional  contribution  is  made  by  the  inhabitants. 
At  this  seminary  Ayrshire  flowering  needlework  is  taught,  by 
means  of  which  the  native  females  are  already,  like  their  sisters 
in  the  north  of  Ireland,  enabled  to  support  themselves,  and 
that  by  an  employment  tending  directly  to  soften  their  charac- 
ters and  improve  their  tastes.  If  this  branch  of  industry  shall 
get  fairly  rooted,  we  presume  the  straw  plait  manufacture  will 
follow,  as  in  Orkney.  Several  schools  have  likewise  been  built 
and  endowed  throughout  the  island,  but  hitherto  the  attendance 
has  been  retarded  by  a  disinclination  on  the  part  of  the  parents 
to  lose  the  services  of  their  children  in  herding,  and  an  appre- 
hension that  education  may  dispose  them  to  try  to  better  them- 
selves by  emigration.  To  attach  himself  still  farther  by 
personal  residence  to  his  adopted  island  and  new  tenantry,  Mr. 
Matheson  has  likewise  erected  a  splendid  mansion-house,  Stor- 
noway Castle,  on  the  site  of  Seaforth  Lodge.  It  is  a  very 
large  building  in  the  castellated  Tudor  style,  erected  chiefly 
of  granite  found  in  the  neighbourhood,  with  white  sandstone 
dressings  from  quarries  near  Glasgow.  The  south  facade  mea- 
sures 153  feet  in  length ;  the  eastern  or  entrance  facade  170 
feet.  The  building  is  of  various  elevations  and  projections,  and 
being  flat-roofed  and  battlemented,  several  portions  have  a 
massive  tower-like  appearance,  while  different  slender  towers 
shoot  up  above  these.  The  octagon  tower  (built  wholly  of 
Colonsay  granite)  rises  to  a  height  of  94,  and  the  flag  tower  to 
102  feet.  There  are  in  all  74  apartments  in  the  castle,  and  a 


SECT.  VIII.  F. 


STORNOWAY  CASTLE. 


659 


spacious  corridor  extends  from  end  to  end.     The  furnishings 
are  in  a  style  of  befitting  splendour.* 


Stornoway  Castle. 

5.  Many  of  the  people,  especially  in  the  south  of  the  Long 
Island,  are  Roman  Catholics.  Early  marriages  are  very  fre- 
quent among  them.  Some  of  the  rude-fashioned  instruments 
of  husbandry,  once  common  throughout  the  Highlands,  retain 
their  hold  here,  and  the  ancient  querns  or  handmills  are  in 
almost  general  use  in  most  of  the  secluded  parts  of  Lews  and 
Harris,  and  also  in  the  southern  Barra  Isles.  The  islanders  of 
the  northern  part  of  Lews,  with  their  long  matted  and  uncombed 
hair,  which  has  never  even  been  restrained  by  hat  or  bonnet  from 
flowing  as  freely  in  the  wind  as  their  ponies'  manes,  and  their 
true  Norwegian  cast  of  countenance,  form  perfect  living  por- 
traits of  the  ancient  Norsemen.  The  other  inhabitants,  chiefly 
of  Celtic  origin,  combine  the  characters  of  fishermen  and  field- 
labourers  ;  they  are  distinguished  by  acuteness  no  less  than  sim- 
plicity, and,  though  poor,  they  are  honest  and  hospitable. 

*  The  population  returns  of  the  Lews  estate  for  1841,  were— 

Barvas 2040^ 

Cross  (parliamentary  parish)    1810 

Lochs    3653   ! 

Stornoway    4581 

Knock  (parliamentary  parish) 1637 

Uig    ...  . :..  3316 

17,037  j 


Average  337,855  imperial  acres 


660  MEANS   OF   COMMUNICATION.       SECT.  VIII.  F. 

Small  packets,  partly  supported  by  government,  ply  between 
each  of  the  islands  of  North  and  South  Uist  and  Harris  to  Dun- 
vegan  in  Skye  ;  and  from  Stornoway  to  Poolewe,  on  the  coast 
of  Ross-shire :  thus  keeping  up  a  regular  communication  with 
the  mainland.  A  swift  steamer,  also,  in  the  summer  season, 
makes  trips  once  a-week  from  Glasgow  to  Stornoway,  and  once 
a  fortnight  in  winter,  driving  a  thriving  trade.  She  caDs  once 
a  fortnight  at  Loch  Inver. 

In  regard  to  internal  means  of  communication,  we  have 
here  only  to  observe  further,  that  Colonel  Gordon,  in  South 
Uist  and  Benbecula,  has  formed  about  fifty  miles  of  road ;  that 
the  Countess  of  Dunmore,  as  acting  for  her  son  the  Earl,  still 
in  his  minority,  has  made  a  fine  road  from  Rodel,  through 
Harris,  to  join  those  on  Mr.  Matheson's  estates ;  and  that  the 
Highland  Destitution  Fund  has  latterly  been  to  some  extent 
employed,  both  in  promoting  industrious  habits  among  the 
peasantry,  as  fishermen  and  farmers,  and  in  aiding  in  the  con- 
struction of  roads  and  harbours.* 

We  conclude  these  general  remarks  on  the  Long  Island  by 
submitting  to  our  readers  the  following  beautiful  description 
from  the  pen  of,  we  believe,  their  native  historian,  Professor 
William  Macgillivray,  now  of  Aberdeen,  which  we  extract  from 
his  very  valuable  account  of  the  Outer  Hebrides,  published  in 
the  Edinburgh  Journal  of  Natural  and  Geographical  Science 
for  1830,  and  which  is  fully  borne  out  by  the  recent  statistical 
reports  of  the  local  clergyman. 

6.  "  The  climate  is  subject  to  great  variations.  It  is,  how- 
ever, generally  characterized  by  its  great  dampness.  In  every 
part  of  the  range  iron  is  covered  with  rust  in  a  few  days,  and 

*  At  Bayhiravagh,  in  the  mainland  of  Barra,  there  is  a  small  inn  and  two  excellent 
roads,  one  of  ten  miles,  along  the  west  coast,  and  the  other  of  eight  miles,  passing 
through  fine  scenery  on  the  east  coast.  South  Uist,  where  large  tracts  have  recently 
been  reclaimed  from  the  sea,  is  now  being  skirted  along  the  west  side  by  a  good  road, 
which,  when  completed,  will  be  twenty-four  miles  long,  with  a  small  inn  at  Poul- 
achar,  or  Kilbride,  on  Barra  Sound,  and^  another  at  Stonybridge,  about  twelve  miles 
farther  north.  Along  the  east  coast,  there  is  a  range  of  bold  lofty  mountains,  deeply 
indented  by  arms  of  the  sea,  where  there  are  several  anchorages  with  deep  water, 
and  in  Lochboisdale  a  fine  pier,  accessible  at  all  times  of  tide.  Benbicula  (sepa- 
rated from  South  Uist  by  a  ford  open  from  six  to  eight  hours  each  tide,  and  from 
North  Uist  by  a  rather  intricate  ford,  passable  four  to  six  hours  each  tide),  is  inter- 
sected by  a  fine  new  road  made  by  the  proprietor,  six  miles  long,  with  the  little  inn 
of  Craigorry  at  the  south,  and  that  of  Gramisdale  at  the  north  end.  In  North  Uist 
there  are  two  roads  proceeding  from  Loch  Maddy  (where  there  is  a  good  inn),  one  of 
twelve  miles,  along  the  south  coast  to  Cairinish,  having  no  resting-place  by  the  way; 
the  other  is  twenty-nine  miles  long,  divided  by  the  small  but  good  inns  of  Grainetote, 
nine  miles ;  Teighary,  eight  miles ;  and  Cairinish,  twelve  miles.  At  Tarbet,  in  Harris, 
there  is  a  good  inn. 


SECT.  VIII.  F     CLIMATE  OF  THE  LONG  ISLAND.  661 

finer  articles  of  wooden  furniture,  brought  from  foreign  parts, 
invariably  swell  and  warp.  Spring  commences  about  the  end 
of  March,  when  the  first  shoots  of  grass  make  their  appearance 
in  sheltered  places,  and  the  Draba  verna,  Ranunculus  Ficaria, 
and  Bellis  perennis  unfold  their  blossoms.  It  is  not  until  the 
end  of  May,  however,  that  in  the  pasture-grounds  the  green 
livery  of  summer  has  fairly  superseded  the  gray  and  brown 
tints  of  the  withered  herbage  of  winter.  From  the  beginning 
of  July  to  the  end  of  August  is  the  season  of  summer,  and 
October  terminates  the  autumnal  season.  During  the  spring 
easterly  winds  prevail,  at  first  interrupted  by  blasts  and  gales 
from  other  quarters,  accompanied  by  rain  or  sleet,  but  ulti- 
mately becoming  more  steady,  and  accompanied  with  a  com- 
parative dryness  of  the  atmosphere,  occasioning  the  drifting  of 
the  sands  to  a  great  extent.  Summer  is  sometimes  fine,  but  as 
frequently  wet  and  boisterous,  with  southerly  and  westerly 
winds.  Frequently  the  wet  weather  continues  with  intervals 
until  September,  from  which  period  to  the  middle  of  October 
there  is  generally  a  continuance  of  dry  weather.  After  this, 
westerly  gales  commence,  becoming  more  boisterous  as  the  sea- 
son advances.  It  is,  perhaps,  singular,  that  while,  in  general, 
little  thunder  is  heard  in  summer,  these  winter  gales  should 
frequently  be  accompanied  by  it.  Dreadful  tempests  sometimes 
happen  through  the  winter,  which  often  unroof  the  huts  of  the 
natives,  destroy  their  boats,  and  cover  the  shores  with  immense 
heaps  of  sea-weeds,  shells,  and  drift  timber. 

7.  "  After  a  continued  gale  of  westerly  winds,  the  Atlantic 
rolls  in  its  enormous  billows  upon  the  western  coasts,  dashing 
them  with  inconceivable  fury  upon  the  headlands,  and  scouring 
the  sounds  and  creeks,  which,  from  the  number  of  shoals  and 
sunk  rocks  in  them,  often  exhibit  the  magnificent  spectacle  of 
terrific  ranges  of  breakers  extending  for  miles.  Let  any  one 
who  wishes  to  have  some  conception  of  the  sublime,  station 
himself  upon  a  headland  of  the  west  coast  of  Harris  during  the 
violence  of  a  winter  tempest,  and  he  will  obtain  it.  The  blast 
howls  among  the  grim  and  desolate  rocks  around  him.  Black 
clouds  are  seen  advancing  from  the  west  in  fearful  masses,  pour- 
ing forth  torrents  of  rain  and  hail.  A  sudden  flash  illuminates 
the  gloom,  and  is  followed  by  the  deafening  roar  of  the  thunder, 
which  gradually  becomes  fainter,  until  the  roar  of  the  waves 
upon  the  shore  prevails  over  it.  Meantime,  far  as  the  eye  can 


662  STORMS  IN  THE  LONG  ISLAND.     SECT.  VIII.  F. 

reach,  the  ocean  boils  and  heaves,  presenting  one  wide-extended 
field  of  foam,  the  spray  from  the  summits  of  the  billows  sweep- 
ing along  its  surface  like  drifted  snow.  No  sign  of  life  is  to  be 
seen,  save  when  a  gull,  labouring  hard  to  bear  itself  up  against 
the  blast,  hovers  over  head,  or  shoots  athwart  the  gloom  like  a 
meteor.  Long  ranges  of  giant  waves  rush  in  succession  towards 
the  shores.  The  thunder  of  the  shock  echoes  among  the  cre- 
vices and  caves  ;  the  spray  mounts  along  the  face  of  the  cliffs 
to  an  astonishing  height ;  the  rocks  shake  to  their  summit,  and 
the  baffled  wave  rolls  back  to  meet  its  advancing  successor.  If 
one  at  this  season  ventures  by  some  slippery  path  to  peep  into 
the  haunts  of  the  cormorant  and  rock  pigeon,  he  finds  them 
sitting  huddled  together  in  melancholy  silence.  For  whole  days 
and  nights  they  are  sometimes  doomed  to  feel  the  gnawings  of 
hunger,  unable  to  make  way  against  the  storm  ;  and  often 
during  the  winter  they  can  only  make  a  short  daily  excursion 
in  quest  of  a  precarious  morsel  of  food.  In  the  mean  time  the 
natives  are  snugly  seated  around  their  blazing  peat-fires,amusing 
themselves  with  the  tales  and  songs  of  other  years,  and  enjoy- 
ing the  domestic  harmony  which  no  people  can  enjoy  with  less 
interruption  than  the  Hebridean  Celts. 

"  The  sea- weeds  cast  ashore  by  these  storms  are  employed 
for  manure.  Sometimes  in  winter  the  shores  are  seen  strewn 
with  logs,  staves,  and  pieces  of  wrecks.  These,  however,  have 
hitherto  been  invariably  appropriated  by  the  lairds  and  factors 
to  themselves  ;  and  the  poor  tenants,  although  enough  of  tim- 
ber comes  upon  their  farms  to  furnish  roofing  for  their  huts, 
are  obliged  to  make  voyages  to  the  Sound  of  Mull,  and  various 
parts  of  the  mainland,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  at  a  high 
price  the  wood  which  they  require.  These  logs  are  chiefly  of 
fir,  pine,  and  mahogany.  Hogsheads  of  rum,  bales  of  cotton, 
and  bags  of  coffee,  are  sometimes  also  cast  ashore.  Several 
species  of  seeds  from  the  West  Indies,  together  with  a  few 
foreign  shells,  as  lanthina  communis  and  Spirula  Peronii,  are 
not  unfrequent  along  the  shores.  Pumice  and  slags  also  occur 
in  small  quantities. 

8.  "  Scenes  of  surpassing  beauty,  however,  present  themselves 
among  these  islands.  What  can  be  more  delightful  than  a 
midnight  walk  by  moonlight  along  the  lone  sea-beach  of  some 
secluded  isle,  the  glassy  sea  sending  from  its  surface  a  long 
stream  of  dancing  and  dazzling  light, — no  sound  to  be  heard 


SECT.  VIII.  F.     OCCURRENCES  IN  REBELLION  OF  1745.       663 

save  the  small  ripple  of  the  idle  wavelet,  or  the  scream  of  a  sea- 
bird  watching  the  fry  that  swarms  along  the  shores  !  In  the 
short  nights  of  summer,  the  melancholy  song  of  the  throstle 
has  scarcely  ceased  on  the  hill-side  when  the  merry  carol  of  the 
lark  commences,  and  the  plover  and  snipe  sound  their  shrill 
pipe.  Again,  how  glorious  is  the  scene  which  presents  itself 
from  the  summit  of  one  of  the  loftier  hills,  when  the  great  ocean 
is  seen  glowing  with  the  last  splendour  of  the  setting  sun,  and 
the  lofty  isles  of  St.  Kilda  rear  their  giant  heads  amid  the 
purple  blaze  on  the  extreme  verge  of  the  horizon." 

9.  It  was  on  the  little  Island  of  Eriskay,  at  the  south  end 
of  South  Uist,  that  Prince  Charles  Stuart  first  landed,  on  the 
22d  of  July  1745,  from  the  small  frigate  of  sixteen  guns,  the 
Doutelle,  in  which  he  sailed  from  Belleisle,  with  the  very  limit- 
ed suite  who  accompanied  him  on  his  chivalric  and  excessively 
daring  enterprise  to  recover  the  crown  of  Britain.  His  retinue 
consisted  of  the  Marquis  of  Tullibardine,  otherwise  called 
Duke  of  Athole,  Sir  John  Macdonald  (a  French  officer),  Mr. 
JEneas  Macdonald  (a  banker  in  Paris),  Mr.  Strickland,  Mr. 
Buchanan,  Sir  Thomas  Sheridan,  Mr.  0 'Sullivan,  and  Mr. 
Kelly  ;  to  whom  the  precise  Bishop  Forbes  adds,  Mr.  Anthony 
Welch,  the  owner  of  the  Doutelle.  Along  with  this  vessel,  the 
Elizabeth,  a  French  ship  of  war  of  sixty-eight  guns,  had  left 
port,  as  a  convoy  ;  but  the  latter  vessel  having,  off  the  Lizard, 
engaged  a  British  ship  of  war,  the  Lyon,  of  fifty-eight  guns, 
both  were  so  disabled  that  the  Elizabeth  had  to  be  carried  back 
to  France  ;  while  the  little  frigate  made  its  way  alone  for  the 
north  of  Scotland.  The  adventurers  were  soon  joined  by  Mr. 
Alexander  Macdonald  of  Boisdale,  who  assured  the  Prince  that 
he  had  miscalculated  in  reckoning  on  any  assistance  from  Sir 
Alexander  Macdonald  of  Sleat,  and  the  Laird  of  Macleod  ; 
and  his  opinion  turned  out  to  be  quite  correct.  To  Boisdale's 
remonstrances  as  to  the  foolhardiness  of  the  expedition,  and 
the  small  chance  of  the  clans  mustering  in  any  force,  the  Prince 
replied  : — "  I  am  come  home  Sir ;  and  I  will  entertain  no 
notion  at  all  of  returning  to  the  place  from  whence  I  came  : 
for  that  I  am  persuaded  my  faithful  Highlanders  will  stand  by 
me."  In  a  day  or  two  the  Doutelle  sailed  for  Loch-na-Gaul, 
sometimes  called  Loch-na-Naugh,  between  Arisaig  and  Moidart, 
and  the  party  landed  on  the  25th  of  July  at  Borradale,  whence 
they  afterwards  crossed  that  arm  of  the  sea,  and  proceeded  up 


664  PRINCE  CHARLES'S  WANDERINGS.  SECT.  vin.  F. 

Loch  Shiel  to  Glenfinnan,  at  the  head  of  the  loch,  where  the 
standard  was  unfurled.  In  Loch-na-Gaul  young  Clanranald, 
with  Mr.  Macdonald  of  Kinloch-Moidart,  Macdonald  of  Kep- 
poch,  Mr.  Hugh  Macdonald,  brother  of  Moidart,  and  Mr. 
Macdonald,  younger  of  Scothouse,  came  on  board  the  Doutelle. 
The  communications  from  Sir  Alexander  Macdonald,  Macleod 
of  Macleod,  and  at  first  from  Lochiel  (though  Lochiel  subse- 
quently proceeded  to  Borradale),  were  of  such  a  nature  that 
every  individual,  even  the  members  of  his  suite,  importuned 
the  Prince  to  return  to  France  ;  but  he  was  firm  in  his  resolu- 
tion, determined  indeed,  "  having  set  his  life  upon  a  cast,  to 
risk  the  hazard  of  the  die." 

The  ebb  of  his  fortunes  brought  the  poor  Prince  back  to 
the  Long  Island.  And  the  best  feature  in  his  deportment  is, 
the  magnanimity  with  which  at  this  period  he  bore  up  under 
his  adverse  lot,  and  the  very  trying  privations  to  which  he  was 
subjected,  and  the  buoyancy  of  spirit  with  which  he  encountered 
the  toils  that  hemmed  him  round,  gathering  fresh  elasticity 
from  each  recurring  hair-breadth  escape,  while  wandering  about 
a  hunted  fugitive.  He  was  secreted  for  several  days  in  the 
Cave  of  Corradale,  on  the  east  side  of  Benmore,  in  South  Uist. 

Prince  Charles  effected  his  escape  from  the  Long  Island  to 
the  Isle  of  Skye  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  celebrated 
Flora  Macdonald — he  disguised  as  Betty  Burke,  the  Irish 
female  attendant  of  Miss  Macdonald  ; — Miss  Macdonald  having 
procured  passports  from  Mr.  Macdonald  of  Armadale,  her  step- 
father, who  commanded  one  of  the  independent  companies 
engaged  in  searching  for  the  Prince.  They  were  accompanied 
by  a  Neil  Mac  Eachan,  (father  of  Marshal  Macdonald,  Duke 
of  Tarrentum,)  a  sort  of  preceptor  in  Clanranald's  family,  who 
travelled  as  Miss  Macdonald's  servant. 


SECT.  VIII.  G. 


ST.    KILDA. 


665 


SECTION  VIII.— BRANCH  G. 

ST.    KILDA. 


"  But  oh,  o'er  all,  forget  not  Hilda's  race, 

On  whose  bleak  rocks,  which  brave  the  wasting  tides, 

Fair  Nature's  daughter,  Virtue,  yet  abides. 
Go!— just  as  they,  their  blameless  "manners  trace! 
Then  to  my  ear  transmit  some  gentle  song, 

Of  those  whose  lives  are  yet  sincere  and  plain, 
Their  bounded  walks  the  rugged  cliffs  along. 

And  all  their  prospect  but  the  wintery  main. 
With  sparing  temperance  at  the  needful  time 

They  drain  the  scented  spring,  or,  hunger  prest, 
Along  the  Atlantic  rock,  undreading,  climb, 

And  of  its  eggs  despoil  the  Solan's  nest. 
Thus  blest  in  primal  innocence,  they  live 

Sufficed  and  happy  with  their  frugal  fare, 
Which  tasteful  toil  and  hourly  danger  give. 

Hard  is  their  shallow  soil,  and  bleak  and  bare ; 

Nor  ever  vernal  bee  was  heard  to  murmur  there !" 

COLLINS. 

2F-2 


666  LANDING-PLACE — HOUSES.  SECT.  VIII.  G. 

ST.  KILDA. 

General  description,  1. — Houses ;  Inhabitants,  2. — Fowling,  3. 
1.  THIS  remote  islet  of  the  ocean — 

Wliose  lonely  race 
Resign  the  setting  sun  to  Indian  worlds — 

merits  at  our  hands  some  separate  notice,  as  it  has  been  occa- 
sionally made  the  object  of  a  steam-boat  expedition.  It  lies  in 
latitude  57°  50',  and  about  eighty  miles  west  of  the  Butt  of 
Lewis,  Harris  being  the  nearest  land.  The  tourist  wishing  to 
visit  it,  will  find  in  the  island  of  Pabba,  at  the  extremity  of  the 
Sound  of  Harris,  a  small- colony  of  fishermen,  who  are  quite  ac- 
customed to  make  the  voyage  to  St.  Kilda  in  their  large  open 
boats,  and  who  will  readily  agree  to  go  there,  provided  they  are 
allowed  to  judge  of  the  weather,  and  conduct  the  excursion  en- 
tirely in  their  own  way.  But  the  detention  in  St.  Kilda,  from 
stress  of  weather,  is  at  times  most  tedious,  and  it  may  be  be- 
lieved that  a  prolonged  stay  in  such  a  locality  is  far  from  an 
agreeable  occurrence.  If  possible,  therefore,  it  should  be  visited 
by  a  steamer  or  government  cutter. 

The  island  is  about  three  miles  long  by  two  in  breadth,  and 
it  is  girt  all  round  with  perpendicular  precipices,  which  in  one 
part  attain  a  height  of  1300  or  1400  feet,  and  in  which  there  is 
but  one  landing-place,  on  the  south-east  side,  of  difficult  access, 
except  in  very  calm  weather,  and  whence  a  narrow  passage  leads 
to  the  summit  of  the  high  rocks  above. 

2.  Within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  this  inlet,  the  inhabitants, 
who  have  numbered  for  the  last  century,  from  90  to  100,  are 
closely  congregated  in  an  irregular  cluster  of  huts  or  houses,  in 
general  built  of  loose  stones,  about  five  feet  in  height,  and  com- 
posed of  great  masses,  usually  from  four  to  six  feet  in  thickness, 
thatched  with  straw.  Their  beds,  or  rather  places  of  repose, 
are,  for  the  winter  and  spring  months,  in  a  recess  within  the 
thick  walls,  where  a  quantity  of  fog,  without  any  covering,  is 
laid.  They  are  nearly  flat-roofed,  resembling  from  a  little  dis- 
tance a  Hottentot  kraal,  except  that  they  have  not  the  regu- 
larity which  marks  the  kraal.  Every  hut  is  nearly  inaccessible 
from  the  filth  which  lies  before  its  door,  consisting  of  putrid 
sea-fowl,  and  refuse  of  all  disgusting  kinds.  The  interior  is 
scarcely  better,  consisting  generally  of  two  apartments,  one 


SECT.  VIII.  G.  INHABITANTS — MORTALITY.  667 

being  divided  from  the  other  by  a  rude  partition  of  loose  stones, 
within  which  is  the  dunghill,  composed  of  alternate  strata  of 


Ruins  of  a  Dwelling,  St.  Kilda. 

feathers,  ashes,  dried  turf,  and  mould,  which  the  inhabitants 
water,  tread,  and  beat  into  a  hard  floor,  on  which  they  kindle 
their  fires,  new  strata  being  added  from  time  to  time,  and  the 
whole  gradually  growing  into  a  pile  of  compost,  which  is  re- 
moved once  a-year  to  the  tilled  ground  adjoining.  The  stench, 
both  inside  and  outside,  it  may  well  be  conceived,  is  intolerable. 
Their  personal  cleanliness  is  upon  a  par  with  that  of  their 
houses.  Their  squalid  attire,  slovenly  habits,  and  diminutive 
stature  gives  them  a  mean  appearance,  which  is,  however,  some- 
what redeemed  by  an  expression  of  countenance  considerably 
intelligent,  and  lighted  up  with  curiosity  and  kindness.  They 
are  a  simple-minded  race,  with  few  sources  of  emotion  ;  but  the 
emotions  themselves  are  vivid  and  strong.  The  mortality  among 
the  infants  is  excessive.  Out  of  ten  children  born,  not  more 
than  one  survives  the  ninth  day,  probably  in  a  great  measure 
owing  to  the  mephitic  air  which  the  new-born  infant  is  com- 
pelled to  breathe  ;  together  with  the  deleterious  food,  melted 
butter  and  milk,  with  which  they  are  at  first  fed.  The  clergy- 
man's duties  appear  to  be  strictly  confined  to  religious  matters. 
The  magisterial  duties  devolve  upon  the  only  individual  in  the 


668  CHURCH  AND  MANSE  —FOWLING.    SECT.  VIII.  G. 

island  (with  the  exception  of  the  minister)  who  speaks  the 
English  language,  and  who  is  employed  by  the  proprietor  as 
ground-officer  to  collect  the  feathers,  &c.,  which  are  given  by 
the  natives  in  lieu  of  rent,  and  who  terms  himself  "  Baron 
Bailie,"  and  has  a  bench  erected  at  one  side  of  the  village,  where 
he  holds  courts  once  a-week,  and  dispenses  justice  liberally. 
They  store  their  feathers,  eggs,  &c.,  in  long  stone  cells,  of  which 
the  courses  incline  inwards  in  a  sort  of  arch,  and  the  whole 
covered  with  turf.  The  manse  and  church  are  both  respectable 
buildings. 

A  verdant  turf  covers  most  of  the  island,  giving  way,  on  the 
higher  elevations,  to  moss  ;  and  the  soil  is  good,  and,  as  far  as 
it  is  cultivated,  the  ground  is  prepared  with  considerable  care 
with  the  spade,  a  rake  or  harrow,  and  mallet,  and  it  is  highly 
manured,  and  the  crops  are  early ;  but  catching  wild-fowl  is 
the  favourite  pursuit,  and  is  practised  in  various  ways. 

3.  Each  fowling  party  consists  of  four  persons,  and  each 
party  has  at  least  one  rope,  about  thirty  fathoms  long,  of  a  three- 
fold cord  of  strong  raw  cow-hide  prepared  for  the  purpose,  or  of 
horse  hair  ;  and  it  is  covered  with  dressed  sheepskin,  to  protect 
it  from  the  rocks.  Such  a  rope  is  the  most  valued  article  of 
property — is  made  the  subject  of  testament,  and  forms  a  dowry 
for  a  daughter.  The  fowler  at  times  descends  the  cliffs,  sus- 
pended by  the  rope,  which  two  or  three  persons  hold  above. 
The  person  capturing  the  birds  has  a  piece  of  wood  or  branch, 
similar  to  a  common  fishing-rod,  to  the  end  of  which  there  is  a 
piece  of  hair-line,  about  a  foot  in  length,  formed  into  a  run- 
ning noose,  which  he  places  over  the  head  of  the  bird,  and  by 
pulling  it  towards  him,  the  noose  tightens  upon  the  bird's  neck, 
which  he  then  unfastens,  and  takes  in  another ;  or  linked  to- 
gether in  couples,  each  having  the  end  of  the  cord  fastened 
about  his  waist,  they  clamber  along  the  face  of  the  precipices. 
When  one  is  in  motion,  the  other  plants  himself  on  a  strong 
shelf,  and  takes  care  to  have  so  sure  a  footing  that,  should  his 
fellow  adventurer  make  a  false  step,  he  may  be  able  to  arrest 
his  headlong  career.  When  one  has  arrived  at  a  safe  landing- 
place,  he  seats  himself  firmly,  while  the  other  endeavours  to 
follow.  The  solan  geese  are  taken  in  great  numbers  at  night, 
and  the  mode  of  their  capture  is  peculiar.  By  their  daily 
exertions  in  quest  of  their  finny  prey,  to  get  a  proper  view  of 
which  the  bird  rises  high  in  the  air,  they  are  disposed  to  sleep 


SECT.  VIII.  G.  FOWLING.  669 

soundly,  and  roost  in  large  flocks,  over  which  one  stands  senti- 
nel. The  islanders,  aware  from  the  play  of  fish  during  the 
day,  where  the  birds  will  betake  themselves  to  rest,  let  them- 
selves down  in  their  neighbourhood  with  profound  silence.  The 
fowler  has  a  white  towel  about  his  breast,  and  calmly  glides 
along  till  he  comes  in  view  of  the  sentinel ;  he  then  gently 
moves  forward  on  his  hands  and  feet,  creeping  very  silently 
up  to  the  sentinel  bird,  from  whose  croak  he  knows  whether  to 
advance  or  retire.  The  fowler  is  said  then  very  gently  to  tickle 
one  of  the  bird's  legs,  which  he  lifts  and  places  on  the  palm  of 
the  hand,  and  the  other  in  like  manner.  He  then  impercep- 
tibly moves  it  to  the  first  sleeping  bird,  which  he  pushes  with 
his  finger,  on  which,  thus  rudely  disturbed  in  its  slumbers,  it 
immediately  falls  a-fighting  with  the  sentinel.  This  alarms 
the  others,  but  instead  of  flying  away,  they  all  set  to  fight  pell 
mell  with  one  another,  while  the  common  enemy,  unsuspected, 
twists  their  necks  with  all  expedition.  It  is  said  that  1200 
have  been  disposed  of  in  this  way  by  a  single  party  in  the 
course  of  a  night.  Dr.  M'Culloch,  in  his  own  style,  says  of  St. 
Kilda, — "  The  air  here  is  full  of  feathered  animals,  the  sea  is 
covered  with  them,  the  houses  are  ornamented  by  them,  and 
the  inhabitants  look  as  if  they  had  been  all  tarred  and  fea- 
thered, for  their  hair  is  full  of  feathers,  and  their  clothes  are 
covered  with  feathers.  The  women  look  like  feathered  Mer- 
curies, for  their  shoes  are  made  of  a  gannet's  skin  ;  everything 
smells  of  feathers." 


670  ORKNEY  ISLANDS.  SECT.  IX. 


SECTION  NINTH. 
THE  ORKNEY  AND  ZETLAND  ISLANDS. 

PART  I. 
THE   ORKNEY    ISLANDS. 

Population  of  Orkney,  paragraph  1.— Climate,  2. — General  Aspect  of  the  Orkney 
Islands,  3. — Storms,  4. — Agriculture ;  Single-stilted  Plough,  5.  —  Inhabitants"; 
Customs ;  Dress,  6. — Orkney  Houses ;  Food,  7- — Education ;  Disposition  ;  Religion ; 
Superstitions,  8. — Trade ;  'Manufactures,  9. — Fisheries ;  Lobster  Fishing,  lO. — 
Straw-Plaiting,  11. — Distilleries;  Shipping;  Sea  Insurance,  12. — Exports,  13.— 
Table  of  Produce,  14. — History  of  Orkney,  15. — Itinerary  :  Pomona,  or  the  Main- 
land, Kirkwall,  16. — St.  Magnus'  Cathedral;  Earls'  and  Bishops'  Palaces  at  Kirk- 
wall;  Pict's  House  on  Wideford  Hill,  17.— Road  to  Stronmess;  View  from  the 
Centre  of  Pomona,  18. — Stone  Monuments,  or  Standing  Stones  of  Stennis ;  Temples 
of  the  Sun  and  Moon  at  Stennis,  19. — Stronmess ;  Bay,  20. — Miraculous  Deliver- 
ance from  Shipwreck,  21.— True  History  of  George  Stewart  of  Masseter,  22. — Ex- 
cursion to  Hoy ;  Echo  at  the  Meadow  of  the  Kame  ;  Precipices  and  Old  Man  of 
Hoy ;  Wardhill  of  Hoy  ;  Botany ;  The  Dwarfle  Stone,  23.— West  Coast  of  Pomona  •. 
Vitrified  Cairn  in  Sandwick  Parish ;  Unique  Stone  Structure  at  Via,  24. — Birsay 
Palace ;  Plants  rare  in  Orkney,  25. — Itinerary  of  the  North.  Isles :  Westray  and 
Papa  Westray;  Pict's  House,  26. — North  Ronaldshay;  Sanday;  Vitrified  Cairns, 
27.— Ferries  and  Freights,  28. — General  Features  of  the  North  Isles,  29.— Papa 
Westray;  Holm  of  Papa  Westray;  The  Eider  Duck,  30.— Sketch  of  the  Natural 
History  of  Orkney,  31. 


Edgar.  Come  on,  Sir ;  here's  the  place ;— stand  still.    How  fearful 
And  dizzy  'tis,  to  cast  one's  eyes  so  low ! 
The  crows,  and  choughs,  that  wing  the  midway  air, 
Shew  scarce  so  gross  as  beetles.    Half  way  down 
Hangs  one  that  gathers  samphire ;  dreadful  trade ! 
Methinks  he  seems  no  bigger  than  his  head. 
The  fishermen,  that  walk  upon  the  beach, 
Appear  like  mice  ;  and  yon  tall  anchoring  bark, 
Diminish 'd  to  her  cock;*  her  cock,  a  buoy 
Almost  too  small  for  sight.    The  murmuring  surge, 
That  on  the  unnumber'd  idle  pebbles  chafes, 
Cannot  be  heard  so  high  -. — I'll  look  no  more, 
Lest  my  brain  turn,  and  the  deficient  sight 
Topple  down  headlong. 

Glnster.  Set  me  where  you  stand. 

Edgar.  Give  me  your  hand.    You  are  now  within  a  foot 
Of  the  extreme  verge  ;  for  all  beneath  the  moon 
Would  I  not  leap  upright.  SHAKESPBAHE 


Cock,  a  boat. 


PART  I.  EXTENT.  671 

1.  THE  Orkney  Islands  lie  off  the  north  coast  of  Scotland,  and 
are  separated  from  the  county  of  Caithness  by  the  Pentland 
Firth,  which  is  5-|  miles  broad  at  the  narrowest  part.*  They 
extend  between  the  parallels  59°  23'  2",  and  58°  41'  24"  N.  lati- 
tude, and  between  2°  22'  2",  and  3°  25'  10"  W.  longitude,  so 
that  their  extreme  length  is  41'  38",  and  their  breadth  1°  3'  8", 
which  is  equal  to  32'4  geographical  miles.  This  includes  an 
area  of  1347'8  miles,  but  the  islands  only  contain  244'8  geo- 
graphical miles.  The  outline  of  the  islands  is  equal  to  573'7 
miles.f  They  were  known  to  the  Romans  by  the  name  of  Or- 
cades,  or  Ultima  Thule,  although  the  latter  appellation  is  by 
many  supposed  to  have  been  applied  to  Zetland.  The  natives 
generally  call  them  Orkney,  as  forming  part  of  the  county  of 
Orkney  and  Zetland  ;  and  strangers  frequently  speak  of  the 
Orkneys  as  they  would  of  the  Azores,  or  any  distant  cluster  of 
islands.  If  these  are  considered  islands  that  are  insulated  every 
high  water,  and  have  flowering  plants  growing  upon  them,  there 
are  seventy-three,  but  seventeen  of  these  become  peninsulas  at 
low  water,  so  that  they  are  reduced  to  fifty-six  at  that  state  of 
the  tide.  Of  these,  twenty-nine  are  inhabited,  and  nineteen 
more  are  probably  capable  of  supporting  a  single  family  each ; 
but  these  smaller  islands,  or,  as  they  are  here  called,  holms,  are 
at  present  the  abodes  of  innumerable  sea-fowl,  that  hatch  upon 
them  with  little  molestation,  while  on  some  a  few  sheep  or 
cattle  are  pastured ;  however,  these  peerie^.  islands  used  to  be 
more  valuable  on  account  of  the  sea-weeds  that  grow  on  their 
rocky  shores,  than  for  the  scanty  herbage  that  clothes  their 
soil.  The  number  of  the  inhabited  islands  varies  frequently,  in 
consequence  of  single  families  taking  up  their  abode  in  holms 
for  a  year  or  two,  which  they  afterwards  desert.  The  following 
are  the  names  of  the  islands  inhabited  at  present,  with  the  po- 
pulation of  each,  according  to  the  census  of  1841 : — 

*  From  Duncansbay  Head  to  Brough  Point,  in  South  Bonaldshay,  is  5^  miles ; 
from  Duiinet  Head  to  Brimsness  in  Hoy,  6|;  from  Huna  to  Burwick,  7J;  from 
Stroma  to  Swona,  3. 

t  We  are  indebted  for  this  and  some  other  calculations  to  the  kindness  of  Lieut. 
F.  Vf.  L.  Thomas,  R.  N.,  whose  exact  survey  of  Orkney  enables  us  to  give  some  im- 
portant corrections  and  additions  in  this  edition. 

%  1 'eerie  is  a  word  in  common  use  in  Orkney,  and  means  little ;  and  it  is  curious, 
that  on  the  return  of  Captain  Cook's  discovery  vessels  from  the  South  Seas,  the  offi- 
cers mentioned  that  the  same  word  is  used  in  the  same  sense  in  some  islands  there. 


672  POPULATION.  SECT.  IX. 

Population. 

Pomona,  or  mainland  (Cavay  and  Lambholm,  with  two 
or  three  families  each,  included) ;  also  Gairsay  and 
Copinshay*  16,108 

North  Isles. 

EdayandN.  Pharay    1011 

Egilshay 190 

Enhallow    26 

North  Ronaldshay    481 

Rousav    976 

Shapinshay    935 

Sanday   1891 

Stronsay,  Papa  Stronsay,  and  Holm  of  Midgarth 1268 

Westrav 1791 

Papa  Westray  337 

Weir   96 

Smith  Isles. 

Burray    532 

Hunday 6 

Graemsay  214 

Hoy,  including  parish  of  Walls,  Flotta,  and  Pharay 1946 

South  Ronaldshay    '. 2577 

Swanay  and  Pentland  Skerries 65 

30,450 


This  total  makes  the  population  now  about  2400  above  the 
census  of  1831. 

2.  The  high  latitude  of  these  islands  will  prevent  the  well- 
informed  traveller  from  expecting  in  them  the  warm  climate 
or  the  luxuriant  vegetation  of  more  southern  lands ;  but  though 
there  is  enough  to  remind  him  of  the  contrast  between  Orcadian 
and  Arcadian  scenes,  yet,  owing  to  their  insular  situation,  he 
will  probably  find  them  milder  than  he  anticipated :  for,  as  the 
ocean  with  which  they  are  surrounded  is  little  affected  by 
summer  heat  or  winter  cold,  the  uniformity  of  its  temperature 
produces  such  an  equality  in  that  of  their  shores,  that  excessive 
heat  or  long-continued  frost  or  snow  is  alike  unknown.t  One 

*  The  population  of  Pomona  is  thus  divided  into  parishes : — 

Kirkwall  Burgh  3034    I    Firth 584 

Do.      Landward 540       Stenneas  583 

Do.      Prison  7       Orplein  and  Cava    1064 


St.  Andrews 921 

Deerness  and  Copinshay  777 

Holm  and  Lambholm 866 

Stromness  Burgh    2057 

Do.       Landward 728 


Kendall  and  Gairsav 601 

Evie .". 907 

Harray 772 

Birsay  1634 

Saudwick....                                ...  103S 


t  This  effect  of  the  ocean  in  equalizing  the  temperature  becomes  very  conspicuous, 


PART  I.  CLIMATE  OF  ORKNEY.  673 

peculiarity  in  the  Atlantic  ocean  which  must  have  a  powerful 
influence  on  their  climate,  and  particularly  in  raising  the  tem- 
perature in  winter,  is  the  Gulf  stream,  which  is  well  known  to 
run  to  Orkney,  and  to  carry  many  things  from  the  West  Indies 
along  with  it.  Its  temperature  is  also  known  to  be  higher  than 
that  of  the  ocean  through  which  it  flows,  and  thus  it  carries  to 
us  a  portion  of  West  India  heat,  and  returns  to  them  with  a 
refreshing  sea-breeze  of  our  cold ;  establishing  a  free  trade  which 
is  equally  pleasant  and  profitable  to  both  parties,  by  an  arrange- 
ment of  consummate  wisdom.  We  believe  that  this  furnishes 
the  key  to  several  meteorological  difficulties.  It  explains  why 
there  is  no  frost  with  west  wind,  but  an  immediate  thaw  where 
there  has  been  frost  ;  indeed  the  thermometer  at  such  times 
generally  mounts  up  to  40°  more.  It  shews  the  cause  of  our 
frequent  showers  of  rain  with  west  and  south-west  wind,  as  the 
evaporation  from  the  warm  stream  is  condensed  on  coming  in 
contact  with  our  cold  hills :  thus  there  is  no  continued  drought, 
more  than  frost,  with  west  wind.  A  series  of  observations  on 
the  temperature  of  the  Atlantic  and  German  oceans,  and  the 
points  connected  with  it,  at  equal  parallels,  on  the  west  and  east 
coasts  of  Britain,  might  lead  to  important  results,  and  we  believe 
it  will  immediately  be  attended  to.  From  their  situation  they 
may  also  have  a  greater  share  of  light  than  would  otherwise  be 
their  portion,  the  water  reflecting  it  better  than  land :  thus, 
during  a  month  in  summer,  it  is  light  enough,  even  at  midnight, 
to  enable  a  person  to  read,  when  the  sky  is  clear,  and  to  induce 
the  lark  and  landrail  to  preserve  a  constant  chorus  of  music ; 
and,  in  fact,  all  nature  seems  awake  in  the  summer  night,  which 
is  but  a  softer  day ;  and  the  admirer  of  the  Almighty's  works 
must  frequently  desist  from  his  contemplation,  and  retire  unsa- 
tiated  to  his  pillow.  It  is  almost  superfluous  to  remind  the 
reader,  that  this  twilight  is  produced  by  the  refraction  of  the 
sun's  rays ;  and  that,  as  he  sinks  below  the  horizon,  in  the  lati- 

on  comparing  the  mean  temperature  of  the  summer  and  winter  months  in  Orkney 
with  that  of  the  same  months  in  other  parts  of  Scotland.  Thus  the  mean  annual 
temperature  of  Sandwick,  in  Orkney,  for  the  last  fifteen  years  is  nearly  the  same  as 
that  of  Applcgarth,  in  Dumfries-shire,  on  the  south  border  of  Scotland,  viz.,  a  little 
above  46  dee. ;  but  while  the  mean  temperature  of  January  in  Orkney  is  37  deg.  63  min. 
it  falls  nearly  3£  deg.  lower  in  Dumfries ;  and  while  the  mean  temperature  of  July, 
which  is  the  warmest  month  in  both  places,  is  54  deg.  79  min.  in  Orkney,  it  rises  rather 
more  than  3J  deg.  higher  in  Dumfries.  The  mean  height  of  the  barometer,  in  the  same 
station  in  Orkney  for  the  same  period,  was  29,657  inches,  and  the  average  quantity 
of  rain  during  the  last  9  years  37^  inches,  the  largest  being  in  1845  40.94,  and  the 
smallest  in  1844  32.08  inches. 

2  G 


674  GENERAL  ASPECT  SECT.  IX. 

tude  of  Orkney,  every  night  in  summer,  so  he  must  rise  above 
it  every  day  in  winter :  indeed,  he  is  kind  enough  to  give  the 
Orcadians  about  six  hours  of  light  in  the  shortest  day,  notwith- 
standing all  that  the  credulous  Brand  and  other  old  authors 
have  said  to  the  contrary.*  On  the  longest  day  the  sun  de- 
scribes a  segment  of  four-fifths  of  a  circle  above  the  horizon, 
and  there  is  no  proper  night  for  116  days.  During  the  winter 
nights,  when  the  moon  withholds  her  light,  her  place  is  fre- 
quently supplied  by  the  aurora  borealis.  The  Orkney  winter 
is  generally  a  succession  of  storms  and  rain ;  and  the  summer, 
though  short,  is  remarkable  for  rapid  advance  of  vegeta- 
tion. 

3.  On  his  first  approach,  the  stranger  will  be  struck  with  a 
range  of  lofty  precipices,  rising  perpendicularly  from  the  bosom 
of  the  ocean,  or  even  overhanging,  and  appearing  to  say, 
"  Hitherto  shalt  thou  come,  but  no  farther ;  and  here  shall  thy 
proud  waves  be  stayed ;"  but  a  nearer  inspection  will  shew  how 
vain  the  boast,  for  they  will  then  appear  to  be,  as  they  probably 
are,  the  remains  of  a  more  extensive  country,  the  softest  and 
lowest  parts  of  which  have  been  washed  away  by  the  perpetual 
action  of  the  waves,  which  have  separated  it  from  the  north  of 
Scotland,  and  divided  it  into  numerous  islands,  leaving  in  some 
cases  a  solitary  pillar  as  a  monument  of  what  formerly  existed : 
and  the  tremendous  force  of  the  waves  can  leave  no  doubt 
that  their  slow  but  certain  action  is  still  making  farther  encroach- 
ments. This  opinion,  which  we  entertained  before  the  first  edi- 
tion of  this  volume,  seems  to  be  corroborated  by  the  difference 
between  the  number  of  islands  at  high  and  low  water,  and  the 
following  interesting  results  of  the  accurate  soundings  of  Mr. 
Thomas.  A  depression  of  the  sea  level  at  low  water,  or  an 
elevation  of  the  land  to  30  feet,  would  reduce  the  number  of 
islands  to  23 ;  if  to  60  feet,  there  would  be  10 ;  if  to  90  feet, 
there  would  be  but  5.  Swona,  Pentland  Skerries,  and  Carline 
Skerry  being  three  of  them,  if  to  120  feet — which  is  about  the 
height  of  the  tower  of  the  cathedral — the  Orkneys  would 
decrease  one  island.  He  thinks,  however,  that  the  ocean  has 
not  advanced  100  fathoms  on  the  west  side  since  the  land  had 
its  present  form. 

Hoy  is  the  only  island  of  the  group  that  can  be  called  moun- 

*  See  Brand's  Description  of  Orkney,  p.  35 ;  and  Bailey's  Dictionary,  wee  Shet- 
land. 


PART  I.  OF  ORKNEY.  675 

tainous,  and  none  of  the  rest  have  hills  of  any  considerable  height, 
except  the  Mainland,  Rousay,  and  "Westray.*  A  geologist  would 
at  once  perceive  that  these  hills  are  not  composed  of  primitive 
rocks  ;  for,  owing  to  the  softness  of  their  materials,  the  action  of 
the  elements  has  so  far  levelled  their  inequalities,  that  they  now 
present  an  outline  gently  undulating  :  their  surface  is  generally 
covered  with  heather,  which  affords  shelter  to  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  moor-fowl  and  other  species  of  birds.  Like  Scotland,  Eng- 
land, and  Ireland,  and  many  other  islands  and  continents,  these 
islands  are  highest  at  the  west  side,  where  there  is  a  range  of 
hills,  terminating  abruptly  in  an  almost  continuous  chain  of  pre- 
cipices, with  very  few  bays  where  even  boats  can  land  ;  but  they 
slope  gently  towards  the  east,  and  soon  end  in  fertile  valleys, 
which  are  seldom  100  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and,  ex- 
cept in  the  central  part  of  the  Mainland,  are  within  a  mile  of 
the  shore,  where  the  facility  of  procuring  sea-weed,  which  is 
the  favourite,  and  in  some  places  the  only  manure  used,  has  no 
doubt  given  great  encouragement  to  cultivation.  In  the  inte- 
rior of  the  Mainland,  marl  is  frequently  found,  and  is  used  as 
manure  ;  the  hills  are  fleeced  of  their  turf  for  the  benefit  of  the 
cultivated  ground,  and  the  earth  or  its  ashes,  when  burned, 
mixed  up  as  a  compost.  In  the  eye  of  one  accustomed  to  more 
southeren  climes,  these  islands  will  no  doubt  appear  bleak  and 
barren,  for  there  is  not  a  tree  or  shrub  to  be  seen,  except  a  few 
that  have  been  raised  in  gardens  ;  and  yet  strangers  have  pro- 
nounced some  of  the  valleys  to  be  equal  to  those  in  fine  counties 
of  England,  for  richness  and  fertility.  These,  however,  are  not 
the  qualities  for  which  Orkney  is  most  remarkable,  and  the 
traveller  who  can  relish  nothing  else  should  not  be  found  in  so 
high  a  latitude ;  but  its  antiquities,  precipices,  and  natural 
productions,  its  former  history  and  present  state,  are  well  worthy 
of  the  attention  of  all  who  make  the  tour  of  Scotland  for  plea- 
sure or  information. 

4.  If  the  tourist  has  the  good  fortune  to  be  in  Orkney  during 
a  storm,  he  will  cease  to  regret  the  absence  of  some  of  the  softer 
and  more  common  beauties  of  landscape,  in  the  contemplation 

*  The  Ward  hill  of  Hoy  is 1555  feet  high. 

The  Ward  hill  of  Orphin 876 

Wideford  hill 721 

Copinshay 211 

Costa-Head  478 

Fifty  hill,  Westray    541 

WardofEday    310 


676  SEA  IN  STORM.  SECT.  IX. 

of  the  most  sublime  spectacle  which  he  ever  witnessed.  By 
repairing  at  such  a  time  to  the  weather  shore,  particularly  if  it 
be  on  the  west  side  of  the  country,  he  will  behold  waves,  of  the 
magnitude  and  force  of  which  he  could  not  have  previously 
formed  any  adequate  conception,  tumbling  across  the  Atlantic 
like  monsters  of  the  deep,  their  heads  erect,  their  manes  stream- 
ing in  the  wind,  roaring  and  foaming  as  with  rage,  till  each 
discharges  such  a  Niagara  flood  against  the  opposing  precipices 
as  makes  the  rocks  tremble  to  their  foundations,  while  the 
sheets  of  water  that  immediately  ascend,  as  if  from  artillery, 
hundreds  of  feet  above  their  summits,  deluge  the  surrounding 
country,  and  fall  like  showers  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  island. 
All  the  springs  within  a  mile  of  the  weather  coast  are  rendered 
brackish  for  some  days  after  such  a  storm.  Those  living  half 
a  mile  from  the  precipice  declare  that  the  earthen  floors  of 
their  cots  are  shaken  by  the  concussion  of  the  waves.  Rocks 
that  two  or  three  men  could  not  lift,  are  washed  about,  even  on 
the  tops  of  cliffs  which  are  between  60  and  100  feet  above  the 
surface  of  the  sea  when  smooth,  and  detached  masses  of  rock  of 
an  enormous  size  are  well  known  to  have  been  carried  a  con- 
siderable distance  between  low  and  high  water  mark.  Having 
visited  the  west  crags  some  days  after  a  recent  storm,  the  writer 
found  sea  insects  abundant  on  the  hills  near  them,  though  about 
100  feet  high ;  and  a  solitary  limpet,  which  is  proverbial  for 
its  strong  attachment  to  its  native  rock,  but  which  also  seemed 
on  this  occasion  to  have  been  thrown  up,  was  discovered  adher- 
ing to  the  top  of  the  cliff,  seventy  feet  above  its  usual  position. 
We  apprehend  it  is  with  limpets  as  with  ourselves,  that  the 
highest,  and  particularly  those  who  are  thus  suddenly  elevated, 
are  not  the  most  happy.  The  agitation  of  the  sea  is  not  always 
in  proportion  to  the  force  of  the  wind,  for  it  is  sometimes  very 
great  in  a  perfect  calm.  This  great  swell  or  sea,  as  it  is  here 
called,  generally  indicates  a  storm  at  a  distant  part  of  the  ocean, 
which  may  reach  Orkney  a  day  or  two  afterwards  ;  hence,  on 
the  west  coast,  this  great  swell  is  considered  a  prognostic  of 
west  wind.  From  this  we  infer,  1st,  that  the  agitation  caused 
by  the  wind  on  the  surface  of  the  ocean  travels  faster  than  the 
wind  itself ;  and,  2d,  that  the  breeze  begins  to  windward,  and 
takes  some  time  to  reach  the  point  towards  which  it  proceeds  to 
leeward,  which  tends  to  overturn  the  usually  received  theory  as  to 
the  cause  of  winds.  Sometimes,  however,  the  distant  storm  which 


PART  I.  AGRICULTURE  IN  ORKNEY.  677 

causes  this  agitation  does  not  reach  these  islands  at  all.  In  con- 
firmation of  this,  we  take  the  liberty  of  copying  the  following 
note  from  a  register  of  the  weather,  which  has  for  some  years 
been  kept  by  a  clergyman  on  the  west  coast  of  the  Mainland  : — 
"  In  August  1831,  from  the  9th  to  the  13th  inclusive,  the  great 
swell  of  the  sea  is  remarked,  every  day  being  also  marked  calm. 
The  barometer  remarkably  steady  at  29%9,  and  the  thermometer 
ranging  from  55°  to  65°."  In  a  subsequent  note  he  adds  : — "  On 
the  7th  and  8th  of  August,  there  was  a  gale  in  latitude  57°  21 ' 
N.,  longitude  13°  15'  W.,  at  first  W.  by  N.,  and  afterwards  S.  W., 
as  appears  from  a  vessel  damaged  by  it,  and  put  back  to  Strom- 
ness  to  repair.  This  accounts  for  the  great  swell  of  the  sea 
here  from  the  9th  to  the  13th,  with  calm  weather.  On  the  llth, 
atone  A.M.,  it  began  at  Barbadoes,  N. E.  to  N.W.,  and  con- 
tinued till  seven  A.M.  with  dreadful  violence,  when  it  had 
changed  to  S.W.,  E.S. E.,  and  S.  On  the  llth,  at  four  A.M., 
it  visited  St.Lucie." 

5.  Each  parish  contains  a  number  of  cultivated  portions  or 
towns,  as  they  are  called,  which  are  imperfectly  defended  from 
the  sheep,  that  roam  at  large  on  the  surrounding  common,  by 
turf  walls,  or  hill  dykes,  and  within  which  are  generally  found 
the  possessions  of  several  small  proprietors  mixed  together  in 
run-rig,  which  is  a  great  impediment  to  their  improvement ; 
and  many  of  the  smaller  lairds  are  Udallers,  who  hold  their 
land  from  no  human  superior  whatever.  The  mode  of  cultivat- 
ing these  spots  can  scarcely  be  said  to  have  reached  perfection, 
but  it  has  been  much  improved  since  the  commencement  of  this 
century.  At  that  time  it  was  not  uncommon  to  see  three  or 
even  four  ponies  yoked  a-breast,  and,  instead  of  being  stimu- 
lated by  the  ploughman  who  followed,  their  heads  were  fastened 
to  a  bit  of  wood,  by  which  a  little  urchin  endeavoured  to  drag 
them  forwards,  as  if  the  plough  and  all  were  drawn  by  his  little 
arm  ;  and  when  his  cattle  appeared  particularly  lazy,  he  would 
front  them,  walking  backwards,  and  lashing  them  on  the  face 
with  his  whip,  to  allure  them  on.  The  instrument,  about  the 
drawing  of  which  there  was  such  a  fuss,  was  what  is  known  by 
the  name  of  the  single-stilted  plough,  which  baffles  all  descrip- 
tion ;  but  it  was  somewhat  like  the  left  side  of  the  common 
plough,  deprived  of  the  right  stilt  and  mould-board,  and,  in 
place  of  the  latter,  there  were  three  or  four  pegs  fastened  in 
the  side,  which  met  the  mould  at  right  angles  ;  and  through 


678  AGRICULTURE  IN  ORKNEY.  SECT.  IX. 

the'se  it  was  obliged  to  pass,  as  through  a  riddle,  or  to  accumu- 
late, till  some  clods,  mounted  on  the  heads  of  others,  leaped 
over  the  barrier,  or  passed  it  in  the  best  way  they  could — the 
ploughman  using  a  staff  or  pattle-tree  to  steady  the  instrument 
in  the  ground,  or  to  clear  away  the  soil  or  roots,  and  sometimes 
to  quicken  the  speed  of  his  nags,  by  throwing  it  at  their  heels. 
This  antique  instrument  has  now  so  completely  disappeared 
that  it  is  a  curiosity,  even  to  an  Orkney  man,  and  is  to  be  met 
with  only  in  the  museum  of  the  antiquary.  Most  of  the  farms 
consist  of  about  ten  acres  of  arable  ground,  with  about  as  much 
grass,  for  which  they  pay,  on  an  average,  about  .£10  of  rent. 
The  arable  ground  is  never  laid  down  with  grass,  but  alternate 
crops  of  oats  and  bear  are  extorted  from  it  without  any  rest ; 
yet  in  most  places,  where  it  is  well  manured  with  sea-weed,  the 
crops  are  excellent.  Potatoes  are  universally  cultivated,  and 
form  an  important  part  of  the  farmer's  diet,  while  they  also 
serve  to  clean  a  small  part  of  his  land.  At  present,  the  great 
object  is  to  raise  grain  ;  but  were  turnips,  for  which  the  climate 
seems  peculiarly  adapted,  more  generally  introduced,  and  a 
portion  of  arable  ground  sown  annually  with  grass,  it  would 
probably  be  more  profitable.  Indeed,  much  of  the  country 
seems  better  calculated  for  pasture  than  for  corn  :  and,  even 
under  the  present  system,  the  rents  are  generally  paid  by  the 
sale  of  cattle,  and  not  of  grain.  There  are,  however,  some 
gentlemen  farmers  and  proprietors  who  farm  portions  of  their 
estates  (from  200  to  300  acres),  who  have  a  regular  rotation 
of  crops,  and  farm  in  the  most  approved  manner.  * 

Agriculture  has  indeed  made  more  progress  here  during  the 
last  eight  or  ten  years,  than  during  a  long  period  previously, 
and  particularly  in  the  way  of  drainage,  fences,  and  rotation, 
where  it  was  most  required.  The  drainage  will  no  doubt  im- 
prove the  climate  generally  when  completed,  as  the  fences 
shelter  their  own  localities,  and  the  rotation  has  greatly  im- 
proved the  crops.  The  five-shift  is  that  which  is  generally 
approved  of,  and  in  some  places  as  good  crops  of  turnips  are 
now  grown  as  in  the  southern  counties,  and  the  quality  of  the 

*  Dr.  Barry  estimates  all  the  lands  of  Orkney  at  160,000  acres,  which  he  propor- 
tions thus : — Common  or  uncultivated  ground,  90,000;  in  field,  pasture,  and  meadow, 
30,000 ;  land  in  tillage,  24,000 ;  occupied  by  houses  and  gardens,  2000 ;  fresh  waters, 
4000.  Since  the  Doctor  published,  considerable  portions  of  the  common  have  been 
improved,  and  converted  into  arable  ground ;  but  not  so  much  as  materially  to  inter- 
fere with  liis  calculation ;  perhaps  2000  acres  may  thus  have  been  reclaimed. 


PART.  I.  IMPROVEMENTS   IN   ORKNEY.  679 

grain  is  greatly  improved.  Several  very  neat  and  commodious 
farm-steadings  have  been  erected,  and  in  most  cases  thrashing 
mills,  worked  either  by  steam  or  water,  so  that  the  appearance 
of  the  country  in  these  places  is  completely  changed,  as  in 
Orphir,  where  these  improvements  are  not  only  introduced  on 
several  properties,  and  between  ,£3000  and  .£4000  laid  out 
since  1847,  but  Mr.  Fortescue  of  Swanbister,  who  lately  purchased 
property  there,  has  introduced  a  large  flock  of  Cheviot  sheep, 
which  he  kept  in  the  hills  all  the  winter,  which  was  a  very 
severe  one,  and  they  have  thriven  remarkably  well.  Various 
causes  have  contributed  to  promote  this  improvement — for 
instance,  the  failure  of  kelp,  high  price  of  agricultural  produce, 
purchase  of  property,  and  renting  of  farms  by  several  gentle- 
men of  capital  and  enterprize  from  the  south,  and  the  first 
government  grant  for  drainage,  of  which  about  ,£20,000  has 
been  laid  out  in  Orkney.  Those  who  applied  for  the  largest 
sums  being  David  Balfour,  Esq.  of  Trenaby,  £6000;  J.  G. 
Heddle,  Esq.  of  Melsetter,  ,£3000  ;  G.  W.  Traill,  Esq.  of  Veira, 
.£3000 ;  the  Earl  of  Zetland,  £2000  ;  A.  Fortescue,  Esq.  of 
Swanbister,  £1000.  Free  trade,  however,  and  low  prices,  have 
given  a  heavy  blow  to  agriculture,  and  we  fear  that  it  will  now 
be  stationary  or  retrograde,  unless  there  be  some  change  in  its 
favour. 

The  most  public  roads  through  the  Mainland  have  been 
much  improved  of  late  by  means  of  the  statute  labour  ;  and 
carts  are  now  so  generally  used,  even  by  the  smaller  farmers, 
that,  in  a  parish  where  there  were  only  eleven  at  the  end  of 
last  century,  there  are  now  about  200.  This  is  a  vast  improve- 
ment on  the  old  mode  of  transporting  articles  on  the  backs,  or 
rather  balanced  on  each  side,  of  horses,  by  means  of  the  dibber 
and  mazy,  to  which  were  attached  strange-looking  heather 
baskets  called  creels,  or  straw  ones  called  cubbies,  and  cazies. 
These,  however,  are  still  to  be  seen,  and  are  worthy  of  a  place 
in  the  antiquary's  museum,  beside  the  single-stilted  plough  ; 
and  they  should  be  accompanied  by  the  pundler  and  bismar, 
two  very  imperfect  instruments  for  weighing  commodities  on 
the  principal  of  the  lever.  .. 

6.  The  homespun  stuffs  for  both  sexes  have  almost  dis- 
appeared ;  and  the  peasantry  are  now,  in  general,  dressed  in 
imported  manufactures  as  decently  as  those  of  most  counties 
in  Scotland ;  the  younger  females  having  straw  Leghorn  bonnets, 


680  ORKNEY   HOUSES.  SECT.  IX. 

plaited  by  themselves,  and  the  young  men  being  attired  as 
sailors.  Not  being  of  Celtic  origin,  the  Highland  dress  and 
language  were  never  used  in  Orkney ;  but  the  Norse  tongue, 
which  was  a  dialect  of  the  Norwegian,  was  generally  spoken 
some  centuries  ago,  and  understood  last  century  by  some  people 
in  the  parish  of  Harray,  which  is  the  only  one  that  is  not 
washed  by  the  sea,  and  where  old  customs  consequently  remained 
longer  than  in  any  other.  This  language,  however,  is  now  com- 
pletely forgotten,  so  that  there  is  no  one  who  can  assist  the 
etymologist  with  the  meaning  of  many  names  which  are  evi- 
dently Norse.  Of  course  the  people  speak  English,  with  a 
peculiar  accent,  which  the  stranger  will  readily  perceive :  and, 
when  talking  familiarly  among  themselves,  they  use  the  singu- 
lar of  the  second  personal  pronoun,  saying  thou  and  thee,  like 
quakers,  instead  of  you. 

7.  Their  cottages  are,  in  general,  miserable-looking  abodes, 
with  peat-stacks  in  front,  and  the  intervening  space  sadly  cut 
up  by  the  feet  of  the  cattle :  the  door,  which  is  in  many  cases 
common  to  the  cot  and  the  cow-house,  is  sometimes  less  than 
five  feet  high — the  cows  turning  into  one  end  of  the  building, 
and  the  people  to  the  other ;  and  often  a  favourite  or  delicate 
cow,  or  a  few  calves,  are  kept  in  the  fore-house,  or  but,  along 
with  the  family.  A  flock  of  fowls  on  the  rafters,  and  a  few 
geese,  hatching  in  the  proper  season,  are  also  admitted  to  the 
comfort  of  the  fire,  which  is  placed  on  the  middle  of  the  earthen 
floor,  and  composed  of  peats — there  being  a  hole  in  the  roof  for 
egress  to  the  smoke  and  entrance  to  the  light.  This  opening  is 
not  placed  directly  above  the  fire,  lest  during  rain  there  should 
be  a  "  meeting  of  the  waters  "  with  that  element,  which  would 
not  terminate  in  their  being  "  mingled  in  peace ;"  and  the  smoke, 
having  thus  no  encouragement  to  pursue  an  upright  course, 
adopts  a  more  crooked  policy,  and  forces  its  way  into  openings 
that  were  not  intended  for  its  reception,  as  the  stranger's  eyes 
sometimes  testify,  by  the  involuntary  tribute  of  a  tear.  "  Sic 
itur  ad  astra  ! "  Besides  the  main  apartment,  there  is  gene- 
rally an  interior  one,  or  ben,  which  is  seldom  fired  or  used,  ex- 
cept on  great  occasions,  and  as  a  bed-room ;  and,  sometimes, 
between  the  two  there  is  a  space  for  lumber.  Around  the  central 
fire  the  family  is  generally  collected  during  the  long  winter 
evenings,  apparently  more  comfortable  and  contented  with  their 
lot  than  a  southern  slave  to  refinement  would  suppose  it  pos- 


PART  I.  FOOD — RELIGION.  681 

sible  to  be  in  their  humble  cot  and  hyperborean  climate ;  the 
men  engaged  in  making  or  mending  some  of  their  farming 
utensils,  and  the  females  in  plaiting  straw  to  deck  the  heads  of 
the  London  ladies,  in  the  shape  of  bonnets ;  but  this  employ- 
ment has  lately  failed  them,  and  no  substitute  has  yet  been  in- 
troduced. Strangers  are  sometimes  astonished  at  a  round  an- 
cient-looking tower  attached  to  each  cottage :  this  is  the  kiln 
for  drying  grain ;  it  is  connected  with  the  barn,  and  is  very 
necessary  on  the  smallest  farm,  there  being  none  of  a  public 
description.  The  food  of  the  peasantry  is  simple  enough  to 
satisfy  the  greatest  advocates  for  the  antiphlogistic  regimen — 
pottage  for  breakfast,  bread  and  milk  for  dinner,  the  same  re- 
peated for  supper,  is  the  summer  fare ;  and,  in  winter,  potatoes, 
with  a  little  butter  or  fish,  or  very  rarely  meat  may  be  added. 
For  the  general  dinner  and  supper,  each  house  has  a  well-stocked 
kail-yard,  and  cabbage  forms  a  favourite,  and  often  too  common 
a  meal. 

8.  The  people  have  as  much  information  on  general  and 
religious  subjects  as  those  of  any  part  of  the  kingdom.  All 
the  present  generation  can  read,  most  of  them  can  write,  and 
arithmetic  is  commonly  taught.  "  Unfortunately,  most  of  the 
parishes  are  united  to  others,  and  two,  or  even  three  of  them, 
with  a  church  in  each,  placed  under  the  charge  of  one  clergy- 
man, who  has  to  preach  in  each  by  turns;  though  common 
sense,  it  might  be  thought,  would  convince  every  one  that  each 
parish  requires  a  clergyman,  and  at  least  one  school  for  itself 
alone."  Great  exertions  are  sometimes  made  by  the  clergy  so 
situated  to  remedy  this  defect  by  their  own  activity,  or  the 
employment  of  assistants  or  appointment  of  missionaries ;  and 
we  know  that,  in  some  instances,  the  coarsest  weather  has  not 
prevented  them  from  reaching  their  more  distant  parishes,  even 
one  day,  for  ten  years,  perhaps  for  a  much  longer  period,  though 
they  had  to  travel  fifteen  miles,  often  through  mud,  rain,  storm, 
and  darkness.  The  Earl  of  Zetland  is  patron  of  all  the  Orkney 
livings,  except  those  of  the  two  ministers  of  Kirkwall,  the 
patronage  of  which  is  in  the  hands  of  the  town  council ;  and 
the  patronage  of  Walls  is  claimed  by  Mr.  Heddle  of  Melsetter, 
as  well  as  by  the  Earl.  The  synod  of  Orkney  consisted  of  three 
presbyteries,  each  with  six  clergymen,  till  May  1833 ;  and  it  is 
a  singular  coincidence,  that,  during  that  month,  each  had  one 
added  to  its  number,  by  the  disjunction  of  Stromness  from 


682  ORKNEY    SUPERSTITIONS.  SECT.  IX. 

Sandwick,  and  the  admission  of  the  ministers  of  the  government 
churches  in  Deerness  and  North  Ronaldshay,  as  members  of  the 
church  courts,  so  that  there  are  now  twenty-one  who  are  en- 
titled to  sit  as  members  ;  but  besides  these,  there  are  five  mis- 
sionaries who  preach  to  separate  congregations,  making  the 
total  number  of  clergy  in  the  Established  Church  twenty-six. 
Since  the  commencement  of  this  century,  however,  there  has 
been  a  considerable  number  of  dissenters  in  Orkney,  of  the 
United  Presbyterian  Church,  Original  Seceders,  Congregation- 
alists,  and  Baptists,  of  whom  the  first  sect  seem  best  adapted 
to  the  Orcadian  disposition,  and  have  taken  the  firmest  root  in 
a  poor  soil.  There  are  no  statistics  published  giving  the  num- 
ber of  dissenters  at  present,  but  the  number  of  ministers  of  this 
sect  in  Orkney  is  twelve ;  of  Original  Seceders,  two ;  of  Con- 
gregationalists,  three ;  and  of  Baptists,  three  or  four.  The 
greatest  secession  which  has  taken  place  in  Orkney,  as  in  most 
of  Scotland,  is  that  of  the  Free  Church,  in  1843,  when  ten 
ministers  and  preachers  left  the  Established  Church,  and  joined 
that  communion ;  and  where  they  did  so,  a  great  part  of  their 
congregations  followed  them.  There  are  now  fourteen  minis- 
ters in  connection  with  the  Free  Church.  Thus  there  are  at 
least  sixty  ministers  or  preachers  for  about  thirty  thousand 
inhabitants,  or  about  one  for  every  five  hundred,  which  would 
be  a  liberal  allowance  if  they  were  located  so  as  to  give  the 
utmost  accommodation  to  all ;  yet  still,  there  are  remote  places 
where  the  people  are  in  want  of  the  ordinances  of  religion. 
The  traveller  will  be  able  to  account  for  this,  when  he  sees  a 
cluster  of  churches  in  each  of  the  towns,  and  even  in  the  coun- 
try, within  100  or  200  yards  of  each  other. 

As  the  day  dawns,  the  shades  of  night  vanish  ;  and  the  light 
of  knowledge  is  fast  chasing  away  from  Orkney  the  supersti- 
tious phantoms  of  former  ignorance.  There  are  still,  however, 
some  who  have  seen,  and  can  tell  wondrous  stories  of  the  fairies, 
before  the  guagers  put  them  to  flight  by  their  odious  tax  upon 
the  generous  liquor  which  was  required  to  warm  and  expand 
the  heart  ere  those  airy  inhabitants  condescended  to  reveal 
themselves  to  the  eyes  of  man.  There  is  still  a  superstition 
against  turning  a  boat,  at  the  commencement  of  a  voyage,  con- 
trary to  the  sun,  and  against  calling  some  things  by  their 
proper  names  at  particular  times :  as,  for  instance,  the  fire 
used  in  the  drying  kiln  is  always  propitiated  by  being  styled 


PART  I.  HERRING    AND    COD   FISHERY.  683 

the  ingle;  and  the  water  employed  for  brewing  ale,  lest  it 
should  overflow  in  quantity,  is  called  by  the  diminutive  word 
burn,  and  so  on. 

9.  A  table  is  subjoined,  showing  the  sums  collected  in  Ork- 
ney from  various  kinds  of  industry  in  1833,  from  which  the 
reader  will  be  able  to  form  some  idea  of  the  trade  and  manu- 
factures of  the  country.*     In  1826,  3500  tons  of  kelp  were 
manufactured,  and  sold  at  about  £7  per  ton,  leaving  ,£24,500 
in  the  country.     This  was  the  greatest  quantity  ever  made  in 
one  season ;  but,  alas  for  the  staple  of  Orkney !  there  is  little 
prospect  of  its  rising  so  high  again,  for  the  market  was  glutted, 
and  the  chemists  with  their  drugs,  and  the  free-trade  doctors 
with  their  prescriptions,  have  since  brought  it  to  a  state  from 
which  it  can  scarcely  be  expected  to  recover.     All  the  principal 
proprietors  in  Orkney  have  felt  the  depreciation  in  the  price  of 
kelp  severely,  and  some  of  them  it  has  completely  ruined,  their 
estates  on  islands  being  so  small,  in  proportion  to  the  coast 
that  bounds  them,  that  the  weeds  on  the  surrounding  rocks 
were  much  more  valuable  to  them  than  all  the  produce  of  their 
lands.     During  the  last  war,  kelp  sold  so  high  as  .£20  per  ton  ; 
and  now,  even  at  £4  : 10s.,  it  is  heavy,  as  the  merchants  call  it. 
Thus,  Dr.  Neill's  remark,  made  in  the  year  1806,  has  been 
almost  literally  verified.     "Agriculture,"  said  he,  "  is  quite  a 
secondary  consideration ;  and,  such  being  the  case,  the  reader 
will  not,  we  believe,  conclude  that  we  are  prophesying,  if  we 
say  that  kelp  will  be  the  ruin  of  Orkney."  . 

10.  The  herring  fishery  has  greatly  increased  of  late.     At 
the  beginning  of  this  century,  the  entire  neglect  of  it  was  much 
deplored  by  Dr.  Barry,  and  by  Dr.  Neill,  in  his  Tour  through 
Orkney.     Dr.  Traill  mentions,  in  his  article  on  Orkney  in  the 
Edinburgh  Encyclopedia,  that  in  1820  no  fewer  than  17,989 
barrels  were  exported ;  but  after  that  the  trade  declined.    Dur- 
ing 1837  and  the  two  following  years,  the  average  number  of 
sloops  engaged  in  the  cod  fishery  was  eighteen,  and  the  quantity 
of  cod  cured  each  year  381  tons  ;  while  the  average  number  of 
herring-boats  belonging  to  Orkney  was  724,  and  of  herrings 

*  In  the  first  edition  of  this  Guide,  we  ventured  to  suggest  that  "  the  number  of 
cattle  exported  could  be  increased  with  much  advantage,  particularly  if  a  steam-boat 
were  employed  to  carry  them  at  once  to  the  south  of  Scotland."  We  have  now  much 
pleasure  in  noticing  that  this  suggestion  has  been  freely  acted  on.  The  fare  for  a 
cabin  passage  in  the  steamers  to  Orkney  is,  from  Granton,  Ely,  Anstruther,  Crail, 
and  Afbroath,  16s. ;  Aberdeen,  12s. ;  Wick,  4s. ;  Lerwick,  7s.  General  Goods,  Is.  6d. 
per  barrel ;  small  lean  cattle,  8s. 


684  LOBSTER   FISHING WHALERS.  SECT.  IX. 

cured  on  shore  and  afloat  42,073  barrels.  These  are  sold  by 
the  fishers  to  the  curers  at  about  10s.  per  cran  or  barrel,  and 
the  cod  bring  as  much  per  cwt.,  yielding  £24,852  per  annum. 
Lobsters  are  generally  caught  in  small  nets  about  two  feet  in 
diameter,  which  are  kept  extended  and  sunk  at  the  bottom  by 
means  of  iron  hoops,  and  baited  with  fish  or  flesh.  Great  num- 
bers of  these  are  let  down  along  the  shore  near  to  low- water 
mark,  with  ropes  having  buoys  attached  to  the  ends  of  them, 
and  visited  several  times  during  the  night  by  the  fishermen, 
one  of  whom  pulls  the  boat  gently  along  the  line  of  nets,  while 
the  other  lays  hold  of  each  buoy  as  he  comes  up  to  it,  and  by 
the  rope  pulls  up  the  net  so  rapidly,  that,  if  there  is  a  lobster 
at  the  bait,  it  is  in  the  boat  before  it  has  time  to  escape.  Its 
claws  are  then  secured  by  twine,  to  prevent  mischief  from  its 
pugnacity,  and  the  whole  thus  caught  during  the  night  are  im- 
mediately transferred  to  a  large  chest  with  many  perforations, 
which  is  anchored  in  some  sheltered  bay,  till  one  of  the  London 
welled  smacks  calls,  which  they  do  at  certain  places  every 
week,  for  the  purpose  of  transferring  the  contents  of  all  the 
chests  in  Orkney  to  the  London  market :  100,000  lobsters,  on  an 
average,  are  thus  annually  exported ;  but,  from  their  recent  de- 
crease in  size  and  number,  together  with  the  limited  extent  of 
the  fishing-ground,  it  is  probable  that  this  fishery  has  reached 
its  maximum.  Sixty  whalers  have  called  in  one  year,  and 
taken  1400  men,  leaving  about  £  18,000  in  the  country ;  but  the 
men  who  do  not  now  get  out  to  Davis  Straits  find  employment 
in  the  other  fisheries,  which  benefit  themselves  and  the  country 
more ;  for  the  habits  which  they  acquired  there  led  them  often 
to  spend  in  dissipation,  during  winter,  all  the  hard-earned  gains 
of  the  preceding  summer.  The  voyage,  also,  is  more  unpleasant 
and  dangerous  than  it  once  was ;  for,  since  the  northern  disco- 
very vessels  pointed  out  the  fishing-ground  on  the  west  side  of 
Baffin's  Bay,  that  is  the  great  resort  of  the  whalers.  They  are 
consequently  longer  detained  ;  the  men  are  exposed  to  increased 
danger,  and  are  absent  during  the  harvest  months,  when  their 
presence  is  most  wanted  at  home.  The  fisheries,  particularly 
those  of  herring  and  cod,  shew  the  great  resources  of  Orkney. 
Surrounded  with  an  inexhaustible  ocean  of  food,  its  inhabitants 
require  only  industry  to  supply  themselves  with  plenty  in  a  land 
of  peace,  and  to  attain  the  luxuries  of  other  climates  by  an  ex- 
change of  their  superabundance.  There  seem  to  be  no  limits  to 


PART  I.  STRAW-PLAITING.  685 

these  branches  of  industry  but  what  are  imposed  by  its  capital 
and  population,  and  these  will  be  rapidly  increased  by  a  suc- 
cessful perseverance  in  the  fisheries.  Anglers  will  find  the  best 
sport  at  the  following  places: — Stenness  Loch,  Orphir  Loch, 
Loch  of  Air  at  Holme,  Wasdale  in  Firth,  Birsay  Loch. 

11.  Straw-plaiting  for  ladies'  bonnets  and  gentlemen's  hats 
is,  or  rather  was,  the  only  manufacture  carried  on  to  any  great 
extent  in  these  islands.  About  thirty  or  forty  years  ago,  6000 
or  7000  females  were  more  or  less  employed  in  it,  and  about 
£20,000  per  annum  were  derived  from  this  source.  At  that 
time,  however,  the  plaiting  was  of  wheat-straw,  which  had  been 
allowed  to  ripen,  but  which  was  afterwards  split ;  consequently, 
the  bonnet  was  colourless,  brittle,  and  flimsy.  A  superior  sort 
of  bonnet,  however,  has  since  been  introduced  from  Leghorn, 
which  is  firmer  than  the  other,  from  its  being  plaited  of  unsplit 
straw :  it  is  also  of  a  richer  colour,  and  of  a  tougher  and  more 
durable  texture,  in  consequence  of  the  straw  being  cut  while 
green.  In  imitation  of  this  article,  the  Orkney  straw-plaiting 
is  now  carried  on,  and  it  hence  is  called  Leghorn  or  Tuscan. 
The  straw  of  rye  is  used  here,  but  that  of  wheat  and  other 
kinds  of  grass  will  answer  the  same  purpose.  The  seeds  are 
sown  thick,  that  the  straw  may  be  long  and  fine :  the  stems 
are  cut  down  before  the  grain  ripens — tied  near  the  lower 
end  into  very  small  bundles,  steeped  in  boiling  water  for  an 
hour,  spread  on  the  ground  to  bleach,  and  carted  to  the  manu- 
facturer's house,  where  the  upper  part,  between  the  highest 
joint  and  the  grain,  which  in  general  is  the  only  part  used,  is 
pulled  out,  cut  to  a  proper  length,  sifted  or  sorted  to  so  many 
different  degrees  of  fineness,  and  made  up  into  small  bundles, 
which  are  distributed  to  the  girls,  who  take  them  to  their  own 
houses  to  be  plaited.  They  are  paid  according  to  the  fineness 
of  the  straw  and  excellence  of  the  work ;  but,  for  the  most  part, 
the  plaiters  can  earn  no  more  than  threepence  per  day:  the 
plaits  are  next  washed,  smoked,  milled,  and,  lastly,  put  into 
the  hands  of  other  girls,  who  sew  or  knit  them  together  into 
bonnets.  The  second  class  of  girls  and  the  sorters  can  make 
fivepence  a-day.  One  half  of  the  straw  manufactured  here  is 
for  the  Messrs.  Muir  of  Greenock,  who  have  about  fifteen  or 
sixteen  acres  in  cultivation,  and  employ  about  1000  constant 
plaiters,  and  many  others,  who  work  occasionally ;  and  it  is 
computed  that  several  others,  who  carry  on  this  manufacture 


686  STRAW-PLAITING SHIPPING.  SECT.  IX. 

on  a  small  scale,  do  as  much  business  among  them.  140  yards 
of  the  finest  plait  are  required  to  make  a  bonnet,  which  brings 
£4  at  market.  The  Orkney  straw  is  considered  tougher  than 
the  foreign,  but  not  of  so  rich  a  hue.  At  one  time  this  manu- 
facture was  conducted  in  a  very  objectionable  manner,  by  col- 
lecting numbers  of  young  people  in  confined  apartments,  where, 
as  "  evil  communications  corrupt  good  manners,"  and  "  one 
sinner  destroyeth  much  good,"  it  is  to  be  feared  the  contami- 
nated atmosphere  was  not  only  destructive  to  their  bodily  health, 
but  to  their  moral  purity.  The  same  objections,  however,  do 
not  apply  to  it  as  conducted  at  present  in  their  own  homes, 
where  it  has  a  tendency  to  introduce  neatness  and  cleanliness  ; 
but  it  is  a  serious  objection  that  the  whim  of  a  London  lady 
may  render  it  unfashionable  to  appear  under  a  thatch  of  straw, 
and  thus  at  once  throw  destitute  3000  Orcadian  damsels.  In- 
deed, this  had  in  a  great  measure  been  effected,  before  last  edi- 
tion, by  the  reduction  of  duty  on  foreign  straw-plait  from  17s. 
to  5s.  per  pound ;  and  the  free  importation  of  foreign  straw 
now  has  almost  annihilated  this  manufacture,  which  was  the 
only  employment  for  most  of  the  Orkney  girls. 

12.  There  are  two  licensed  distilleries  at  Kirkwall,  and  one 
at  Stromness.      In  1833,  there  were  seventy-eight  registered 
vessels  belonging  to  the  country,  carrying  4049  tons  and  319 
seamen.      Notwithstanding  the  distress  among  the  ship-owners 
of  Britain,  the  shipping  of  Orkney  had  been  doubled  within  the 
preceding  twenty  years  :  the  favourite  rig  is  that  of  a  schooner, 
and  the  trade  that  between  England  and  Ireland.      In  general, 
they  are  well  found,  navigated  by  able  and  sober  seamen,  and  not 
insured  ;  consequently  there  are  few  lost :  and  it  is  the  general 
opinion  in  Orkney,  that  a  great  many  of  the  numerous  wrecks 
on  its  shores  are  those  of  vessels  which  are  intentionally  thrown 
away,  for  the  purpose  of  profiting  by  the  insurance,  and  that  it 
would  be  a  great  saving  to  Britain  if  there  were  no  sea  insurance 
at  all.      In  this  way  only  can  we  account  for  several  wrecks 
which  we  have  witnessed.    In  other  cases,  where  there  was  danger 
or  loss  of  life,  the  scene  was  exciting  and  awful  in  the  extreme. 

At  present,  the  shipping  interest  is  in  a  very  languishing 
state,  in  consequence  of  the  repeal  of  the  navigation  laws. 

13.  Our  table  may  be  advantageously  compared  with  Dr. 
Barry's  account  of  exports  and  shipping,  in  p.  386  of  his  work, 
from  which  it  appears  that  they  were  as  follows  : — 


PART  I. 


ORKNEY  EXPORTS. 


687 


Tears. 


In  1770 
1780 
1790 
1800 


Eiports. 


£12,018 
23,257 
26,598 
39,677 


Shipping. 


825  tons. 

940  ... 
2000  ... 
1375  ., 


Ships. 


17 

20 
23 
21 


Sailors. 


76 

90 

170 

119 


Of  the  imports,  it  would  be  difficult  to  ascertain  the  exact 
amount  or  quantity,  so  as  to  reduce  them  to  a  table  like  that 
of  the  exports  ;  but  we  believe  that,  in  general,  they  may  be 
stated  to  be  annually  a  few  thousand  pounds  less.  They  con- 
sist of  a  great  variety  of  articles,  which  would  be  best  under- 
stood by  an  inspection  of  an  Orkney  shop,  which  is  a  sort  of 
bazaar,  the  keeper  of  which  is  grocer,  clothier,  haberdasher, 
hosier,  hatter,  silk  mercer,  ironmonger,  tobacconist,  &c.  &c. 
A  considerable  annual  quantity  of  wood  from  various  places, 
and  coal  from  Newcastle,  are  also  imported. 

14.   TABLE   SHEWING   THE   SUMS   RECEIVED    IN  ORKNEY,  IN  1848, 
PBOM  PASM  PRODUCE,  MANUFACTURES,  FISHERIES,  ETC. 

Bear  or  bigg,  5015  quarters,  at  20s £5,015  0  0 

White  oats,  2377  quarters,  at  16s 1,901  12  0 

Oatmeal,  1000  bolls,  at  12s .600  0  0 

Bearmeal,  800  bolls,  at  10s 400  0  0 

Potatoes,  2000  barrels,  at  4s 400  0  0 

Turnip  seeds,  4  tons,  at  £40  160  0  0 

Horses,  320,  at  £10 3,200  0  0 

Oxen  and  cows,  1580,  at  £5 7,900  0  0 

Sheep,  670,  at  £1 670  0  0 

Lambs,  200,  at  12s 120  0  0 

Swine,  490,  at  £1 : 10s 735  0  0 

Butter,  about  £2000 ;  hides,  £300  2,300  0  0 

Rabbit  skins,  1500  dozen,  at  2s.  6d 187  10  0 

Feathers 250  0  0 

Wool 470  0  0 

Kelp,  drift  weed,  300  tons,  at  £4: 10s 1,350  0  0 

Do.,  cut  weed,  250  tons,  at  £2 : 10s 625  0  0 

Malt,  10,696  bushels  1,604  0  0 

Eggs  sent  to  Leith,  50  tons,  100  dozen  per  cwt.,  100,000 

dozen  at  6d 2,500  0  0 

Straw  manufacture 400  0  0 

Herrings,  20,000  barrels,  at  10s.  per  barrel  10,000  0  0 

Cod,  fished  by  about  40  sloops  of  40  tons,  14  tons  each,  at 

£12  per  ton 6,720  0  0 

Lobsters,  caught  by  432  men,  in  216  boats 1,800  0  0 

Whale  fishing  1,800  0  0 


Carryforward, £51,108    2    0 


688  HISTORY  OF  ORKNEY.  SECT.  IX. 

Brought  forward £51,108    2    0 

Hudson's  Bay  Company  pay  annually  for  wages  of  men 

employed  "in  Hudson's  Bay 1,200     0    0 

About  400  sailors  engaged  in  vessels  not  belonging  to 
Orkney,  and  many  of  whom  spend  the  winter  in  it,  at 
£12  each 4,800  0  0 

£57,108    2    0 


15.  HISTORY. — Orkney  and  Zetland  have  long  formed  one 
county  or  stewartry  ;  but,  till  the  passing  of  the  Reform  Bill, 
the  representative  to  Parliament  was  returned  by  Orkney  alone, 
while  Zetland  had  no  voice  in  the  election — an  oversight  cer- 
tainly very  inconsistent  with  the  theory  of  the  British  consti- 
tution :  and  this  inconsistency  is  scarcely  diminished  by  the 
new  act,  which,  in  bestowing  the  elective  franchise  on  Zetland, 
only  gives  it  the  privilege  of  voting  for  the  member  along  with 
Orkney.  Arthur  Anderson,  Esq.,  is  the  present  representative. 

The  early  history  of  Orkney  is  probably  as  accurately  and 
minutely  known  as  that  of  any  part  of  Britain  ;  for  which  we 
are  indebted  to  the  Orkneyinga  Saga,  and  to  the  Orcades  of 
Torfaeus  ;  but  to  these  large  and  rare  works  it  cannot  be  sup- 
posed the  traveller  will  refer  for  information.  He  will,  how- 
ever, find  a  translated  and  sufficiently  minute  epitome  in  Dr. 
Barry's  history. 

Cape  Orcas,  from  which  these  islands  probably  derive  their 
name,  is  noticed  as  an  extremity  of  Britain  by  Diodorus 
Siculus,  A.  c.  57,  and  the  Orcades  are  mentioned  by  Pomponius 
Mela,  100  years  after.  Solinus  reckons  only  three  islands,  A.  D. 
240  ;  or  if  Pinkerton  is  right  in  his  correction,  33.  The  first 
permanent  inhabitants  probably  came  from  the  nearest  coast, 
and  consisted  of  the  Picts,  or  Picks,  who  spread  over  Scotland 
and  the  Hebrides  before  the  birth  of  Christ,  and  from  these  to 
Orkney.  Little  kings  or  princes  then  reigned  in  these  islands  ; 
and  King  Belus,  Gaius  and  Gunnas  are  mentioned.  When  the 
Roman  empire  was  divided  among  Constantine's  sons,  Orkney 
was  considered  of  such  importance,  that  it  is  particularly  men- 
tioned as  falling  to  the  share  of  young  Constantine.  St. 
Columba  met  an  Orkney  king  at  the  court  of  Budi  II.,  and 
recommended  Cormac,  one  of  his  disciples,  to  instruct  the 
people,  A.D.  570.  Budi  IV.  quelled  an  insurrection  in  Orkney  ; 
after  which  it  remained  so  quiet,  that  it  is  not  mentioned  again 
for  more  than  200  years.  The  Orkney  Picts  seemed  to  have 


PART  I.  HISTORY  OF  ORKNEY.  689 

enjoyed  the  sweets  of  society  in  peace,  till  their  harmony  was 
interrupted  by  another  swarm  of  Scandinavians,  A.  ».  876. 
This  was  occasioned  by  the  ambition  of  Harold  Harfager,  or 
the  Fair-haired,  who,  dissatisfied  with  the  territories  which  he 
possessed,  introduced  discord  and  the  horrors  of  war  into  the 
little  states  around  him,  till  he  raised  himself  to  be  the  sole 
King  of  Norway. 

Many  of  the  princes  and  people  who  were  thus  disgusted  at 
home,  or  forced  to  flee,  left  their  native  land,  and  took  posses- 
sion of  the  Faroes,  Iceland,  the  Hebrides,  several  parts  of 
Britian,  Zetland,  and  the  Orkney  Isles,  and  from  these  they 
gratified  their  revenge  by  intercepting  the  trade  and  ravaging 
the  coasts  of  their  common  enemy.  Harold  equipped  a  fleet  to 
subdue  them,  and,  arriving  in  Orkney,  A.  D.  876,  which  is  des- 
cribed as  being  inhabited  by  the  Peti  or  Papae,  (who  are  sup- 
posed to  be  the  Picts  and  their  priests),  he  added  these,  as  well 
as  the  Western  Islands,  to  his  dominions  ;  and,  on  his  return  to 
Norway,  invested  Ronald,  Count  of  Merca,  with  the  government 
of  Orkney.  This  wise  and  illustrious  nobleman  retired  from 
the  situation  in  920,  in  favour  of  his  brother  Sigurd,  who 
added  to  his  earldom  by  subduing  Caithness,  Sutherland,  East 
Ross,  and  Moray,  where  he  was  slain  in  battle.  Ronald  next 
allowed  Gottorm  his  nephew,  and  Hailed  his  son,  to  enjoy  the 
earldom  ;  but  they  were  stupid  and  unfit  ;  and  two  of  his  other 
sons  vied  with  each  other  for  the  appointment.  Einar  was 
the  successful  candidate,  who  is  said  to  have  taught  the  people 
to  use  turf  for  fire,  hence  called  Torfeinar  ;  and  Rolf,  or  Rollo, 
who  was  the  disappointed  competitor  for  the  earldom  of  Orkney, 
and  the  great-great-great-grandfather  of  William  the  Conquer- 
or, was  obliged  to  try  his  fortune  in  France,  which  he  invaded, 
and  became  Duke  of  Normandy.  We  cannot  detain  the  reader 
with  the  exploits  of  all  the  descendants  of  this  distinguished 
family,  who  held  the  earldom  of  Orkney  from  A.  D.  920  till 
after  1320,  when  Magnus  V.  was  alive,  in  whose  person  the 
male  line  failed,  and  the  earldom  passed  to  Mallis,  Earl  of 
Strathearn,  who  was  married  to  Magnus's  only  daughter,  and 
afterwards  to  "the  lordly  line  of  high  St.  Clair"  in  1379. 
These  Scandinavian  earls,  jarls,  or  sea-kings,  were  considered 
high  in  rank,  wise  in  peace,  and  formidable  in  war.  They 
intermarried  not  only  with  the  nobility  of  the  neighbouring 
nations,  but  with  the  regal  families  of  Scotland  and  Norway  : 
2o2 


690  HISTORY   OP   ORKNEY.  SECT.  IX. 

and  they  were  known  and  feared  as  far  as  their  fleets  and  arms 
could  reach.  But  though  their  exploits,  according  to  the 
ideas  of  that  warlike  period,  were  those  of  high  and  honourable 
men,  they  would  now  very  properly  be  classed  with  those  of 
plunderers  and  pirates. 

Barry's  description  of  Swein  of  Gairsay  is  probably  also 
applicable  to  most,  if  not  all,  of  the  other  earls.  "  In  spring 
he  employed  them  (his  people)  in  cultivating  the  ground  and 
sowing  the  seed.  The  summer  was  for  the  most  part  spent  in 
predatory  expeditions,  particularly  to  Ireland  and  the  Western 
Isles.  Harvest  called  them  home  to  reap  and  gather  in  the 
crop  ;  and  the  gloomy  months  of  winter  were  devoted  to  festi- 
vity. "  This  gentleman  took  the  city  of  Dublin  on  one  occasion, 
as  a  little  private  speculation  :  and  the  fall  of  the  latter  Sigurd, 
in  the  battle  of  Clentarf,  close  to  Dublin,  is  commemorated  in 
Gray's  well-known  Ode  of  the  "  Fatal  Sisters. "  In  short,  the 
Scandinavians  of  those  days  seem  to  have  undertaken  predatory 
excursions  against  their  fellow  men,  much  in  the  same  manner 
as  their  descendants  of  the  present  day  join  in  expeditions 
against  the  fish  of  the  neighbouring  seas,  or  the  leviathans  of 
Greenland.  These  were  the  men, 

"  Who  for  itself  could  woo  the  approaching  fight, 
And  turn  what  some  deem  danger  to  deught." 

We  have  already  noticed  the  original  introduction  of  Christi- 
anity into  these  islands.  After  the  Scandinavian  or  pagan  con- 
quest, it  was  introduced  a  second  time,  about  A.D.  1000,  by 
Olaus  Friguesson,  King  of  Norway,  and,  in  the  spirit  of  those 
days,  at  the  point  of  the  sword.  But  it  was  more  easy  thus  to 
make  it  the  acknowledged  religion  of  the  land  than  to  infuse 
its  mild  spirit  into  the  hearts  of  men  ;  and  long  after  that  period 
we  find  the  Orcadians  acting  rather  like  the  worshippers  of 
Odin,  than  the  imitators  of  Him  who  "  is  good  to  all,  and  whose 
tender  mercies  are  over  all  his  works."  While  William  St. 
Glair,  the  third  of  that  name,  held  the  earldom  of  Orkney, 
Christian  I.  king  of  Denmark,  Norway,  and  Sweden,  demanded 
payment  of  the  "annual  of  Norway,"  the  arrears  of  which 
amounted  to  a  considerable  sum ;  and,  the  affair  having  been 
submitted  to  the  arbitration  of  Charles,  King  of  France,  he  pru- 
dently recommended  a  marriage  between  the  young  Prince  of 
Scotland  and  the  Princess  of  Denmark.  In  1468,  James  III. 
accordingly  obtained  with  the  Princess  Margaret  a  portion  of 


PART.  I.  HISTORY  OF  ORKNEY.  691 

60,000  florins,  2000  of  which  were  paid.  Orkney  was  given  in 
pledge  for  50,000,  and  Zetland  for  the  remaining  8000,  and  since 
that  time  these  islands  have  always  been  politically  attached  to 
Scotland,  from  which  they  should  never  have  been  disjoined. 
King  James  purchased  the  earl's  haill  richt  to  them  in  1470, 
annexing  them  to  the  crown  by  acts  of  parliament,  not  to  be 
alienated  again,  except  in  favour  of  a  lawful  son  of  the  king. 
This  wise  resolution  was,  however,  speedily  departed  from  ;  and 
they  were  granted  to  James,  Earl  of  Murray,  in  1530,  and  after- 
wards to  the  Earl  of  Huntly,  who  enjoyed  them  till  Mary 
bestowed  the  earldom  on  her  natural  brother,  Lord  Robert 
Stuart,  and  subsequently  on  the  Earl  of  Bothwell,  with  the  title 
of  Duke  of  Orkney.  Sir  John  Maitland  of  Thirlstane,  and  Sir 
Ludovick  Ballantine,  held  them  for  short  time  ;  and  Earl  Patrick 
Stuart,  son  of  Lord  Robert,  obtained  a  grant  in  1600.  This  man 
inherited  his  father's  vices  as  well  as  his  honours.  He  was 
proud,  avaricious,  cruel,  and  dissipated  ;  but  the  complaints  of 
the  oppressed  people  at  length  reached  the  ear  of  royalty  ;  when 
he  was  thrown  into  prison,  convicted  of  high  treason,  and  suf- 
fered condign  punishment.  Probably  the  poor  Orcadians  never 
endured  so  great  oppression  as  during  the  rule,  or  rather  the 
misrule,  of  the  Stuarts.  They  destroyed  most  of  the  Udal 
tenures,  and  introduced  feudal  ones  in  their  stead  ;  justice  was 
perverted,  heavy  fines  were  imposed,  and  the  property  of  others 
was  unjustly  seized  ;  the  weights  and  measures  were  altered,  so 
as  to  increase  the  rent  paid  in  kind  ;  the  discontented  districts 
were  overawed  by  soldiery  ;  and  the  castles  of  Scalloway  and 
Kirkwall,  built  by  Earl  Patrick,  while  they  remain  as  monu- 
ments of  his  pride  and  oppression,  serve  well  to  illustrate,  not 
only  the  ruin  which  is  effected  by  the  footsteps  of  time,  but  that 
which  always  tracks  the  footsteps  of  vice,  and  which  overtook 
their  execrable  builder.  So  great  was  the  fear  of  having  another 
such  oppressor  appointed  to  the  earldom,  that,  to  quiet  the 
minds  of  the  people,  the  king  ordered  a  proclamation  to  be  made 
"  that  the  lands  and  earldom  of  Orkney  and  Zetland  were  an- 
nexed to  the  crown,  to  remain  in  time  coming,"  and  that  the 
inhabitants  should  be  under  no  apprehension  of  reverting  "  to 
their  former  condition  of  misrule,  trouble,  and  oppression." 

The  rents  of  the  earldom  were  then  let  to  Sir  James  Stewart 
of  Kilsyth,  as  farmer-general,  and  afterwards  to  Sir  George 
Hay  of  Kinfauns,  who  resigned  them  in  three  years.  The 


692  ORKNEY — KIRKWALL.  SECT.  IX. 

people  petitioned  "  that  no  man  be  interposed  between  his 
Majesty  and  them,  to  molest  them."  The  prayer  of  this  peti- 
tion was  for  a  time  listened  to,  and  another  act  of  annexation 
passed  in  1633.  But  in  1643,  King  Charles  I.  again  granted 
the  islands,  with  all  the  regalities  belonging  to  them,  to  William, 
Earl  of  Morton,  in  mortgage,  redeemable  by  the  crown  for  .£30,000. 
He  was,  however,  stripped  of  the  earldom  by  Cromwell.  An- 
other of  the  same  family  regained  it,  at  the  Restoration,  in 
1662 ;  but  the  deed  was  declared  null,  and  it  was  annexed  to 
the  crown  again  in  1669,  and  leased  out  to  different  persons  for 
thirty  years.  In  1707,  James,  Earl  of  Morton,  obtained  it,  for 
the  last  time,  in  the  old  form  of  a  mortgage,  redeemable  by  the 
crown  for  ,£30,000,  subject  to  an  annual  feu-duty  of  £500. 
This  grant  was  rendered  irredeemable  in  1742,  and  he  after- 
wards received  £7200  for  heritable  jurisdictions.  But,  harassed 
with  complaints,  quarrels,  and  lawsuits,  he  sold  the  estate,  in 
1766,  for  £60,000,  to  Sir  Lawrence  Dundas,  the  great-grand- 
father of  the  present  Earl  of  Zetland,  in  whose  family  it  remains, 
and  who  have  erected  too  many  honourable  monuments  for 
themselves  in  the  hearts  of  the  people,  to  require  that  we 
should  sound  their  praise. 

Our  limits  forbid  us  to  enter  on  the  history  of  the  church 
in  Orkney.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  the  first  resident  Romish 
bishop  seems  to  have  been  appointed  about  the  beginning  of 
the  twelfth  century,  and  the  first  reformed  bishop  in  1562.  By 
the  act  of  the  General  Assembly  in  1638,  Episcopacy  was 
abolished,  but  it  afterwards  revived  for  a  little ;  and  it  was  not 
till  about  A.  ».  1700  that  Presbyterianism  was  finally  established 
in  these  islands  in  place  of  Episcopacy.  Since  that  time,  the 
revenues  of  the  see  of  Orkney  have  been  either  held  by  the 
crown,  and  managed  by  a  factor,  or  leased  out  to  the  holder  of 
the  earldom  or  others.  At  present  they  are  placed  under  the 
control  of  the  commissioners  of  her  Majesty's  woods,  forests, 
and  land  revenues. 

ITINERARY. 

16.  As  the  traveller  will  probably  arrive  at  Kirkwall  either 
by  the  steam-boat  or  other  conveyance,  or  take  an  early  oppor- 
tunity of  visiting  it,  we  shall  commence  our  Itinerary  by  a 
brief  description  of  Pomona,  or  the  Mainland.  This  island  is 
divided  into  two  unequal  parts  by  the  Bays  of  Kirkwall  and 


PART  I.  KIRKWALL.  693 

Scapa,  and  connected  by  an  isthmus  nearly  two  miles  broad, 
upon  which  the  town  of  Kirkwall  is  built.  Here  is  a  comfort- 
able inn  and  several  respectable  lodging  houses.  The  oldest 
part  of  the  town  lies  along  the  shore  of  the  former  bay,  which 
is  much  exposed  to  the  north,  and  hence  not  greatly  frequented 
by  shipping ;  though  its  position,  so  central  for  the  Main- 
land, and  allowing  easy  access  from  the  north  and  south  isles, 
points  it  out  as  the  proper  site  for  the  capital  of  the  country. 
From  whatever  quarter  it  is  approached,  the  ancient  and 
venerable  cathedral  of  St.  Magnus  is  the  first  object  that  arrests 
the  eye,  raising  its  stately  form  above  the  town,  that  seems 
to  crouch  beneath  it ;  while  the  ruins  of  the  Earl's  and  Bishop's 
Palaces,  which  were  companions  of  its  youth,  increase  our 
veneration  for  its  sacred  walls,  by  appearing  as  the  attendants 
of  its  age,  while  they  are  bent  with  the  weight  of  years.  The 
town  consists  chiefly  of  one  street,  which  is  about  a  mile  long, 
and  very  narrow  and  unpleasant  to  passengers,  from  the  rough- 
ness of  the  causeway  and  want  of  a  side  pavement  in  some 
places,  though  it  is  much  improved  in  this  respect  since  our 
last  edition.  Many  of  the  houses  have  their  gables  toward 
the  street,  which  gives  it  a  foreign  appearance ;  and  some  of 
them  seem,  from  their  inscriptions,  to  be  verging  on  antiquity. 
Kirkwall,  we  are  told,  was  erected  into  a  royal  burgh  in  the 
time  of  the  Danes ;  and  James  III.,  on  obtaining  Orkney,  con- 
ferred a  similar  honour  on  it.  Its  first  charter  was  granted  in 
1468.  This  was  confirmed  by  James  V.  in  1536,  who  visited 
Orkney  in  person,  and  lodged  in  the  Bishop's  Palace ;  and  his 
grants  were  ratified  in  1661  by  King  Charles  II.,  and  by  the 
parliament,  at  Edinburgh,  in  1670.  It  has  since  been  governed 
by  a  provost,  four  bailies,  a  dean  of  guild,  a  treasurer,  and 
fifteen  councillors,  and  had  the  privilege  of  returning  a  mem- 
ber to  parliament  along  with  the  other  northern  burghs.  The 
late  Burgh  Reform  Act  has  made  a  few  changes  in  the  consti- 
tution of  Kirkwall.  Here  most  of  the  principal  proprietors 
of  the  county  reside,  at  least  during  the  winter,  besides  many 
well-educated  men ;  and  the  society  is  esteemed  at  least  as 
good  as  that  of  any  other  provincial  town  of  the  same  size.  In 
1841,  the  population  of  the  burgh  was  3034,  and  that  of  the 
parish  of  St.  Ola,  which  is  attached  to  it,  540.  There  was 
formerly  a  fresh-water  lake  at  the  west  side  of  the  town ;  but, 
by  an  attempt  to  drain  it,  the  sea  was  admitted,  which  now 


694  ST.  MAGNUS'  CATHEDRAL.  SECT.  ix. 

ebbs  and  flows  there  regularly,  and  is  known  by  the  name  of 
the  Peerie  Kea. 

17.  The  architectural  beauties  of  the  town  claim  the  stran- 
ger's particular  attention: — First,  St.  Magnus'  Cathedral. 
Magnus,  in  honour  of  whom  this  stately  pile  was  erected,  was 
one  of  the  Scandinavian  Earls  of  Orkney,  and  was  assassinated 
in  Egilshay,  about  the  year  1110,  by  his  cousin  Haco,  who  thus 
obtained  possession  of  his  property.  The  murdered  earl,  who 
seems  to  have  been  a  good  man,  was  sainted,  and  his  body 
buried,  first  in  Christ  Church  in  Birsay,  but  afterwards  removed 
to  this  cathedral.  Kolius,  or  Ronald,  a  nephew  of  St.  Magnus, 
who  was  entitled  to  a  share  of  the  earldom,  but  was  repulsed 
by  Paul,  who  then  held  it,  retired  to  Norway ;  and  before 
attempting  again  to  obtain  possession,  he  raised  the  zeal  of  his 
followers  by  vowing  to  St.  Magnus,  that,  if  successful,  he  would 
erect  and  dedicate  a  church  to  him  in  Kirkwall,  far  exceeding 
in  magnificence  all  former  buildings  in  these  islands.  By  the 
zeal  thus  inspired,  and  the  wisdom  of  his  plans,  he  was  success- 
ful. He  arrived  unperceived,  though  Paul  had  ordered  fires  to 
be  kindled  in  different  islands,  to  give  warning  of  his  approach ; 
and,  after  his  settlement,  he  amply  fulfilled  his  promise,  by 
building,  about  the  year  1138,  the  central  cross  and  steeple  of 
the  cathedral,  which  are  the  most  ancient  parts  of  the  edifice. 
Ronald,  the  founder,  was  also  slain  while  hunting  in  Sutherland ; 
canonized,  and  buried  in  the  cathedral.  Dr.  Stewart,  who  suc- 
ceeded to  the  bishoprick  of  Orkney  in  1511,  enlarged  the 
building,  by  adding  the  three  first  pointed  piers  and  arches  at 
the  east  end,  and  the  fine  east  window,  which  is  early  middle 
pointed,  of  four  unfoliated  lights,  in  two  divisions,  its  head 
filled  with  a  rose  of  twelve  leaves.  Bishop  Maxwell,  who  suc- 
ceeded in  1525,  ornamented  it,  and  furnished  it  with  a  chime 
of  four  very  large  and  well-toned  bells  ;  and  Bishop  Reid, 
who  succeeded  in  1540,  added  three  Romanesque  pillars  to 
the  west  end,  the  interior  arches  above  which  seem  never  to 
have  been  finished.  It  is  built  of  red  freestone,  of  first  pointed 
and  early  middle  pointed  architecture,  and  is  still  quite  entire 
— as  much  so  as  St.  Mungo's  Cathedral  in  Glasgow,  which 
it  resembles  ;  but  its  enormous  apparent  size  strikes  one,  on 
entering,  as  much  as  that  of  the  larger  English  cathedrals, 
which  is  partly  accounted  for  by  the  extreme  narrowness  of  the 
nave  and  choir,  only  16  feet — compared  with  the  total  internal 


PART  i.  ST.  MAGNUS'  CATHEDRAL.  695 

length,  which  is  217  feet  6  inches.  In  the  choir  are  entombed 
the  remains  of  Scandinavian  royalty  and  nobility,  of  saints  and 
warriors.  The  present  spire*  is  a  paltry  substitute  for  an  ele- 
gant one  which  was  destroyed  by  lightning  in  1670,  and  is  133 
feet  high.  The  interior  arched  roof,  which  is  71  feet  high,  is 
supported  by  28  pillars,  each  15  feet  in  circumference ;  and  4 
others,  24  feet  in  circumference,  of  great  strength,  and  beauti- 
fully ornamented,  support  the  spire.  The  extreme  length  of 
the  cathedral,  from  east  to  west,  outside,  is  226  feet,  and  of 
the  transepts  90  feet,  and  its  breadth  about  56  ;  but  the  dimen- 
sions of  the  different  parts  will  be  found  in  other  works  on 
Orkney,  to  which  we  refer.t  There  are  two  perfect  triforia 
round  chancel  transepts,  nave  and  tower,  a  staircase  at  each 
angle  of  the  tower,  and  two  others  from  the  transepts. 

Since  the  Reformation,  the  Protestant  clergy  have,  like  their 
Catholic  predecessors,  shewn  much  regard  for  this  cathedral ; 
but  the  poverty  of  the  Presbyterians  enabled  them  only  to  re- 
tard its  decay,  till  the  late  Gilbert  L.  Meason,  Esq.,  left  a  liberal 
legacy  of  £1000,  the  interest  of  which  was  appointed  to  be 
annually  expended  in  ornamenting  and  keeping  it  in  repair ;  and 
which,  under  judicious  management,  effected  much  in  pre- 
serving and  renovating  the  building,  and  increasing  the  comfort 
of  the  place  of  worship,  in  the  choir,  which  was  immemorially 
used  for  a  parish  church,  till  within  these  few  years,  when 
government  swept  away  the  seats,  and  began  their  renovation, 
on  which  they  have  already  expended  £2000  or  £3000 ;  and  we 
understand  they  intend  to  lay  out  a  considerable  sum  yet,  to 
complete  the  work.  During  its  progress  some  discoveries  have 
been  made.J  On  removing  the  end  of  a  beam  from  the  large 
pier  on  the  north  side  of  the  choir,  at  the  junction  of  the  addi- 
tion to  the  original  structure,  a  space  was  found  containing  a 
human  skeleton,  which  is  thought  to  be  that  of  St.  Magnus, 
with  the  skull  indented  on  the  tip,  as  if  by  the  stroke  of  an  in- 
strument. The  tomb  of  Bishop  T.  Tulloch  was  discovered  under 
the  seat  on  the  south  side  of  the  choir,  between  two  of  the  pil- 
lars which  had  been  built  by  him  ;  it  contained  a  chalice  and 

*  From  the  most  recent  and  correct  observations,  we  understand  that  the  true 
position  of  the  spire  of  St.  Magnus'  Cathedral  is  58  deg.  59  min.  31  sec.  north  lati- 
tude, and  the  length  of  the  pendulum  vibrating  seconds  here  is  39'1683  inches. 
+  See  particularly  "  Ecclesiological  Notes  on  the  Isle  of  Man  and  the  Orkneys." 
$  We  gladly  avail  ourselves  of  the  notices  of  these  discoveries,  and  of  the  Picts' 
Houses,  published  by  Mr.  G.  Petrie,  who  has  lately  raked  up  some  valuable  articles 
from  the  dust  of  former  ages. 


696  ST.  MAGNUS'  CATHEDRAL.  SECT.  ix. 

paten,  both  of  wax,  at  one  hand  of  the  skeleton,  and  a  bishop's 
staff  of  oak  at  the  other. 

Between  the  two  pillars,  on  the  north  side  of  the  church, 
directly  opposite  to  Bishop  Tulloch's  tomb,  one  was  found, 
formed  of  common  paving-stone,  about  2£  feet  in  length,  by  1 J 
in  breadth  and  depth,  containing  a  skeleton  doubled  up,  and  an 
instrument  resembling  a  hammer,  with  an  iron  handle,  and  bone 
head.  At  the  head  of  the  skeleton  was  stuck  a  piece  of  lead, 
with  these  words  rudely  cut  on  it  "requiescit  Williamus  senex 
felicis  memorise,"  and  on  the  other  side  "P'mus  Epis." 

The  word  after  William  has  not  yet  been  made  out.  This 
appears  to  have  been  a  re-interment,  when  the  old  altar  was 
removed,  and  may  be  the  skeleton  of  one  of  the  early  Bishops ; 
several  of  whom  were  named  William,  or  of  the  first  resident 
bishop  of  Orkney. 

In  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  find  the  tomb  of  Earl  Robert 
Stewart,  that  of  his  brother,  Lord  Adam  Stewart,  son  of  James 
V.,  by  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Lennox,  was  disco- 
vered. Our  limits  will  not  permit  us  to  notice  particularly 
the  many  fine  ancient  sculptured  tombstones  with  which  St. 
Magnus  is  enriched. 

About  100  yards  south  of  the  cathedral  are  the  remains  of 
the  two  ancient  buildings  to  which  we  formerly  alluded,  now 
complete  ruins.  The  more  easterly  of  the  two  is  the  Earl's 
Palace,  built  by  Patrick  Stewart,  who  obtained  the  earldom  in 
1600.  It  is  a  beautiful  example  of  the  castellated  mansion  ; 
and  its  hanging  turrets,  spacious  projecting  windows  and  bal- 
conies, have  still  a  very  fine  effect,  while  the  principal  hall,  and 
its  arched  chimney,  are  worthy  of  particular  attention.  The 
more  westerly  edifice  is  the  bishop's  palace,  which  accommo- 
dated King  Haco  and  his  suite  in  one  of  its  upper  storeys, 
during  the  winter  of  1263.  The  north  part  of  it  consists  of  a 
handsome  circular  tower  (which  is  square  within)  built  by 
Bishop  Reid,  of  whom  there  is  a  freestone  statue,  in  alto 
relievo,  in  the  north  side  of  the  wall.  Earl  Patrick  is  under- 
stood to  have  joined  his  palace  to  this  tower,  thereby  forming 
the  whole  into  a  hollow  square  of  buildings,  open  to  the  north, 
measuring  240  by  200  feet,  which  certainly  composed  a  very 
magnificent  and  princely  residence. 

The  sadly  dilapidated  ruins  of  Kirkwall  Castle,  built  by  the 
first  earl,  Henry  St.  Clair,  are  still  to  be  seen  on  the  west  side 


PART    I.  KIRK.WALL.  697 

of  the  Broad  Street,  with  a  flower-pot  in  front  ;  and  near  the 
middle  of  this  street  is  the  Town  House,  an  insulated  building, 
containing  various  public  apartments. 

On  the  east  side  of  the  bay  are  the  mounds  and  ditches  of 
Cromwell's  Fort,  which  was  constructed  by  his  soldiers,  to 
protect  it  from  attacks  by  sea.  About  two  miles  north-west 
of  the  town,  at  Quanterness,  is  the  famous  Picts'  House,  de- 
scribed by  Dr.  Barry,  but  which,  unfortunately,  has  been  filled 
up,  so  that  there  is  nothing  now  to  be  seen  of  it  but  a  mound 
of  earth. 

In  its  immediate  vicinity,  and  about  half  way  up  the 
western  declivity  of  Wideford  Hill,  another  Picts'  House  was 
opened  in  1849,  constructed,  in  the  ordinary  style  of  these 
buildings,  of  large  stones,  converging  towards  the  top,  where  it 
was  only  about  a  foot  wide.  The  whole  structure  was  brought  to 
a  conical  shape  with  stones  and  clay,  and  over  all  is  a  thick  layer 
of  turf.  The  apartments  discovered  are  four,  all  communicat- 
ing with  each  other  by  passages  about  18  inches  high,  and  from 
15  inches  to  2  feet  broad,  with  all  the  floors  on  the  same  level. 
The  largest  apartment  from  which  the  others  branch  off  is  10 
feet  long,  5  broad,  and  9  feet  3  inches  high.  The  longest, 
highest,  and  narrowest  of  the  small  apartments  is  6  feet  3 
inches  long,  3  feet  7  inches  broad,  and  6  feet  6  inches  high. 
The  circumference  of  the  tumulus  at  its  base  is  about  140  feet, 
and  its  height  from  the  floors  to  the  top  12  feet.  Intermingled 
with  the  rubbish  which  filled  three-fourths  of  the  principal 
apartment,  and  on  the  floors  of  the  cells  and  passages,  were 
found  considerable  quantities  of  bones  and  teeth  of  various 
domestic  animals,  but  no  human  bones. 

The  "  Orkney  Library"  was  instituted  at  Kirk  wall  in  1815, 
and  now  contains  a  considerable  collection  of  books.  Since  that 
time,  other  libraries,  of  a  more  juvenile  description,  have  been 
opened  to  the  public  here ;  and  religious  ones  in  most  of  the 
country  parishes. 

There  are  four  Dissenting  meeting-houses  in  the  town. 

18.  Having  seen  all  that  is  worthy  of  notice  in  the  capital, 
the  traveller  may  with  ease  ride  round  all  the  East  Mainland, 
or  eastern  portion  of  Pomona,  in  the  course  of  a  forenoon ;  but 
we  have  nothing  to  hold  out  as  an  inducement  for  undertaking 
such  a  journey.  It  consists  of  three  parishes :  viz.  St.  Andrew's, 
where  Mr.  Baikie  of  Tankerness,  the  principal  proprietor  of  it, 

2H 


698  KIRKWALL  TO  STROMNESS.  SECT.  IX. 

'•esides ;  Deerness,  which  forms  a  peninsula ;  and  the  fertile 
parish  of  Holm,  or,  as  it  is  pronounced,  Ham. 

We  shall,  therefore,  now  endeavour  to  conduct  the  traveller 
through  the  West  Mainland  and  the  Island  of  Hoy,  by  far  the 
most  interesting  excursion  which  he  can  take.  A  post-gig  runs 
between  Kirk  wall  and  Stromness  every  day,  and  a  phaeton, 
when  required  by  passengers.  The  fare  along  with  the  mail  is 
2s.,  and  without  it,  or  in  the  phaeton,  it  is  2s.  6d.  The  hire  of 
a  horse  for  one  day  is  5s.,  of  a  gig  8s.,  of  a  phaeton  15s. 

Having  taken  a  seat  in  one  of  these,  or  provided  ourselves 
otherwise,  let  us  start  for  Stromness,  which  lies  nearly  twelve 
miles  west  of  Kirkwall,  although  the  winding  road  is  about 
fifteen  miles  long.  This  road,  which  is  completed  the  whole 
way,  leads  from  Kirkwall,  along  the  side  of  Wideford  Hill, 
whence  a  view  may  be  had  of  the  South  Isles,  and  the  Orkney 
Mediterranean,  and,  in  a  clear  day,  even  of  the  higher  hills  of 
Caithness.  From  this  point  the  road  descends  the  western  slope 
of  the  hill,  sweeping  more  northwardly  along  the  Bay  of  Firth, 
which  opens  on  the  sight,  sheltered  on  all  sides  but  the  east  by 
its  heathy  hills,  with  the  little  isle  of  Damsay,  and  the  Holm 
in  its  peaceful  bosom.  The  residence  of  Mrs.  Stewart  of  Bur- 
ness,  at  a  distance  on  the  north  side,  and  on  the  south  the  manse 
and  glebe,  attract  the  eye;  around  which  the  road  winds 
towards  the  church,  and  a  little  farther  on  through  a  small 
village,  called  Phin's  Town,  at  the  west  side  of  the  bay.  Passing 
within  300  or  400  yards  of  the  Established  Church,  first  the 
Free  Church,  with  its  neat  manse,  and  then  the  United  Presby- 
terian Church  manse.  The  dykes  by  the  road  are  covered  with 
our  most  superb  indigenous  flower,  the  digitalis  purpurea  ;  the 
Trientalis  Europcea  grows  in  a  valley  over  the  hills  west  of  the 
road ;  the  valeriana  officinalis  grows  in  a  burn  west  of  the  road 
and  south  of  the  church,  as  well  as  in  some  other  places  ;  and 
various  species  of  rose,  willow,  &c.,  are  so  abundant  as  to  tempt 
a  botanist  to  make  a  pedestrian  excursion  through  those  steep 
banks,  which  are  inaccessible  in  any  vehicle.  From  this  village 
the  road  turns  gradually  west,  ascending  the  north  side  of  the 
Hill  of  Hedal,  for  the  purpose,  we  presume,  of  giving  the  tra- 
veller a  view ;  and  he  should,  therefore,  shew  his  gratitude  by 
enjoying  it.  In  the  vale,  at  the  foot,  lies  the  farm  of  Scarth, 
much  improved  by  the  proprietor,  Mr.  Scarth  of  that  Ilk,  with 
its  tasteful  farm-steading.  To  the  north  lies  the  inland  parish 


PART  I.  STANDING  STONES  OF  STENNIS.  699 

of  Harray,  with  its  church,  on  a  central  rising  ground,  and 
within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  it,  the  Free  Church,  with  its 
manse  and  school,  and  at  a  greater  distance  the  hills  of  Birsay. 
Along  the  road  to  the  west  is  the  parish  of  Stennis,  or  Stein- 
house,  bounded  by  the  shore  of  the  Loch  of  Stennis,  which  com- 
municates with  the  sea  at  the  Bridge  of  Waith,  and  is  so 
extensive  that  it  could  not  be  circumambulated  in  less  than 
fourteen  miles  ;  and  at  the  farther  side  of  this  lake  lie  the  hills 
of  Stromness  and  Sandwick.  Toward  the  south-west  the  hills 
of  Hoy  stretch  their  huge  backs  in  the  distance,  or  hide  their 
heads  in  the  clouds.  Between  that  point  and  the  south  rises  a 
range  of  hills  which,  together  with  those  on  the  other  sides, 
form  one  vast  amphitheatre  of  the  centre  of  the  Mainland.  At 
the  sunny  side  of  this  latter  range  lies  the  parish  of  Orphir ; 
but,  the  ancient  palace  of  Earl  Paul  having  almost  disappeared, 
it  contains  nothing  to  tempt  the  traveller  from  his  route ;  and 
even  the  famous  field  of  battle  at  Bigswell,  or  Summerdale,  in 
this  direction,  contains  nothing  but  tumuli  to  mark  the  spot. 
About  a  furlong  north  of  the  road  is  the  house  of  Turmiston, 
from  which,  in  "  The  Pirate,"  the  hero  is  supposed  to  have  seen 
the  fight  which  terminated  in  the  blowing  up  of  his  vessel  near 
Stromness ;  which,  by  the  way,  he  could  not  possibly  do ;  but 
this  is  not  the  only  case  in  which  the  wonderful  writer  of  that 
work  has  availed  himself  of  his  privilege  as  a  novelist,  and 
conquered  impossibilities. 

19.  Near  the  Church  of  Stennis,  the  well-known  "  Standing 
Stones,"  from  which  the  parish  gets  its  name,  may  be  distinctly 
seen  several  miles  off,  'suggesting  the  idea  of  a  conclave  of 
giants.  They  are  well  worthy  of  a  visit,  being  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  antiquities  of  Orkney,  and  lying  near  the  public 
road.  They  consist,  or  rather,  we  regret  to  say,  once  consisted, 
of  two  distinct  clusters  of  huge  stones,  without  cutting  or  in- 
scription of  any  kind  on  any  of  them,  and  placed  singly  and 
perpendicularly  in  the  earth,  in  the  form  of  a  circle  and  semi- 
circle. The  latter  is  nearest  to  the  road  on  the  south  side  of 
the  loch ;  but  there  are  now  only  two  upright  and  one  pros- 
trate stone  remaining,  of  a  much  larger  size,  however,  than  the 
stones  of  the  circle.  The  prostrate  one  is  eighteen  feet  four 
inches,  long,  five  feet  four  inches  broad,  and  one  foot  nine 
inches  thick,  and  only  from  one  to  two  feet  of  it  were  inserted 
in  the  earth.  This  semicircle  is  fenced  round  with  a  mound  of 


700 


STANDING  STONES  OF  STENNIS. 


SECT.  IX. 


earth,  which,  when  more  distinct  than  it  now  is,  was  ninety-six 
feet  in  diameter,  and  consisted   of  three   or  four  stones   in 


Standing  Stones  of  Stennis. 

addition  to  those  still  existing,  besides  one,  a  little  east  of  the 
others,  with  a  hole  through  it,  to  which  the  victims  are  sup- 
posed to  have  been  tied  before  they  were  offered  in  sacrifice  on 
a  large  horizontal  stone  in  the  centre  of  the  structure.  About 
a  mile  north-west  of  this  lies  the  circle,  on  a  point  of  land 
which  extends  from  Sand  wick  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  lake, 
almost  dividing  it  in  two,  which  it  probably  did  entirely  at  one 
time ;  but  this  is  now  effected  by  means  of  the  Bridge  of 
Broigar.  At  the  south  end  of  this  bridge  stands  one  stone  six- 
teen feet  high,  five  feet  three  inches  broad,  and  one  foot  four 
inches  thick.  The  stones  of  the  circle  are  smaller,  and  have 
their  angles  more  rounded  and  worn  than  those  of  the  former 
group,  which  gives  them  an  air  of  greater  antiquity  ;  but  they 
may  have  been  originally  smaller,  or  taken  from  a  softer  quarry. 
At  first  they  probably  consisted  of  about  thirty-seven,  but 
some  are  either  entirely  prostrate,  or  have  nothing  but  mere 
stumps  remaining  where  they  formerly  stood  ;  so  that  there 
are  now  only  sixteen  erect  that  are  from  three  feet  to  fourteen 
and  a  half  feet  high.  They  are  surrounded  by  a  ditch  from 
thirty-one  to  thirty-three  feet  wide,  in  some  places  much  filled 
up,  and  not  now  above  six  feet  deep.  Between  the  ditch  and 


PART.  I.  STANDING  STONES  OF  STENNIS.  701 

the  stones  is  a  space  of  very  irregular  width,  varying  from 
fourteen  to  twenty-four  feet.  The  circumference  of  the  whole 
is  ten  hundred  and  seventy-one  feet.  All  the  stones  are  of  the 
common  schist  of  the  country,  and  covered  over  with  long 
lichens,  which,  like  "  hoary  locks,  proclaim  their  lengthened 
years  ;"  and  their  distance  from  one  another  indicates  that 
they  were  never  intended  for  pillars  to  support  other  horizon- 
tal stones,  like  the  trilithons  of  Stonehenge.  Similar  pillars 
or  standing  stones  are  to  be  found  in  various  parts  of  the 
country,  and  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  are  some  tumuli 
of  a  remarkable  size,  and  several  other  remains  of  antiquity. 
Dr.  Hibbert  has  described  the  larger  circle  as  a  Scandinavian 
temple  dedicated  to  the  sun,  and  the  semicircle  as  one  dedicated 
to  the  moon ;  and  he  mentions  that  it  was  the  practice  for  parties 
to  get  betrothed,  or  to  pledge  their  troth  to  become  man  and 
wife,  by  shaking  hands  through  the  hole  in  one  of  the  upright 
stones.  It  was  also  usual  when  a  couple,  whom  the  promise  of 
Odin  had  made  husband  and  wife,  without  their  being  married 
according  to  the  rites  of  the  Christian  church,  became  wearied 
of  each  other,  to  come  within  the  pale  of  the  neighbouring 
church,  in  order  that  the  marriage  might  be  rendered  null. 
"They  both  came  to  the  kirk  of  Steinhouse,"  says  Dr.  Henry 
of  Orkney,  "  and,  after  entering  the  kirk,  the  one  went  out  at 
the  south,  and  the  other  at  the  north  door,  by  which  they 
were  holden  to  be  legally  divorced,  and  free  to  make  another 
choice. " 

20.  The  parish  of  Stennis,  with  Firth,  forms  one  ministerial 
charge.  The  traveller  may  pursue  his  way  through  the 
remainder  of  it,  either  by  the  public  road,  passing  the 
Free  Church,  with  its  manse  and  school,  or  by  the  banks  of 
the  lake  through  the  town  of  Cloustoun,  if  he  prefer  it. 
About  two  miles  west  of  the  semicircle  he  will  find  the 
bridge  of  Waith,  "  That,  with  its  wearisome  but  needful 
length  bestrides  the  wintry  flood. "  This  connects  the  parishes 
of  Stennis  and  Stromness,  and,  after  passing  it,  the  road  turns 
more  southerly  towards  the  town  of  Stromness,  which  is  two 
miles  farther  on.  The  view  of  this  town,  which  here  bursts 
on  the  sight,  is  at  once  the  most  splendid,  varied,  and  interest- 
ing in  Orkney.  The  houses  are  ranged  along  the  bay,  where  we 
have  seen  nearly  100  sail  of  vessels  at  once,  sheltered  from  the 
west  by  its  granitic  hills,  and  on  the  east  by  its  little  holms, 


702  STROMNESS.  SECT.  IX. 

while  the  mountains  of  Hoy  form  as  beautiful  a  back-grouna 
for  the  picture  as  can  be  conceived.  The  property  east  of  the 
road  retains  the  name  of  Cairston,  which  the  town  and  bay  also 
formerly  had,  and  belongs  to  Mr.  Pollexfen  of  Cairston,  who 
has  a  country  house  on  it,  and  has  improved  it  much.  The 
stranger  having  seated  himself  comfortably  in  Flett's  or  Pater- 
son's  inn,  we  shall,  "  with  as  much  brevity  as  is  consistent  with 
perspicuity,"  describe  the  lions  of  the  burgh.  Stromness  is 
quite  a  modern  town.  Dr.  Wallace,  in  his  preface  to  his  father's 
work,  in  1693,  calls  Kirkwall  "the  only  town  in  these  isles  ;" 
and  in  1700  bespeaks  of  it  as  "the  only  town:"  but  in  the 
following  page,  when  noticing  the  principal  harbours,  he  says, 
"  the  fourth  is  at  Cairston,  a  small  village  at  the  west  end  of  the 
Mainland."  In  1775,  according  to  Dr.  Fea,  it  contained  about 
600  inhabitants  ;  and,  according  to  the  statistical  account  of  its 
late  venerable  minister,  who  was  born  in  it  in  1747,  in  the 
beginning  of  the  last  century  it  was  "  very  inconsiderable,  con- 
sisting only  of  half  a  dozen  houses  with  slate  roofs,  and  a  few 
scattered  huts."  By  the  same  account  we  learn  that  it  was  for- 
merly assessed  by  the  burgh  of  Kirkwall  in  the  payment  of  cess 
or  stent ;  but  in  1758  it  struck  off  its  degrading  fetters,  and 
established  not  only  its  own  freedom,  but  that  of  all  its  enslaved 
brethren  in  Scotland.  In  1817  it  was  erected  into  a  burgh  of 
barony,  and  the  government  committed  to  two  bailies  and  nine 
councillors,  elected  by  the  burgesses.  Though  it  has  now  little 
trade,  its  harbour  or  bay  is  so  excellent,  that  many  vessels  call 
here  for  men,  provisions,  or  shelter.  A  considerable  number  of 
whalers,  the  Hudson  Bay  vessels,  and  a  Labrador  missionary 
brig,  are  annually  among  the  number.  The  population  of  the 
burgh  is  2057,  and  that  of  the  country  part  of  the  parish  at- 
tached, 728.  There  is  one  street,  nearly  a  mile  long,  very  nar- 
row in  some  places,  but  tolerably  macadamised.  The  houses 
between  the  street  and  the  water  are  frequently  built  below 
high-water  mark  ;  and  piers  or  quays  jut  out  from  them  into 
the  harbour,  at  which  small  vessels  unload,  and  the  poor  fish 
for  sillocks,  which  are  so  abundant  here  and  in  other  sheltered 
bays,  that,  with  potatoes,  they  form  the  principal  food  of  the 
people,  an  anker  of  them  being  to  be  had  for  4d.  We  must  re- 
mind the  naturalist  that  Stromness  is  the  most  interesting  geo- 
logical locality  in  Orkney — rendered  particularly  celebrated  of 
late  by  the  publication  of  "  the  Asterolepis  of  Stromness,"  by 


PART.  I  MIRACULOUS  DELIVERANCE.  703 

that  eminent  geologist,  Mr.  Miller  ;  and  that  the  botanist  may 
gather  plenty  of  the  Primula  Scotica  on  the  hills  west  of  the 
town,  and  of  the  Scilla  verna  on  the  sea-banks,  although  they 
are  common  also  in  most  parts  of  these  islands.  The  view  of 
Hoy  from  the  fertile  district  a  mile  west  is  thought,  " parva 
componere  magnis"  to  resemble  the  sublime  scenery  of  Messina 
in  Greece.  At  this  distance,  on  the  sea-shore,  are  the  ruins  of 
the  former  church,  which  we  regret  to  learn  has  of  late  been 
partly  pulled  down.  It  is  surrounded  with  the  burying-ground, 
and  the  remains  of  an  old  monastery.  A  mile  farther,  on  the 
sea-shore,  stands  the  House  of  Breckness,  erected  by  Bishop 
Graham  in  1633  ;  and  from  a  point  half  way  to  it  is  the  best 
view  of  the  colossal  likeness  of  Sir  Walter  Scott  in  the  precipice 
called  the  Kame  of  Hoy.  From  this  spot,  after  rain,  may  be 
seen  a  cataract,  falling  over  the  same  precipice,  of  enormous 
height ;  but  the  quantity  of  water  is  seldom  great. 

21.  From  the  great  resort  of  shipping  to  Stromness,  wrecks  have 
frequently  happened  on  this  shore  ;  but  one  wreck  will  serve  to 
illustrate  all.  In  the  storm  which  arose  on  Wednesday,  the  5th 
of  March  1834,  the  Star  of  Dundee,  a  schooner  of  seventy- 
eight  tons,  was  seen,  along  with  other  vessels,  standing-in  on  the 
lee-shore,  which  it  was  evident  she  could  not  weather  ;  and  as 
she  came  directly  towards  the  Black  Craig,  three  miles  west  of 
Stromness,  the  spectators  ran  to  the  precipice  with  ropes  to 
render  assistance.  The  violence  of  the  storm,  and  the  shortness 
of  the  time,  prevented  the  crew  from  benefiting  by  the  good 
intentions  of  the  people  on  land  ;  for  the  first  wave  that  bore  pro- 
perly upon  her,  dashed  her  so  powerfully  on  the  rocks,  that  she 
was  instantly  converted  into  countless  fragments,  which  the 
water  washed  up  into  a  cave  at  the  bottom  of  the  over-hanging 
cliff,  or  strewed  along  the  beach  ;  and  the  spectators  retired 
from  the  awful  scene  without  the  gratification  of  having  saved 
even  one  fellow-creature.  During  the  remainder  of  the  week, 
nothing  of  consequence  was  saved,  and  no  vestige  of  any  of  the 
crew  was  seen.  On  the  morning  of  the  following  Sunday, 
however,  to  the  ineffable  astonishment  of  all,  and  the  terror  of 
the  first  beholders,  one  of  the  crew,  who  could  scarcely  be 
believed  to  be  a  human  being,  presented  himself  at  the  top  of 
the  precipice,  saved  by  a  miracle.  It  appeared  that  he  was 
washed  up  into  the  cave  which  we  have  mentioned,  along  with 
a  considerable  portion  of  the  wreck,  which  afterwards  remained 


704  SUBSCRIPTION   LIBRARY,    ETC.  SECT.  IX. 

at  the  mouth,  checking  the  violence  of  the  waves,  so  that  they 
did  not  again  penetrate  so  far  as  to  carry  away  some  red  her- 
rings which  had  been  washed  in  along  with  the  seaman,  and 
which  served  him  for  food.  By  means  of  a  tin  can,  which  had 
been  used  for  oil,  he  collected  fresh  water  in  drops,  as  it  trickled 
down  from  the  rock.  Two  pillows  were  also  washed  in  for  his 
comfort,  one  of  which  he  made  his  bed,  and  the  feathers  of  the 
other  he  stuffed  into  his  boots  for  warmth.  He  did  not  com- 
plain of  cold  ;  for  the  waves,  which  at  high  tide  nearly  im- 
molated him  by  throwing  in  huge  stones  and  blocking  him  up 
in  his  den,  gave  him  sufficient  employment  at  low  tide  to 
restore  things  to  order  before  the  next  attack.  The  principal 
inconvenience  which  he  suffered,  was  from  a  sense  of  suffocation, 
when  the  waves  darkened  his  abode  by  filling  up  its  mouth, 
and  condensed  the  air  within,  so  as  to  give  the  sensation 
of  extreme  heat  when  the  wave  was  in,  and  of  cold  when  it 
retired. 

22.  A  public  subscription  library  was  instituted  in  the  town 
in  the  year  1821,  which  has  already  been  an  example  for  the 
establishment  of  several  others  in  the  country.  The  stranger 
has  access  to  it  gratis.  There  is  here  also  a  museum,  which 
every  naturalist  and  antiquary  should  visit,  as  it  contains 
many  interesting  specimens,  though  it  is  yet  in  its  infancy, — 
the  Orkney  Natural  History  Society,  to  which  it  belongs,  hav- 
ing been  instituted  in  1837.  There  is  an  established  church, 
beside  two  dissenting  ones  in  the  town.  Although  Stromness 
is  of  such  modern  origin,  it  is  singular  that  the  first  novelist, 
and  the  first  poet  of  the  age,  have  obtained  each  a  hero  from  its 
natives,  or,  at  least,  from  those  who  are  so  connected  with  it  as 
to  be  considered  such.  As  to  Gow  or  Smith,  the  hero  of  "  The 
Pirate,"  we  do  not  wish  to  save  him  from  the  same  ill-gotten 
fame  as  is  attached  to  the  memory  of  the  jarls,  or  sea-kings, 
who  preceded  him  ;  but  we  may  remark,  that  some  interesting 
details  regarding  his  history  will  be  found  in  Mr.  Peterkin's 
"  Notes  on  Orkney ;"  and  the  remains  of  his  father's  garden 
may  still  be  seen  on  the  east  side  of  the  harbour  of  Stromness. 
But  on  "  Torquil,  the  nursling  of  the  northern  seas,"  we  must, 
in  justice,  offer  a  few  observations.  The  traveller  will  perhaps 
recollect  the  poet's  description  of  him,  in  Canto  II.  of  Lord 
Byron's  "  Island :" — 


PART.  I  GEORGE  STEWART.  .    705 

"And  who  is  he?  the  blue-eyed  northern  child, 
Of  isles  more  known  to  man,  but  scarce  less  wild, 
The  fair-hair'd  offspring  of  the  Hebrides,* 
Where  roars  the  Pentland  with  liis  whirling  seas ; 
Kock'd  in  his  cradle  by  the  roaring  wind, 
The  tempest-bom  in  body  and  in  mind; 
His  young  eyes,  opening  on  the  ocean  foam, 
Had  from  that  moment  deem'd  the  deep  his  home,"  &c. 

As  Byron  has  not  condescended  to  enlighten  the  reader  as 
to  his  real  history,  we  shall  endeavour  very  briefly  to  do  so. 
The  hero,  George  Stewart,  was  a  son  of  Mr.  Stewart  of  Masseter, 
who  resided  on  a  property  on  which  was  one  of  the  first  houses 
built  with  lime  in  Stromness ;  hence  it  is  still  called  the  White 
House,  and  here  his  sisters  lately  lived  highly  respected.  He 
went  to  sea  about  the  year  1780,  and  was  a  midshipman  in  the 
Bounty  with  Bligh,  when  he  went  to  transplant  the  bread-fruit 
tree  of  Otaheite  to  our  West  India  Islands,  and  he  remained  on 
board  after  the  mutiny,  contrary  to  his  own  wish.  Stewart 
took  no  part  in  that  transaction ;  and  he  is  vindicated,  in  a  late 
publication  on  the  subject,  by  one  who  had  access  to  the  best 
information,  t  He  was  one  of  those  who  perished  on  the  sink- 
ing of  the  Pandora  in  the  following  August.  We  have  been 
favoured  with  a  perusal  of  two  interesting  letters,  exculpating 
this  handsome  and  promising  youth,  which  were  written  to  his 
father  in  1792. 

Lieutenant  Joseph  Miller  was  also  a  native  of  Stromness, 
on  whom  the  command  of  the  Cyane  devolved,  when,  in  1809, 
she  engaged,  in  the  Bay  of  Naples,  and  under  the  guns  of  the 
enemy's  batteries,  a  large  French  frigate,  a  sloop  of  war,  and  a 
number  of  gun-boats  ;  and  who  continued  the  action  for  two 
hours  and  twenty  minutes,  till  the  frigate  went  down,  when  he 
conducted  the  Cyane  safe  home.  We  believe  the  particulars 
are  mentioned  in  James's  Naval  History. 

23.  While  at  Stromness,  the  first  fine  clear  day  should  be 
chosen  for  an  excursion  to  Hoy,  all  the  beauties  of  which  may 
be  seen  by  a  good  pedestrian  in  one  day,  by  making  the  circuit 
properly  :  for  that  which  we  propose  does  not  exceed  twenty- 
two  or  twenty-three  miles  by  sea  and  land  ;  and  seven  of  these 
are  occupied  in  the  passage  to  and  from  the  island.  The  re- 
mainder he  will  find,  to  his  sad  experience,  to  consist  of  "  moss, 

*  In  these  three  lines  we  only  count  three  errors  of  any  consequence: — First, 
his  eyes  were  black,  or  dark ;  second,  so  was  his  hair ;  third,  he  should  have  said 
Orcades,  instead  of  Hebrides.  But  Byron  is  not  the  only  one  who  so  far  forgot  his 
geography  as  to  confound  them. 

t  See  Family  Library,  "  Mutiny  of  the  Bounty." 


706  OLD  MAN  OF  HOY.  SECT.  IX. 

mount,  and  wilderness,  quhairin  ar  divers  great  wateris."  A 
pilot-boat  may  be  had  for  10s.  or  another  boat  for  6s.,  to  go, 
and  wait  the  return  of  the  party.  The  part  of  Hoy  to  which 
the  boat  goes  must  depend  on  the  tide  and  wind  ;  but  we  re- 
commend that,  if  the  party  do  not  partake  of  the  hospitality 
of  the  manse,  they  should  land  either  at  Salwick  Little  or 
Whanness,  when  the  boat  should  be  sent  to  the  other  place  to 
wait  their  return  :  but  let  them  not  forget  to  carry  provisions 
with  them.  We  suppose  the  party  to  land  at  the  former  place, 
which  we  prefer,  when  practicable.  From  this,  west  to  the 
meadow  of  the  Kame  is  about  three  miles.  Here  is  the  finest 
echo  which  we  ever  had  the  good  fortune  to  hear  ;  for,  if  it 
does  not  equal  the  famous  one  at  Killarney  for  politeness  in 
replying  to  a  query,  it  certainly  excels  it  in  the  impudence  with 
which  it  repeats  the  question,  and  mimics  the  human  voice.  If 
you  try  to  defy  its  powers,  or  to  crack  its  voice,  by  firing  a 
fowling-piece  for  its  imitation,  it  soon  shows  how  vain  the 
attempt ;  for  the  salute  is  courteously  returned  by  something 
more  resembling  a  whole  train  of  artillery,  or  the  thunders  of 
heaven : — 

"  The  circling  hills,  all  black  and  wild, 
Are  o'er  its  slumbers  darkly  piled, 
Save  on  one  side,  where  far  below, 
The  everlasting  waters  flow, 
And,  round  the  precipices  vast, 
Dance  to  the  music  of  the  blast."  * 

The  Old  Man  of  Hoy  is  about  four  miles  from  this,  and  to 
reach  him  you  must  climb  the  west  side  of  the  "  circling  hills," 
when  you  seem  somewhat  like  Mahomet's  tomb,  while  the 
eagle  that  builds  in  the  neighbouring  precipices  often  mocks 
your  efforts  by  soaring  and  screaming  above.  Having  attained 
the  summit,  you  bend  your  course  southwards  along  a  most 
stupendous  line  of  precipices  1000  feet  perpendicular  above  the 
sea,  which  washes  their  base.  They  are  rather  a  succession  of 
precipices,  piled  one  upon  the  other,  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
appear  like  the  remains  of  some  vast  building :  but  what 
would  the  proudest  monuments  of  human  skill  appear  if  placed 
in  the  ocean  near  them  ?  or  how  long  would  they  withstand  its 
fury  ?  One  of  the  highest  parts  is  Braeburgh,  which  is  almost 
insulated,  and  in  crossing  to  it  we  discovered  a  fine  vein  of  man- 

*  See  "  Orkney,"  a  poem,  by  Mr.  John  Malcolm,  from  which  we  would  frequently 
have  been  tempted  to  quote,  had  our  limits  permitted. 


PART  I.  WARDHILL  OF  HOY.  707 

ganese.  The  Old  Man  is  a  huge  pillar,  quite  insulated,  with 
arches  beneath,  which  stands  so  far  from  the  other  rocks,  that 
it  is  a  conspicuous  object  even  in  Caithness,  and  it  has  obtained 
its  name  because  "  it  seems  to  a  fanciful  view  "  like  the  human 
form.  The  Burn  of  Berridale  lies  about  three  miles  east  of 
this,  and  is  only  remarkable  for  a  few  stunted  shrubs  and  bushes, 
which  are  generally  supposed  to  be  indigenous,  but  which  we 
suspect  to  have  been  planted.  The  botanist  will  rejoice  more 
to  find,  on  the  descent  to  the  burn,  abundance  of  the  Vaccinium 
Myrlillus  ;  in  several  places  quantities  of  the  Empetrum  nigrum, 
the  Juniperus  communis  and  Narthecium  ossifragum,  and  the 
Hypericum  elodes,  growing  down  in  the  valley.  The  top  of 
the  Wardhill  is  about  two  miles  farther  east,  with  a  very 
easy  ascent  on  the  side  next  Berridale  ;  but  the  botanist  should 
take  a  little  excursion  up  the  Green  of  Gair,  and  the  fissure 
on  the  north  side  of  the  hill  above  it,  caused  apparently 
by  a  whin  dyke  ;  or  along  the  rocks  which  encircle  the  moun- 
tain from  that  eastward,  called  the  Hammers,  where  he  will  find 
the  Dryas  octopetala,  Rhodiola  rosea,  Saxifraga  oppositifolia,  S. 
Hypnoides,  Silene  acaulis,  Solidago  virgaurea  ;  and  there,  or 
in  his  way  to  the  "  Dwarfie  Stone,"  he  may  gather  the  Lycopo- 
dium  annotinum,  L.  alpinum,  L.  clavatum,  L.  selaginoides,  L. 
selago,  and,  as  Dr.  Neill  says,  whole  acres  of  scirpus  pauciflorus. 
Between  this  rocky  precipitous  belt,  which  is  about  half  way 
up,  and  the  top,  the  hill  has  a  more  gentle  slope,  which  is  covered 
with  Arbutus  alpina,  A.  Uva-ursi,  Azalea  procumbens,  and  at 
the  very  top,  Lichen frigidus  is  plentiful.  In  1529  Jo.  Ben*  says 
of  Hoy, — "  Ingentissimus  mons  hie  est,  distat  enim  a  terra  in 
pari  altitudine  tribus  milliaribus,  ubi  ascensus  non  est :"  and 
in  the  Statistical  Account,  about  forty  years  ago,  it  is  stated 
that  "  some  strangers,  with  their  mathematical  instruments, 
have  computed  the  height  of  it  from  the  water's  edge  to  the 
top  an  English  mile."  More  recent  and  accurate  observations, 
however,  have  deprived  Orkney  of  the  honour  of  possessing  the 
highest  mountain  in  Britain,  and  the  luxury  of  perpetual  snow  ; 
and  Captain  Veitch,  who  pitched  his  tent  here  on  the  trigono- 
metrical survey,  with  the  finest  instruments,  reduced  it  to  1555 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  It  commands  a  most  extensive 
and  interesting  view,  not  only  of  all  the  other  islands  which  lie 
scattered  beneath,  but  of  the  bold  outlines  of  the  mountains  of 
*  John  the  Benedictine. 


708  DWARFIE  STONE  SECT.  IX. 

Caithness  and  Sutherland,  which  stretch  out  towards  Cape 
Wrath,  and  of  the  boundless  ocean  beyond.  There  is  a  fine 
spring  near  the  summit,  on  the  west  side. 

From  the  top  to  the  famous  Dwarfie  Stone,*  which  lies 
about  south-east,  is  two  miles,  and  it  may  be  distinctly  seen  in 
descending  that  side,  being  the  farther  east  of  two  immense 
masses  of  sandstone,  which  have  probably  fallen  from  the  cliffs 
of  the  opposite  hill,  and  lodged  in  the  valley,  not  far  from  their 
base.  It  is  not  very  wonderful  as  a  work  of  art,  but  exceed- 
ingly so  for  its  antiquity,  there  being  no  record  or  probable 
tradition  of  the  time  of  its  excavation,  or  the  purpose  for  which 
it  was  intended ;  but  we  think  the  opinion  of  a  celebrated  anti- 
quary, with  whom  we  lately  visited  it,  as  interesting  as  it  is 
new.  According  to  him,  it  was  probably,  at  one  time,  a  heathen 
altar,  and  afterwards  converted  into  the  residence  of  a  Christian 
hermit ;  and  this  opinion  is  corroborated  by  the  offerings  that 
used  to  be  left  in  it  by  visitors,  and  such  we  have  deposited  in 
boyhood,  with  superstitious  exactness.  The  external  dimensions 
of  the  mass,  the  upper  surface  of  which  inclines  to  the  north-east 
about  5  deg.,  are  as  follows  : — Length,  from  28  to  28£  feet ; 
breadth,  from  13  to  14  feet  8  inches ;  height  above  ground,  from 
6£  to  2  feet.  In  this  huge  mass  is  excavated  by  art  a  central 
apartment,  with  a  bed  on  each  side  of  it,  to  the  former  of 
which  there  is  access  by  a  door  on  the  west  side,  and  a  hole  in 
the  top. 

The  tired  traveller  who  follows  the  party  "  haud  passibus 
aequis,"  will  be  glad  to  learn  that  the  nearest  sea-shore  to  which 
we  recommended  the  boat  to  go  for  his  reception  is  only  a  mile 
and  a  half  north-east  of  the  Dwarfie  Stone  ;  and  the  botanist 
may  amuse  himself  on  the  way  by  gathering  specimens  of  Saxi- 
fraga  aizoides,  and  a  few  specimens  of  the  Drosera  longifolia 
and  D.  rotundifolia,  in  the  wettest  spots.  The  passage  back  to 
Stromness  is  four  miles,  and  perhaps  will  require  to  be  made  at 
the  east  side  of  the  little  island  of  Graemsay.  The  population 
of  Hoy,  exclusive  of  Walls,  is  only  320. 

24.  We  now  prosecute  our  journey  through  the  West  Main- 
land to  Birsay,  the  palace  of  which  lies  about  twelve  miles  north 
of  Stromness  ;  and  if  the  traveller  be  not  satiated  with  the 
rocky  scenery  of  Hoy,  he  may  travel  part  of  the  way  along  the 

*  See  Sir  Walter  Scott's  "  Pirate." 


PART.    I.  WEST  COAST  OF  POMONA.  709 

precipices  overhanging  the  sea,  where  it  is  impossible  to  drive, 
and  not  very  convenient  to  ride.  The  principal  objects  in  this 
line  are  a  fine  insulated  pillar  ;  the  famous  figured  stones 
near  Skaill,  which  old  writers  seem  to  consider  an  artificial 
pavement  or  Street,  but  which  are  nothing  more  than  the 
weathered  strata,  the  softer  parts  of  which  have  been  washed 
away,  while  the  harder  remain  in  prominent  and  often  curious 
relief ;  and  the  Hole  of  Row,  which  is  a  lofty  natural  arch 
through  the  precipice,  forming  the  south  side  of  the  Bay  of 
Skaill,  occasioned  by  two  whin  dykes  occurring  so  near  each 
other  that  the  strata  between  have  been  pulverised  and  washed 
out  by  the  sea  as  high  up  as  it  had  power  to  do  so.  Immediately 
south  of  the  arch  the  stones  on  the  top  of  the  precipice  are 
arranged  like  those  on  a  beach  by  the  force  of  the  waves,  and 
on  the  top  of  one  of  these  crags  we  once  picked  up  a  lump  of 
India-rubber  covered  with  barnacles.  Not  far  from  Row,  on 
the  nearest  part  of  the  coast,  is  an  immense  rock,  which  is  well 
known  to  have  been  carried  a  considerable  distance  by  the  sea  ; 
it  is  sixteen  feet  long,  six  broad,  and  three  thick,  and  weighs, 
we  calculate,  about  twenty-four  tons.  The  public  road  to  Birsay, 
which  is  more  direct,  and  generally  about  two  or  three  miles 
inland  from  the  west  precipices,  skirts  along  the  east  side  of  the 
hills  that  form  the  bold  west  coast,  and  occasionally  affords  fine 
views  of  the  central  Mainland.  The  unruffled  surface  of  the 
lochs,  with  the  numerous  low  points  of  land  jutting  into  them, 
give  these  scenes  an  air  of  serenity  that  forms  a  striking  contrast 
with  the  continual  war  that  is  waged  between  the  raging  ocean 
and  frowning  crags  at  a  little  distance. 

About  four  miles  from  Stromness  the  traveller  enters  the  fer- 
tile parish  of  Sand  wick  at  the  mill-dam  of  Voy,  the  road  still  hold- 
ing a  northerly  course  ;  but  if  he  take  any  interest  in  vitrified 
forts,  or  rather  vitrified  cairns,  he  may  take  a  look  at  one  on  the 
top  of  Langafiold,  about  a  mile  north-east  of  this  mill.  About 
a  hundred  yards  south  of  this  cairn  is  a  large  group  of  tumuli, 
several  of  which  have  been  opened  by  the  Natural  History  Society. 
They  are  the  sepulchral  monuments  of  a  people  who  burned  their 
dead.  In  all  of  them  have  been  found  human  bones  burnt  and 
broken  into  fragments,  and  enclosed  in  graves,  lined  with  flags.  In 
one  tumulus  six  of  these  graves  were  found,  and  in  another  an 
urn,  which,  with  other  specimens,  is  now  in  the  museum  in 
Stromness.  About  500  yards  N.  N.  W.  of  this,  and  270  yards 


710  PALACE  OF  BIRSAY.  SECT.  IX. 

S.  S.  E.  of  the  road,  at  the  Loch  of  Glumly,  are  the  stones  of 
Via,  which  till  now,  have  entirely  escaped  observation,  but  are 
worthy  of  the  notice  of  the  antiquary,  from  their  resemblance 
to  a  famous  cromlech  in  Anglesea  :  indeed,  the  figure  of  that 
with  the  head-stone,  in  the  150th  plate  of  the  Encyclopaedia 
Britannica,  published  in  1797,  might  pass  for  a  representation 
of  this  monument,  before  the  displacing  of  its  pillars.  It  is 
placed  nearly  in  the  centre  of  an  old  circular  enclosure  275  yards 
in  circumference,  with  a  small  tumulus,  which  has  lately  been 
opened,  on  the  south  side  of  it.  The  traveller,  if  in  a  vehicle, 
should  proceed  by  the  new  road  now  being  formed  in  a  north- 
erly direction  from  this  point,  or  he  may  rejoin  the  old  road  a 
little  west  of  the  manse,  which  is  conspicuous  a  mile  N.  by  W. 
from  this,  and  a  mile  and  a  half  farther  on  is  the  residence  of 
Mr.  Watt  of  Breckness,  who  farms  a  considerable  portion  of  his 
own  property  in  an  improved  manner.  The  public  road  now 
dwindles  into  a  track  which  it  requires  some  nicety  to  keep  ; 
but  it  preserves  its  northerly  course  two  miles  farther  on,  lying 
about  200  or  300  yards  west  of  a  meeting-house,  with  a  large 
dwelling-house  on  each  side  of  it.  The  population  of  Sand- 
wick,  in  which  there  are  two  dissenting  meeting-houses,  is,  ac- 
cording to  the  last  census,  1033.  It  was  disjoined  from  Strom- 
ness  in  1832,  and  it  would  be  well  if  other  united  parishes  would 
speedily  follow  such  an  example.  This  parish,  as  well  as  some 
others,  is  so  covered  over  with  tumuli,  that  it  would  be  impos- 
sible to  point  out  all  their  localities  ;  but  just  after  passing  its 
north  hill  dyke,  on  the  south  side  of  the  hill  called  Vestrafiold, 
we  would  in  particular  direct  the  stranger  to  extensive  remains 
of  antiquity,  400  yards  or  so  west  of  the  road,  which  have  never 
been  noticed  before,  but  which  are  worthy  of  a  visit.  Among 
them  are  some  loose  slabs  or  stones,  not  far  removed  from  their 
original  bed,  of  nearly  the  same  form  and  dimensions  as  the 
Standing  Stones  of  Stennis  ;  and  it  is  on  this  account  probable 
that  the  rocks  here  formed  the  original  bed  or  quarry  from 
which  the  whole  were  obtained.  The  road  hence  to  the  palace 
of  Birsay,  through  the  town  of  Marwick,  is  about  four  miles. 

25.  The  earldom  of  Birsay  contains  the  greatest  extent  of 
rich  corn  land  in  this  county,  and  it  will  bear  a  comparison 
with  many  fields  in  a  more  southern  and  favoured  climate. 
Birsay  palace,  which  is  situated  on  the  sea  shore,  and  within  a 
hundred  yards  of  the  church  and  manse,  was  greatly  improved, 


PART.  I.  PLANTS   RARE   IN   ORKNEY.  711 

if  not  altogether  remodelled,  by  Earl  Robert  Stewart,  probably 
in  imitation  of  Holyrood  House,  as  it  is  a  hollow  quadrangle, 
measuring  158  by  100  feet,  with  a  well  in  the  centre.  The 
buildings  were  two  storeys  high,  and  they  have  still  a  magnifi- 
cent appearance,  though  quite  in  ruins,  to  which  condition,  we 
fear,  they  have  been  reduced  as  much  by  the  hands  of  man  as 
by  the  effects  of  time.  In  the  Latin  inscription  which  Earl 
Robert  placed  over  the  gate,  but  which  is  now  gone,  he  assumed 
the  title  of  King  of  Scotland.  It  ran  thus  : — "  Dominus 
Robertus  Stuartus,  filius  Jacobi  Quinti  Rex  Scotorum."  Pro- 
bably it  was  owing  rather  to  want  of  grammar  than  of  loyalty, 
but  it  is  said  to  have  operated  against  his  son,  when  tried 
for  treason.  The  stone  with  the  name  of  King  Bellus 
engraven  on  it,  and  which  is  now  built  in  the  wall  of 
the  church,  should  be  inspected  by  the  traveller ;  but  the 
Brough,  which  is  insulated  at  flood  tide,  and  in  which  is  a 
small  part  of  the  ruins,  of  Christ  Church,  in  which  St.  Magnus 
was  first  buried,  contains  nothing  to  detain  him.  Birsay  is  the 
most  populous  country  parish  in  Orkney,  having  a  population 
of  1634 ;  yet  it  is  united  with  the  parish  of  Harray  into  one 
charge.  Hence  the  traveller  may  find  his  way  back  through 
Harray  to  Kirkwall,  which  is  distant  about  twenty  miles,  or,  if 
he  prefer  a  longer  route,  or  a  view  of  more  crags  and  "  ghoes, " 
with  hill  and  dale,  he  may  return  by  the  united  parishes  of 
Evie  and  Rendall ;  but  the  road  through  the  latter  is  the  most 
melancholy  one  that  we  wot  of ;  while  Evie  contains  nothing 
but  the  Brough  of  Burgar,  and  some  Picts'  houses,  to  excite 
the  interest  of  the  antiquary.  Before  parting,  however,  we 
may  mention  a  few  more  rare  plants  which  a  botanist  might 
wish  to  collect  in  this  part  of  the  country.  The  Anagallis 
tenella  grows  in  tufts  in  wet  meadows  ;  Cakile  maritima  on  sea 
shores,  particularly  in  Sanday.  Centaurea  nigra,  though  com- 
mon eleswhere,  is  rare  here,  growing  only  in  Westray,  so  far  as 
we  know.  Cochlearia  danica,  and  C.  groenlandica  common, 
especially  in  Stromness.  Epilobium  angmtifolium,  Trumbland 
in  Rousay.  Primula  elatior,  along  with  P.  veris,  Aikerness  in 
Evie.  Senecio  mscosus  in  Firth,  Harray,  &c.  Thlaspi  arvense, 
Scapay.  Veronica  Anagallis,  ditches  at  Scar,  Sanday. 

26.  Our  limits  forbid  us  to  go  over  the  north  isles,  which 
may  be  considered  the  greater  tour  of  Orkney,  in  the  same 
minute  manner  as  we  have  described  the  southern  portion,  and 


712  WESTRAY.  SECT.  IX. 

we  presume  that  it  is  unnecessary,  as  travellers  seldom  have 
leisure  to  make  it,  and  those  particularly  interested  in  the 
country  will  have  access  to  local  directions  ;  but  such  as  are 
determined  to  see  them  all,  may  either  return  to  Kirkwall,  and 
commence  the  circuit  with  Shapinshay,  going  round  against 
the  sun,  and  taking  Dr.  Neill's  Tour  for  their  guide  ;  or,  with- 
out returning  to  the  capital,  they  may  make  the  circuit  in  the 
opposite  direction,  and  begin  with  Rousay,  which  is  two  miles 
distant  from  Evie.  There  is  a  tolerable  inn  on  it,  and  the  burn 
of  Trumbland  is  deserving  of  a  visit  from  the  botanist ;  but 
the  camp  of  Jupiter  Fring  will  disappoint  the  antiquary.  From 
this  to  Egilshay  is  two  miles.  Here  the  ancient  Scandinavian 
church  should  be  visited.  This  Island  belongs  to  Mr.  Baikie 
of  Tankerness.  From  it  or  Rousay  to  Tuquoy,  or  to  the  manse 
in  Westray,  is  about  eight  miles.  Here  the  Westray  "  gentle- 
men's cave,"  Fitty  Hill,  and  the  fine  ruins  of  the  castle  of 
Noltland,  may  be  visited.  The  vulgar  error  that  this  castle, 
was  erected  for  the  Earl  of  Bothwell,  Queen  Mary's  paramour, 
is  now  exploded.  It  probably  arose  from  confounding  the  Earl 
with  Bishop  Bothwell.  For  particulars  we  must  refer  to  "Bill- 
ings' Baronial  and  Ecclesiastical  Antiquities,"  where  there  is  not 
only  a  good  plate  of  it,  but  also  an  excellent  account  by  Mr.  Bal- 
four  of  Trenaby,  on  whose  estate  it  stands.  It  is  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  harbour  and  village  of  Pierowall,  where  there  is 
an  inn.  This  island  belongs  principally  to  Mr.  Stewart  of 
Brough  (who  resides  on  it),  Mr.  Balfour  of  Trenaby,  Mr.  Trail  1 
of  Holland,  and  Dr.  Trail!  of  Tirlot,  professor  of  medical  juris- 
prudence in  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  From  Tuquoy  to 
Pierowall  the  walk  is  about  four  miles  ;  and  from  this  to  Papa 
Westray  the  sail  is  about  the  same  length.  On  this  island 
another  Picts'  house,  on  a  much  larger  scale  than  that  at 
Wideford  Hill,  has  been  opened  lately.  It  has  a  very  long  apart- 
ment in  the  centre,  communicating  with  a  smaller  one  at  each  end, 
and  ranged  around  these  are  twelve  cells,  two  of  which  are  double, 
all  communicating  with  the  centre  apartment  by  passages  similar 
in  height  to  those  at  Wideford  Hill.  The  whole  length  from 
the  one  extremity  of  the  centre  apartments  to  the  other  is 
seventy-seven  feet,  and  their  breadth  and  height  are  the  same 
as  those  of  the  principal  apartment  of  that  before  described. 
Here  are  also  the  rums  of  two  ancient  churches,  three  vitrified 
cairns  near  the  north  end  of  the  island,  and  the  muckle  and 


PART  I.        NORTH  RONALDSHAY — SAND  AY.         713 

peerie  hcCs  (halls  ;)  but  the  principal  curiosity  of  Papa  is  its 
holm,  which,  during  the  hatching  season,  is  covered  with  the 
nests  of  innumerable  sea-birds.  Papa  also  belongs  to  Mr. 
Traill  of  Holland,  who  resides  on  it,  and  from  whose  family  all 
the  Traills  of  Orkney  are  descended.  In  his  house  is  a  very 
curious  and  hospitable  invitation  •  to  strangers,  which  was 
placed  above  the  chimney-piece  of  the  great  hall  by  one  of  his 
ancestors  above  200  years  ago.  From  Pierowall  to  Rapness  is 
a  walk  of  seven  or  eight  miles,  and  not  far  from  the  direct  line 
is  another  "gentlemen's  cave  ;"  so  called,  because  some  who 
were  thought  to  be  engaged  in  the  rebellion  of  1745,  were  con- 
cealed here  for  a  short  time.  We  have  been  in  both  caves  ; 
but  recollecting  that  half  our  party  would  not  venture  into  the 
former,  we  would  recommend  this  as  having  a  much  easier 
access. 

27.  From  Rapness  to  Cuthesvoe  in  Eday  is  three  miles,  and 
the  walk  thence  to  Calfsound,  where  there  is  a  comfortable 
public-house,  is  about  two  miles.  This  island  is  the  property 
of  Mr.  Laing  of  Papdale,  who  is  brother  to  the  historian  of  Scot- 
land, whom  he  succeeded.  It  is  covered  with  a  great  quantity 
of  peat-moss,  and  furnishes  firing  to  most  of  the  north  isles. 
From  Calfsound  to  Pool,  or  Hecklabor  in  Sanday,  is  three 
miles  ;  and  from  thence  to  Scar,  or  Savil,  is  a  walk  of  eight 
miles,  which  passes  near  the  manse  of  Cross  parish.  Adjoining 
Savil  is  a  mass  of  gneiss,  weighing  about  fourteen  tons,  though 
the  nearest  primitive  district  is  at  Stromness.  About  four 
miles  from  this  spot  is  a  comfortable  inn  called  Castle  Hill. 
From  Scar,  or  Savil,  to  north  Ronaldshay,  the  breadth  of  sea  is 
seven  miles,  and  the  walk  from  the  landing-place  to  the  remains 
of  a  lighthouse  about  three  miles.  North  Ronaldshay,  the 
most  northern  of  the  Orkneys,  belongs  to  Mr.  Traill  of  Wood- 
wick,  whose  tenants,  the  natives,  are  considered  more  primitive 
in  their  manners  than  those  of  any  other  part  of  Orkney.  From 
the  lighthouse  back  to  Bridesness  is  three  miles  ;  from  that  to 
the  Start,  or  Taftsness  in  Sanday,  is  seven  miles.  The  walk 
from  the  Start  lighthouse  through  the  extensive  plain  of  Fidge 
to  Kettletoft  is  seven  miles.  Here  the  antiquary  should  visit 
the  vitrified  cairns  of  Elsness,  of  which  there  are  above  twenty, 
and  which  Dr.  Hibbert  has  lately  brought  into  notice  with  so 
much  effect,  as  bearing  on  the  question  of  vitrified  forts.  The 
adjoining  Ward  hill  should  also  be  examined,  if  time  permit. 
2n2 


714  FERRIES  IN  ORKNEY.  SECT.  IX. 

Sanday  is  a  low,  sandy,  fertile,  and  extensive  island,  the  prin- 
cipal proprietor  of  which  is  Mr.  Traill  of  Hobister,  M.  P.,  who 
has  a  residence  on  it.  From  Kettletoft  to  Papa  Sound  in 
Stronsay  is  seven  miles.  This  is  the  great  station  for  herring 
curing  in  the  north  isles,  and  it  has  already  given  rise  to  a  vil- 
lage, and  a  considerable  pier,  to  facilitate  the  operations  of  load- 
ing and  unloading.  The  neighbouring  property,  the  value  of 
which  is  thus  greatly  enhanced,  belongs  to  Mr.  Laing.  From 
Whitehall  to  Lambhead  is  a  walk  of  five  or  six  miles.  Here  is 
a  Pict's  house,  the  interior  of  which  may  yet  be  seen  ;  and  di- 
rectly below  it  are  the  remains  of  a  very  ancient  and  extensive 
pier,  the  existence  of  which  has  only  of  late  become  known. 
From  Rothiesholme  or  the  neighbouring  parts  of  Stronsay,  to 
the  Ghoe  of  Shapinshay,  is  about  seven  miles  ;  and  from  thence 
to  Elwick  is  a  walk  of  six  miles.  Here  Balfour  is  situated,  the 
splendid  mansion  lately  erected  by  Mr.  Balfour  of  Trenaby, 
which  is  a  conspicuous  object  from  Kirk  wall,  and  all  the  neigh- 
bourhood. It  is  in  the  old  style,  and  resembles  Abbotsford  at 
a  little  distance — like  that,  it  contains  many  copies  from  the 
beauties  of  ancient  architecture.  We  believe  there  is  nothing 
equal  to  it  north  of  Dunrobin  ;  and  had  not  that  been  lately 
enlarged,  there  would  have  been  no  such  building  in  the  north 
of  Scotland.*  The  whole  island  belongs  to  Mr.  Balfour,  it  is 
naturally  bad,  but  has  lately  been  much  improved  by  draining. 
From  Elwick  to  Carness,  the  nearest  part  of  the  Mainland,  the 
distance  is  nearly  two  miles. 

28.  It  is  proper  to  state  that  these  ferries  are  under  no  re- 
gulation that  we  know  of.  We  have  therefore  stated  below 
what  will  be  a  liberal  allowance  for  a  lobster-boat  with  two 
men,  which  is  generally  sufficient  in  summer ;  but  if  a  large 
boat  or  more  hands  are  required,  the  freight  must  be  increased. 
If  the  traveller  prefer  crossing  to  Caithness  in  the  course  of  the 
post,  the  distances  and  freights  are  as  follows  : — From  Kirk- 
wall  to  Holm  the  road  is  seven  miles  long  ;  from  Holm  to  Bur- 
ray  is  three  miles,  freight  2s.,  or  with  the  mail  only  4d.  The 
walk  across  Burray  is  two  miles  :  from  this  to  south  Ronald- 
shay  is  one  mile,  freight  6d.,  or,  with  the  mail,  2d.  From  the 
landing-place  to  Burwick,  on  the  south  end  of  the  island,  the 

Mr.  Matheson's  fine  castle  of  Stornoway  must  be  also  excepted,  and  it  is  some- 
what remarkable,  that  the  distant  isles  of  the  Orkneys  and  Lewis  should  be  thus 
distinguished. 


PART  I.  NORTH  ISLES.  715 

distance  is  eight  miles  ;  and  from  the  latter  place,  Houna,  on 
the  south  side  of  the  Pentland  Firth,  is  about  six  miles  distant, 
freight  10s.,  or,  in  company  with  the  mail,  Is.  The  post-boat 
crosses  to  and  from  Orkney  every  day  when  the  weather  will 
admit  of  it  ;  and  though  this  passage  across  the  Pentland  Firth 
may  appear  dangerous  to  strangers,  and  has  deprived  some 
timid  travellers  of  a  view  of  the  Ultima  Thuk,  we  can  assure 
them,  for  their  comfort,  that  only  one  post-boat  has  been  lost 
in  the  firth  during  the  last  100  years,  and  that  one  was  run 
down.  There  is  an  inn  at  each  of  the  ferries  just  mentioned  ; 
but  we  believe  the  best  is  Allan's  at  St.  Margaret's  Hope. 
South  Ronaldshay  is  the  great  station  for  herring-curing  in 
the  south  isles.  From  it  to  Walls  is  about  five  miles  ;  to  which 
a  passage  may  be  had  for  5s.,  or,  with  the  mail,  Is.  Here  is 
the  fine  bay  of  Long  Hope,  which  is  greatly  resorted  to  by  ship- 
ping. It  has  two  martello  towers  to  defend  it,  and  the  adjoin- 
ing property  is  divided  between  the  crown  and  Mr.  Heddle  of 
Melsetter,  who  has  a  country  house  in  Walls. 

We  may  finally  add,  that  the  ferry  hire,  or  cost  of  a  boat, 
among  these  islands,  though  under  no  public  regulation,  should 
be:— 

£      S.     D. 

From  Evie  to  Rousay,  about    0    1    6 

Trumbland,  in  Rousay,  to  Egilshay     016 

Rousay  or  EgilshaytoTuquoy,  or  to  the  Manse  of  Westray  0    8    0 
Pierowall  to  Papa  Westray  (including  the  return  freight)  056 

Rapness,  in  Westray,  to  Cuthesvoe,  in  Eday 0    2     6 

Calfsound,  in  Eday,  to  Pool  or  Hecklabor,  in  San  day  ...  0    2    6 

Scar  or  Savil  to  North  Ronaldshay 0    5    0 

Bridesness,  in  North  Ronaldshay,  to  the  Start  or  Tafts- 

ness,  in  Sanday  060 

KLettletoft,  in  Sanday,  to  Papa  Sound,  in  Stronsay  0    6    0 

North  Ronaldshay  to  Fair  Isle 1  10    0 

Fair  Isle  to  Sumburgh,  in  Zetland  150 

29.  To  the  foregoing  minute  and  interesting  details,  which 
the  authors  of  this  work  have  no  doubt  will  prove  extremely 
useful  to  the  tourist — and  which  are  the  more  valuable  as  they 
proceed  from  the  pen  of  a  clergyman,  the  Reverend  Charles 
Clouston,  minister  of  Sandwick,  a  native  of  Orkney — the  com- 
pilers take  the  liberty  of  adding  a  few  extracts  from  their  own 
notes  of  the  sail  from  Kirkwall  to  Papa  Westray,  as  they  con- 
ceive them  more  descriptive  of  the  general  characters  of  the 
north  isles,  or  at  least  of  such  as  are  likely  to  strike  the  eye  of 
strangers  : — 


716  CAVE PAPA  WESTRAY.  SECT.  IX. 

Immediately  after  leaving  Kirkwall,  whose  shipping  and  spires  conti- 
nue long  in  view,  we  find  ourselves  bewildered  among  an  archipelago  of 
land-locked  islands.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  conceive  with  what  feel- 
ings of  security  you  plough  this  stormy  sea,  for  you  are  all  the  time  as 
completely  surrounded  with  land  as  if  you  were  sailing  on  the  unruffled 
bosom  of  Loch  Lomond.  First  appear  the  beautiful  long  green  fields  of 
Shapinshay,  which  are  cultivated  upon  the  best  and  newest  system  by  an 
enlightened  proprietor ;  soon  thereafter  you  see  the  termination  of  the  hills 
of  Pomona,  and  far  behind  the  towering  ones  of  Hoy ;  while  at  your  side 
a  number  of  green  holms. start  up  from  the  watery  waste,  affording  sum- 
mer's pasture  to  a  few  bleating  sheep,  and  throwing  the  running  tide  in 
curling  eddies  from  their  banks.  To  the  north  and  west  you  behold  the 
high  and  broken  hills  of  Rousay  and  Westray,  the  latter  of  which  approach 
nearer  the  peaked  or  conical  shape  than  any  others  in  Orkney ;  and  to  the 
east  you  have  these  contrasted  by  the  low  sweeping  rocks  of  Faray  and 
Eday. 

After  passing  the  Firth  of  Westray,  through  which  a  most  powerful 
and  rapid  tide  runs,  which  is  generally  accompanied  by  a  heavy  swell  and 
breakers,  you  steer  in  between  the  Holm  of  Faray  and  the  Butt  of  Rap- 
ness.  In  this  channel,  in  consequence  of  the  tendency  of  all  the  waters 
towards  the  great  body  in  Westray  Firth,  the  current  is  said  to  flow  only 
for  three  hours,  and  to  ebb  for  nine.  Before  this  the  scenery  is  beauti- 
fully variegated,  and  we  are  surrounded  bj-  hills  or  projecting  rocks ;  but, 
on  turning  the  point  just  named,  and  looking  directly  north,  you  imme- 
diately perceive  the  boundless  expanse  of  the  German  Ocean.  If  the  day 
be  particularly  fine  and  clear,  you  can  descry  Sanday  and  North  Ronald- 
shay,  both  of  which,  as  the  name  of  the  former  expresses,  are  low,  and 
therefore  very  dangerous  to  shipping.  In  a  thick  day  they  are  chiefly 
known  by  the  darkness  of  the  atmosphere  over  them ;  and,  indeed,  always 
appear  as  long  black  clouds  on  the  horizon.  Near  Rapness  we  were 
shewn  a  cave,  in  which  twelve  gentlemen,  who  were  persecuted  in  the 
forty-Jive  by  the  Hanoverian  partisans  for  their  attachment  to  Prince 
Charles,  concealed  themselves  for  a  whole  winter,  without  even  lighting 
a  fire,  or  attempting  to  fish,  or  even  to  take  any  exercise.  By  the  care 
of  an  old  man,  who  furnished  them  with  food,  they  survived  the  imme- 
diate search  of  the  bloodthirsty  executors  of  a  cruel  law,  but  none  of  them 
ever  completely  recovered  the  colds  and  rheumatism  caught  in  those  damp 
pestilential  pri'son-houses,  where  they  were  often  awakened  by  the  noise 

and  wetting  of  the  spray. 

*  »  *  «  *  * 

30.  Papa  Westray. — The  coasts  of  this  little  isle  of  the  ocean  are  bold 
and  rocky,  and  of  course  extremely  rugged,  from  the  unequal  dash  of  the 
surrounding  waves,  which  drive  in  immense  quantities  of  sea-weed,  for 
kelp  and  manure,  on  the  shore.  Its  upper  surface  is,  however,  smooth 
and  undulating ;  and,  where  not  turned  up  by  the  plough,  is  covered  with 
a  rich  carpeting  of  short  green  turf.  On  this  meadow-ground  numbers  of 
small  black  cattle  and  more  diminutive  sheep  are  seen  browsing  in  calm 
and  undisturbed  security,  and  which  must  be  hailed  by  the  mariner  ap- 
proaching from  distant  lands  as  the  first  cheering  signs  of  life  and  joy. 
The  lower  flats,  and  many  of  the  rising  sunny  braes,  are  finely  cultivated ; 
and,  besides  the  more  regular  fields  of  the  intelligent  proprietor,  they  ex- 
hibit the  usual  variegated  and  fantastical  appearance  of  lands  laid  out  in 
common  or  run-rig. 

It  is  a  singular  circumstance  that  this,  one  of  the  most  northerly,  and, 
to  previous  expectation,  the  most  cold  and  barren  of  the  Orkney  Isles, 


PART  I.  HOLM EIDER  DUCK.  717 

should  be  one  of  the  mildest  and  most  fertile,  and  that  the  same  characters 
apply  to  the  opposite  ones  of  North  Konaldshay  and  Sanday.  The  most 
interesting  appearance  about  Papa,  to  a  stranger,  is  that  of  the  sun  either 
rising  over  the  dark  outline  of  this  latter  island,  or  setting  in  the  waves 
of  the  Western  Ocean.  In  either  of  these  aspects,  he  is  grand  and  beau- 
tiful, causing  the  eye  to  hail  him  as  if  awakening  into  life  in  the  morning 
from  the  land  of  past  and  dim  romance ;  or,  on  being  received  at  night 
into  the  bosom  of  the  Atlantic,  he  seems  to  leave  us  lone  and  desolate, 
exposed  to  the  whistling  wind  and  surge's  roar,  or  startled  at  the  wild 
foreboding  cry  and  gleaming  forms  of  the  revolving  sea-birds. 

Let  the  stranger  now  pass  some  time  in  examining  the  Holm,  a  small 
island  some  hundred  yards  off  the  eastern  coast,  inhabited  only  by  a  few 
poor  sheep,  but  still  retaining  the  subterranean  remains  of  several  Pict- 
ish  houses,  and  the  graves  of  some  shipwrecked  seamen.  To  the  naturalist 
it  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  spots  in  the  Orkneys,  as  it  exhibits  the 
last  expiring  efforts  of  vegetation,  and  more  particularly  as  its  retired  and 
unfrequented  position  makes  it  the  welcome  haunt  of  innumerable  flocks 
of  sea-fowl.  Whenever  they  notice  the  approach  of  your  boat,  they  begin 
to  fly  in  circling  eddies  round  your  head,  and  raise  such  a  deafening  noise, 
that,  till  such  time  as  one  gets  accustomed  to  it,  you  can  scarcely  hear 
your  next  neighbour  speak,  or  attend  to  any  other  thing  but  their  cries. 
The  side  of  the  Holm  next  Papa  is  low  and  grassy,  and  is  consequently 
left  to  the  dominion  of  the  sheep ;  but  the  opposite  side,  which  sustains 
the  full  surge  of  the  Northern  Ocean,  is  bare,  and  strewed  with  masses  of 
rock  and  loose  stones  and  slate,  raised  up  by  the  winter's  tide.  Among 
these,  as  thick  as  they  can  lie,  and  exposed  to  all  the  changes  of  the 
weather,  and  even  to  the  careless  foot  of  the  passing  stranger,  are  de- 
posited the  eggs  of  the  sea-birds,  protected  only  by  a  few  reeds  and 
feathers,  or  by  the  projecting  edge  of  a  piece  of  slate  or  stone.  These 
birds  are  principally  of  the  gull,  guillemot,  kittiwake,  and  auk  tribes ;  but 
lower  down,  in  the  more  inaccessible  and  secure  parts  of  the  rocks,  are 
seen  rows  of  cormorants,  divers,  and  puffins.  They  are  so  tame,  especially 
the  cormorants  or  skarfs,  that  they  will  allow  you  to  knock  them  down 
with  stones,  or  (it  is  said)  even  suffer  themselves  to  be  caught  by  strings 
with  moveable  loops  thrown  over  their  necks.  The  most  interesting  sight, 
however,  and  the  only  one  of  the  kind  to  be  met  with  in  any  of  the 
Orkney  Islands,  is  that  of  a  flock  of  Eider  Ducks  (Anas  molissima)  of 
about  thirty  in  number,  which  make  this  holm  their  annual  breeding- 
place.  They  always  keep  together,  are  larger  than  the  common  duck,  of 
a  brown  colour,  and  they  lay  their  eggs  in  nests  formed  of  their  own  soft 
down.  These  you  may  rob  twice ;  but  if  molested  a  third  time  (when 
the  drake  pulls  off  his  own  breast  feathers  to  add  to  those  of  the  female), 
they  will  forsake  the  place,  and  perhaps  never  return  to  it  again.  The 
proprietor  is,  in  consequence,  very  careful  of  his  flock,  and  seldom  allows 
anybody  to  go  near  them.  Of  the  young  gulls,  which  are  here  called 
skorays,  however,  he  takes  away  great  quantities  (perhaps  forty  or  fifty 
dozen  in  a  season),  and,  when  properly  dressed,  they  taste  almost  as  good 
as  brandered  chickens.  At  a  later  period  of  the  year,  the  young  kitti- 
wakes  are  sent  for ;  and  these,  with  their  eggs,  form  a  constant  supply  of 
food  to  the  laird's  farm-servants. 

NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  ORKNEY. 

31.  There  is  no  portion  of  the  British  empire  where  the  natural  pro- 
ducts have  been  longer  or  are  better  known  than  in  Orkney.     The  Rev. 


718  NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   ORKNEY.  SECT.  IX. 

George  Low  of  Birsay,  at  the  instigation  of  Sir  Joseph  Banks  and  Mr. 
Pennant,  early  laid  the  foundation,  in  his  "  Fauna  Orcadensis,"  on  which 
the  superstructure  has  been  completed  by  the  labours  of  Dr.  Wallace,  Dr. 
P.  Neill,  Dr.  Traill,  and,  latterly,  of  our  friend  the  Rev.  Charles  Clouston, 
and  his  associates,  the  members  of  the  Orkney  Natural  History  Society. 
Mr.  Hugh  Miller's  Foot-Prints  of  the  Creator,  or  the  Asterolepis  of  Strom- 
ness,  may  also  be  added  to  this  interesting  list  of  local  authorities.  We 
have  already  enumerated  the  most  rare  phaenogamous  plants  occurring  in 
Hoy  and  some  of  the  other  islands,  and  we  may  add  that  the  whole  Flora 
amounts  now  to  610  species,  of  which  133  are  sea-weeds — a  most  beauti- 
ful tribe  of  plants,  and  which  here  occur  of  the  largest  sizes  and  most 
varied  colours.  The  only  Orkney  plant  new  to  Britain,  is  Chora  Aspera, 
and  the  most  beautiful  and  peculiar  species  are,  Primula  Scotica  SciUa  Verna, 
Dryas  Octopetala,  and  Rhodiola  Rosea,  exclusive,  however,  of  the  true  alpine 
plants  of  the  Wardhill  in  Hoy.  The  professed  botanist  will  find  very 
ample  details  in  the  last  statistical  account  of  the  parish  of  Sandwick, 
and  in  the  general  observations  in  that  work  on  the  county  of  Orkney ; 
and  to  the  first  edition  of  this  Guide  we  beg  also  to  refer  for  a  full 
enumeration  of  the  Algse,  and  of  the  process  of  manufacture  of  kelp 
from  the  coarser  kinds  of  sea-weed.  The  land  and  water  birds  of  Orkney 
are  likewise  exceedingly  numerous  and  interesting,  and  Mr.  Forbes, 
schoolmaster  in  South  Ronaldshay,  is  the  person  of  all  others  to  whom 
the  practical  ornithologist  should  apply  for  information  as  to  their  habits 
and  localities. 

With  regard  to  the  geology  of  these  islands,  we  stated  in  the  first 
edition  of  this  work  that  a  high  central  nucleus  or  ridge  of  primary 
gneiss  rocks,  occasionally  passing  into  mica  schist,  occurs  in  the  Main- 
land, stretching  for  about  six  miles  north-west  from  the  neighbourhood 
of  Stromness,  in  the  direction  of  Skaill.  These  rocks  are  sometimes 
granitic  and  traversed  by  felspar  and  quartz  veins.  (2.)  They  are  suc- 
ceeded chiefly  on  their  southern  flank,  in  Stromness  Bay  and  the 
island  of  Graemsay,  by  a  small  deposit,  from  50  to  100  yards  broad,  of 
coarse  conglomerate,  embedded  in  old  red  sandstone,  on  which  (3.)  repose 
immense  sheets  of  silicious,  and  calcareo-silicious,  and  argillaceous  flag- 
stones, having  bituminous  matter  interspersed,  (and  which  were  some- 
times described  as  Graywacke  slates,)  which  compose  the  base  or 
fundamental  rocks  of  almost  all  the  other  islands.  (4.)  Above  these, 
again,  are  found,  as  on  the  Caithness  coast,  high,  bluff  headlands,  and 
in  Hoy  the  lofty  masses  of  the  Wardhill,  (1600  feet  in  altitude),  of  a  soft, 
generally  grey  or  red,  sandstone,  which  a  few  years  ago  was  regarded,  by 
both  British  and  continental  geologists,  as  a  deposit  of  the  upper  or  new 
red  sandstone  formation;  but  which,  from  the  recent  discovery  through- 
out it  of  precisely  the  same  organic  remains  of  fishes  and  plants  as  occur 
in  Caithness,  and  on  both  sides  of  the  Moray  Firth,  has  been  proved  to  be 
only  a  member,  and  that  the  uppermost,  of  the  old  red  sandstone  forma- 
tion. The  organisms  referred  to,  link  the  whole  together  as  the  product  of 
the  same  geological  era,  and  therefore  it  would  be  improper  any  longer 
to  retain  the  names  by  which  the  superior  and  under  portions  of  the  same 
formation  were  formerlv  distinguished.  For  details,  we  beg^  to  refer  to  Mr. 
Miller's  works  on  the  Old  Red  Sandstone,  and  the  Asterolepis  of  Stromness. 
Chert,  flint,  slate  or  Lvdian  stone,  Galena  or  leadglance,  iron  and  copper 
pyrites,  Haematite,  with  heavy  spar,  and  the  curious  compound  of  sulphate  of 
barytes,  with  carbonate  of  strontia,  called  Stromnesite,  or  Barryftrontianite, 
occur  in  these  rocks,  but  not  in  such  abundance  as  to  make  any  of  them  va- 
luable to  the  miner.  (5.)  All  the  secondary  deposits  now  enumerated  are 


PART  I.  NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  ORKNEY.  719 

traversed  by  numerous  dykes,  veins,  and  beds  of  trap  rocks,  which  have 
greatly  disturbed  and  altered  the  originally  horizontal  strata,  and  from 
their  superior  hardness  those  trap  dykes  too  frequently  present  themselves 
in  the  form  of  dangerous  reefs  and  promontories  jutting  far  out  into  the 
sea,  or  shooting  up  in  detached  knolls  and  pinnacles.  The  base  of  the 
"  Old  Man  of  Hoy"  consists  of  an  irruptive  porphyry  rock,  supporting  an 
isolated  crown  of  sandstone  on  its  top ;  the  cleft  of  the  Green  of  Gair, 
near  the  summit  of  the  Ward  hill,  has  been  long  supposed  by  Mr.  Clous- 
ton  to  have  been  caused  by  a  trap  dyke  now  crumbled  away;  in  the 
south-east  side  of  the  same  island,  at  Walls,  a  mass  of  amygdaloidal  trap 
extends  nearly  600  yards  along  the  coajst ;  and  the  trap  appears  also  to 
have  been  penetrated  through  the  primitive  granitic  gneiss  at  its  northern 
extremity.  (6.)  The  alluvial  formations  of  Orkney  are  not  varied  or  in- 
teresting, as  the  gravel  banks  are  seldom  deep,  and  the  soil  for  the  most 
part  is  a  clayish  loam,  resulting  from  the  decomposition  of  the  slaty  rocks. 
Beds  of  marl  and  bog  iron  ore  are  frequent,  and  the  peat  mosses  exhibit 
the  roots  and  stumps  of  large  trees  where  none  will  now  grow ;  and  in 
two  or  three  spots  portions  of  a  submerged  forest  have  been  found,  where 
the  stems  of  pines  adhering  to  their  parent  soil  are  seen  laid  prostrate  by 
the  waves,  and  covered  over  with  sand,  after  the  fall  of  the  rocks  on 
which  they  grew.  A  bank  of  indurated  shells,  clay,  and  sand,  occurs 
round  many  of  the  islands,  which  effectually  resists  in  numerous  places 
the  encroachments  of  the  sea,  and  of  which  considerable  quantities  have 
been  used  hi  fertilising  the  soil,  and  which  is  also  sometimes  conveyed 
away  as  ballast  by  vessels,  and  sold  for  manure. 


720  .         THE   ZETLAND   ISLES.  SECT.  IX. 


SECTION  NINTH.— PART  II. 

THE   ZETLAND   ISLANDS. 

Position  and  General  Features  of  the  Shetland  or  Zetland  Islands,  paragraph  1. 
Climate ;  Length  of  the  Dav  in  Summer,  2. — Voyage  from  Leith,  3. — Fair  Isle,  4. 
Roust  of  Sumburgh ;  Sillocks,  or  Coalflsh,  5.— Dress  of  the  Shetland  Fishers,  6. 
Address  and  Language  of  the  People,  7. — Ancient  History  of  Shetland ;  Harold 
Harfager's  Conquest ;  Early  Scandinavian  Earls  of  Orkney ,"8. — Ancient  Measures 
of  Land;  Udal  and  Scattald,  9. — Ancient  Division  of  the  Foudrie  of  Shetland; 
Law  of  Udal  Succession,  10. — First  Appearance  of  Feudalism  on  the  Accession  of 
Shetland  to  the  Scottish  Dominions ;  the  Scottish  Earls  of  Orkney  and  Shetland, 
11. — Earls  Kohert  and  Patrick  Stewart;  their  Illegal  and  Oppressive  Acts,  12. 
The  Islands  pass  ultimately  to  the  Morton  and  Dundas  Families,  13. — Itinerary  : 
Dunrossness ;  Qnendal ;  the  Cliff  Hills ;  Burgh  of  Mousa,  14. — Scalloway  Castle ; 
Tingwall,  15. — Lerwick,  16. — Bressay  Island  and  Cradle  of  Noss,  17. — Whalsey  and 
Outskerries,  18. — Fetlar;  Uust;  Chromat  of  Iron,  Hydrate  of  Magnesia,  and 
other  minerals,  in  Unst;  Skua  Gull,  19.— Yell;  Ca'iug  Whales;  Falcons,  20. 
The  Haaf  or  Deep  Sea  Fish,  21.— Fudeland,  22.— Roeness  Hill;  Villains  of  Urie, 
23.— Papa  Stour,  24.— Foula,  25.— Sketch  of  the  Natural  History  of  Shetland;  its 
Botany,  Zoology,  and  Geology,  26. 


"  The  storm  had  ceased  its  wintry  roar, 
Hoarse  dash  the  billows  of  the  sea ; 
But  who  on  Thule's  desert  shore 
Cries,  Have  I  burned  my  harp  for  thee  ?  " 

MACNlEL. 


1.  THE  group  of  islands  comprehended  under  the  general  name 
of  Shetland,  Zetland,  Hialtlandia,  or  the  Thule  of  the  ancient 
Romans,  exceeds  a  hundred  in  number;  but  of  these,  only 
between  thirty  and  forty  are  inhabited,  and  they  occupy  a  tract 
near  the  junction  of  the  German  and  Northern  Oceans,  extend- 
ing, exclusive  of  Fair  Isle,  between  59°  and  60°  50'  north 
latitude,  and  lying  about  forty-seven  leagues  from  Buchan- 
ness,  on  the  Aberdeenshire  coast,  and  ninety-six  leagues  from 
Leith  ;  while  their  longitude  is  about  one  degree  west  of  the 
meridian  of  London.* 

*  The  best  authorities  the  reader  can  refer  to  regarding  this  group  of  islands,  are 
Dr.  Arthur  Edmonstone's  "  View  of  the  Ancient  and  Present  State  of  the  Shetland 
Islands,"  in  two  vols.  8vo. ;  published  by  Ballantyne  &  Co.,  Edinburgh,  in  1809 ;  the 
recent  Parochial  Reports  in  the  New  Statistical  Account  of  Scotland,  with  the  general 
observations  on  the  county  in  that  work,  by  Laurence  Edmonston,  Esq.,  M.  D. ;  Pro- 
fessor Jameson's  " Mineralogical  Travels ;"  and  Dr.  Samuel  Hibbert's  "Description 
of  the  Shetland  Islands,  comprising  an  Account  of  their  Geology,  Scenery,  Antiquities, 
and  Superstitions,  with  a  Geological  map,  and  numerous  plates ;"  published  by  Con- 
stable s  Co.,  in  one  large  quarto  volume,  in  the  year  1822. 


PART  II.          CLIMATE  OF  ZETLAND.  721 

These  islands,  although  magnificent  and  varied  in  their  cliff 
scenery,  are  not  imposing  at  a  distance,  as  their  general  height 
above  the  sea  is  inconsiderable,  the  loftiest  hill,  that  of  Roeness, 
in  the  parish  of  North  Mavine,  only  attaining  about  1500  feet  of 
elevation ;  while  the  surface  of  the  country  is  seldom  broken 
into  rough  picturesque  summits,  but  disposed  in  long  undulat- 
ing heathy  ridges,  among  which  are  very  many  pieces  of  flat 
swampy  ground,  and  numerous  uninteresting  fresh-water  lakes. 
Hence  the  grandeur  and  diversified  appearance  of  the  land  is 
not  perceived  by  the  stranger,  till  he  approaches  close  to  the 
shore ;  but  then,  as  his  bark  is  hurried  on  by  the  sweeping 
winds  and  tides,  the  projecting  bluff  headlands  and  continuous 
ranges  of  rocky  precipices  begin  to  develope  themselves,  as  if 
to  forbid  his  landing,  as  well  as  to  defy  the  further  encroach- 
ments of  the  mighty  surges  by  which  they  have  so  long  been 
lashed. 

Although,  of  course,  treeless,  and  almost  shrubless,  and,  in 
general,  brown  and  heathy,  the  pastures  of  Zetland  nevertheless 
frequently  exhibit  broad  belts  of  short  velvety  sward,  adorned 
with  a  profusion  of  little  meadow  plants,  the  more  large  and 
beautiful  in  their  flower-cups,  as  the  size  of  their  stems  is 
stunted  by  the  boisterous  arctic  winds.  Many  very  beautiful 
cultivated  spots  occur,  especially  towards  the  southern  end  of 
the  mainland ;  and  the  retired  mansions  of  the  clergy  and 
gentry,  scattered  throughout  the  islands,  are  uniformly  encircled 
with  smiling  fields,  and  occasionally  with  garden  ground. 

Besides  the  connected  ranges  of  precipices,  there  are  every- 
where to  be  seen  immense  pyramidal  detached  rocks,  called 
stacks,  rising  abruptly  out  of  the  sea,  both  near  and  at  a  great 
distance  from  land,  the  abodes  of  myriads  of  seafowr ;  and  some 
of  them  are  perforated  by  magnificent  arches  of  great  magnitude 
and  regularity,  while  in  others  there  are  deep  caverns  and  sub- 
terranean recesses. 

Large  landlocked  bays,  protected  from  the  fury  of  the  ocean 
by  rocky  breastworks  and  islets,  afford  numerous  sheltered 
havens  to  boats  and  shipping ;  and  the  long  narrow  arms  and 
inlets  of  the  sea,  called  ghoes,  or  voes,  which  almost  penetrate 
from  side  to  side  of  the  islands,  diversify  the  surface,  and  exhibit 
innumerable  varieties  of  cliff  scenery,  and  contending  tides  and 
currents. 

2.  Although  exceedingly  tempestuous,  foggy,  and  rainy, 
2  i 


722  CLIMATE   OF   ZETLAND FAIR   ISLE.      SECT.  IX. 

especially  when  the  wind  blows  from  the  south  or  west,  the 
climate  of  Zetland  is,  from  its  insular  position,  on  the  whole, 
milder  than  its  high  latitude  would  otherwise  occasion,  and 
the  inhabitants  are  hence  athletic  and  healthy ;  but  the  seasons 
are  so  uncertain,  the  vicissitudes  of  temperature  so  rapid  and 
frequent,  and  the  autumnal  gales  so  heavy,  that  but  little 
dependence  is  to  be  placed  on  the  grain  crops  raised  in  the 
islands.  The  winter,  although  not  characterised  by  much 
snow  and  frost,  is  dark  and  gloomy ;  but  this  is  counterbalanced 
and  compensated  by  the  great  continued  light  of  the  summer 
months,  during  which  the  night  is  almost  as  bright  as  the  day. 
"  The  nights,"  as  remarked  by  Dr.  Edmonstone,  "  begin  to  be 
very  short  early  in  May,  and  from  the  middle  of  that  month  to 
the  end  of  July  darkness  is  absolutely  unknown.  The  sun 
scarcely  quits  the  horizon,  and  his  short  absence  is  supplied  by 
a  bright  twilight.  Nothing  can  surpass  the  calm  serenity  of  a 
fine  summer  night  in  the  Zetland  Isles.  The  atmosphere  is 
clear  and  unclouded,  and  the  eye  has  an  uncontrolled  and 
extensive  range  ;  the  hills  and  headlands  then  look  more 
majestic,  and  they  have  a  solemnity  superadded  to  their 
grandeur ;  the  water  in  the  bays  appears  dark,  and  as  smooth 
as  glass  ;  no  living  object  interrupts  the  tranquillity  of  the 
scene,  but  a  solitary  gull  skimming  the  surface  of  the  sea ;  and 
there  is  nothing  to  be  heard  but  the  distant  murmuring  of  the 
waves  among  the  rocks." 

3.  The  most  regular  and  easy  mode  of  reaching  Zetland  is 
either  by  a  sailing  vessel  from  Leith  to  Lerwick,  or  by  the 
steamer,  which,  from  Aberdeen,  carries  the  mail-bag,  and  sails, 
on  an  average,  once  a- week  in  summer.    And  if  the  visitor,  upon 
approaching  the  more  southerly  point  of  the  Zetland  coasts, 
has  an  opportunity  of  engaging  a  sailing-boat,  he  will  find  it 
by  much  the  best  mode  of  ensuring  for  himself  a  minute  and 
careful  examination  of  the  Zetland  coasts. 

4.  We  shall  suppose,  therefore,  that  the  weather  is  propi- 
tious, and  that  our  tourist  has  got  past  the  Pentland  Firth  and 
Orkneys,  and  is  leaving  FAIR  ISLE  a  few  leagues  to  the  west- 
ward of  his  direct  course,  ruminating  on  the  unfortunate  fate 
of  the  Duke  of  Medina  Sidonia,  the  admiral  of  the  celebrated 
invincible  Spanish  armada,  who,  after  his  defeat  in  the  memor- 
able year  1588,  retreated  northward,  pursued  by  the  English 
squadron,  and  was  shipwrecked  on  this  bleak  inhospitable  shore  ; 


PART  II. 


FITFIEL    HEAD. 


723 


and  whose  crew,  after  great  sufferings,  were  mostly  murdered 
by  the  barbarous  natives,  to  prevent  a  famine  in  the  isle ;  the 


Fair  Isle. 

duke,  with  a  small  remnant,  being  permitted  to  escape  in  a 
little  vessel  to  Quendal,  on  the  mainland  of  Shetland,  where 
they  were  kindly  entertained,  and  ultimately  assisted  in  their 
return  through  France  to  the  fertile  valleys  of  Old  Spain. 

No  sooner  do  the  rocks  of  Fair  Isle  recede  from  observation, 
than  FITFIEL  HEAD  (the  white  mountain),  a  considerable  hill 


Fitfiel  Head. 

in  the  south  of  the  mainland  of  Zetland,  first  rises  to  view ; 
and  a  contiguous  one,  to  the  east  of  it,  less  elevated,  named 
SUMBURGH  HEAD  ;  the  general  features  of  the  bleak  low  hills 
of  the  district  of  Dunrossness  also  soon  thereafter  multiplying 
on  our  sight. 


724  ROUST   OF    SUMBURGH.  SECT.  IX. 

5.  But,  before  reaching  land,  our  vessel  must  have  a  rock- 
ing in  the  Roust  of  Sumburgh,  the  Scandinavian  term  applied 
to  a  strong  tumultuous  current,  occasioned  by  the  meeting  of 
the  rapid  tides,  which  here  join  from  the  opposite  sides  of  Shet- 
land, and  rush  towards  the  Fair  Isle.  Even  when  the  sea 
generally  is  calm,  and  when  viewed  from  the  adjoining  head- 
land, there  is  in  the  Roust  the  appearance  of  a  turbulent  stream 
of  tide,  about  two  or  three  miles  broad,  in  the  midst  of  the 
smooth  water,  extending  a  short  distance  from  Sumburgh,  and 
then  gradually  dwindling  away,  so  as  to  terminate  in  a  long 
slender  dark  line,  bearing  towards  Fair  Isle.  At  the  beginning 
of  each  daily  flood,  the  tide  in  the  Roust  is  directed  to  the 
eastward,  until  it  passes  the  promontory  of  Sumburgh :  it  then 
meets  with  a  south  tide,  that  has  been  flowing  on  the  east  side 
of  the  country ;  when  a  divergement  takes  place  to  the  south- 
east, and  lastly  to  the  south.  At  high  water  there  is  a  short 
cessation  of  the  tide,  called  the  STILL  :  the  ebb  now  begins, 
first  setting  north-west,  and  then  north,  until  the  commence- 
ment of  the  flood.  The  various  directions  of  the  tides  of  Zet- 
land are  no  doubt  owing,  in  a  considerable  degree,  to  modifica- 
tions which  take  place  from  the  number  and  form  of  the  various 
headlands  and  inlets  of  the  coast ;  but,  since  they  are  propagated 
at  successive  intervals  of  time,  it  is  evident  that  at  the  northerly 
and  southerly  extremities  of  the  Shetland  archipelago  they 
would  be  naturally  opposed  to  each  other.  Vessels  have  been 
known,  when  falling  into  the  Roust  in  a  calm,  to  be  tossed  to 
and  fro  between  Fitfiel  Head  and  Sumburgh  Head,  a  distance 
of  no  more  than  three  miles,  for  five  days  together ;  and,  while 
the  sea  here  is  always  heavy,  in  a  storm  the  waves  rise  moun- 
tains high. 

In  the  Roust  of  Sumburgh  there  is  a  considerable  fishery 
for  the  Gadus  carbonarius,  or  coal-fish,  called  here  the  seethe, 
elsewhere  the  cuddie ;  and  their  young,  which  enter  the  bays 
in  myriads  (while  the  full-grown  fish  sport  among  the  most 
tumultuous  waves),  are  known  under  the  name  of  sittocks.  The 
seethe,  which,  from  the  size  of  an  inch,  sometimes  attains  the 
length  of  three  feet,  is  caught  by  hand-lines,  baited  with  had- 
dock or  shell-fish ;  and  our  proximity  to  land  is  announced,  in 
good  weather,  by  the  appearance  of  numerous  boats  fishing  for 
them  and  for  cod 

Although  the  fry  of  the  coal-fish,  in  general,  frequent  retired 


PART  II.  COAL-FISH.  725 

bays,  yet  their  favourite  resort  is  often  among  the  constant 
floods  and  eddies  near  sunken  rocks  and  bars  that  are  alternately 
covered  and  laid  bare  by  the  waves,  and  the  smaller  fry  appear 
to  covet  the  security  of  thick  plantations  of  sea-ware,  within 
the  shelter  of  which  they  are  screened  from  the  keen  look-out 
of  their  natural  enemies  of  the  feathered  race.  As  remarked 
by  Dr.  Hibbert,  "  There  is,  probably,  no  sight  more  impressive 
to  the  stranger  who  first  visits  the  shores  of  Zetland  than  to 
observe,  on  a  serene  day,  when  the  waters  are  perfectly  trans- 
parent and  undisturbed,  the  multitudes  of  busy  shoals,  wholly 
consisting  of  the  fry  of  the  coal-fish,  that  nature's  full  and 
unsparing  hand  has  directed  to  every  harbour  and  inlet. 

"  As  the  evening  advances,  innumerable  boats  are  launched, 
crowding  the  surface  of  the  bays,  and  filled  with  hardy  natives 
of  all  ages.  The  fisherman  is  seated  in  his  light  skiff,  with  an 
angling  rod  or  line  in  his  hand,  and  a  supply  of  boiled  limpets 
near  him,  intended  for  bait.  A  few  of  these  are  carefully 
stored  in  his  mouth  for  immediate  use.  The  baited  line  is 
thrown  into  the  water,  and  a  fish  is  almost  instantaneously 
brought  up.  The  finny  captive  is  then  secured,  and  while  one 
hand  is  devoted  to  wielding  the  rod,  another  is  used  for  carry- 
ing the  hook  to  the  mouth,  where  a  fresh  bait  is  ready  for 
it,  in  the  application  of  which  the  fingers  are  assisted  by  the 
lips.  The  alluring  temptation  of  an  artificial  fly  often  super- 
sedes the  use  of  the  limpet ;  and  so  easily  are  captures  of  the 
small  fry  made,  that  young  boys,  or  feeble  old  men,  are 
left  to  this  business,  which  not  unfrequently  is  carried  on 
from  the  brink  of  a  rock,  while  the  more  robust  natives  are 
engaged  in  the  deep-sea  fishery,  or  the  navigation  of  the  Green- 
land seas." 

The  Scandinavian  character  of  the  natives  first  becomes 
evident  in  the  form  and  lightness  of  their  boats  or  yawls,  the 
planks  of  which  are  still  imported  from  Norway,  so  modelled 
by  the  hands  of  the  carpenter,  that,  when  they  arrive  in  Shet- 
land, little  more  labour  is  required  than  to  put  them  together. 
These  boats  are  generally  about  eighteen  feet  in  keel,  and  six 
feet  in  beam  ;  they  carry  six  oars,  and  are  furnished  with  a 
square  sail.  Their  extreme  buoyancy,  and  the  ease  with  which 
they  cut  the  waves,  are  the  circumstances  insisted  on  by  the 
fishermen,  as  rendering  their  construction  particularly  adapted 
to  the  stormy  seas  upon  which  they  are  launched. 


726  DRESS  OF  THE  ZETLAND  FISHERMEN.          SECT.  IX. 

6.  "  The  boat  dress  of  the  fisherman  is,  in  many  respects, 
striking  and  picturesque.      A  worsted  covering  for  the  head, 
similar  in  form  to  the  common  English  or  Scotch  nightcap,  is 
dyed  with  so  many  colours,  that  its  bold  tints  are  recognised  at 
a  considerable  distance,  like  the  stripes  of  a  signal  flag.      The 
boatmen  are  also  invested,  as  with  a  coat  of  mail,  by  a  surtout 
of  tanned  sheepskin,  which  covers  their  arms,  and  descends  from 
below  their  chin  to  their  knees,  while,  like  an  apron  or  kilt,  it 
overlaps  their  woollen  femoralia :  for,  with  the  latter  article,  it 
is  needless  to  observe,  the  Shetlander  is  better  provided  than 
the  Gaelic  Highlander.      The  sheepskin  garb  has  generally  an 
exquisite  finish  given  to  it  by  boots  of  neatskin  materials,  not 
sparing  in  width,  reaching  up  to  the  knees,  and  altogether  vie- 
ing  in  their  ample  dimensions  with  the  notable  leather  galliga- 
skins with  which  painters  have  long  been  wont  to  encompass  the 
royal  calves  of  Charles  XII.  when  they  have  represented  him 
as  planning  the  trenches  of  Fredericshal.    There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  this  leathern  dress  is  of  Scandinavian  origin ;  a  similar  one 
is  still  worn  in  the  Faroe  Isles,  and  Bishop  Pontoppidan  de- 
scribes the  same  as  being  common  in  his  time  among  the  pea- 
santry of  Norway.      This  ponderous  and  warm  coriaceous  garb 
is,  however,  sometimes  disdained  by  the  younger  and   more 
hardy  natives,  who  content  themselves  with  a  common  sea- 
jacket  and  trowsers  of  the  usual  form,  and,  in  place  of  the 
worsted  cap,  with  a  plain  hat  of  straw." 

7.  Should  the  tourist,  desirous  of  exploring  the  country 
right  before  him,  take  leave  of  his  vessel  at  the  nearest  point 
of  Dunrossness,  which  is  about  thirty  miles  south  of  Lerwick, 
he  will  probably  be  struck  with  the  high  sharp  accent  and 
rapid  utterance  of  the  first  person  who  accosts  him,  the  prevail- 
ing manner  of  speech  of  the  Shetlanders  resembling  much  more 
that  of  the  inhabitants  of  England  than  of  Scotland,  and  hav- 
ing also  none  of  the  slow  drawl  of  the  Highlander,  but  much 
of  the  modulated  and  impassioned  tones  of  the  Irish.    The  first 
question  likely  to  be  put  to  the  stranger,  preceding  even  the 
usual  interrogatories  of  name,  country,  occupation,  destination, 
and  so  forth,  will  be  about  the  price  of  oatmeal  in  Leith,  with 
which  it  is  of  course  expected  that  he  should  be  as  much  inter- 
ested as  the  natives  themselves.      This  is  very  natural ;  the 
precariousness  of  their  crops,  from  the  uncertainty  of  the  cli- 
mate, rendering  these  poor  islanders  very  dependant  on  foreign 


PART  II.  HAROLD  HARFAGER.  727 

supplies  for  the  luxury  of  meal,  which  is  often  too  scarce  to  be 
used  as  a  necessary  article  of  daily  consumption. 

8.  The  history  of  few  secluded  communities  can,  in  some 
respects  be  more  fraught  with  interest  than  that  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Zetland ;  although  the  picture,  especially  in  its  central 
parts,  is  almost  exclusively  a  melancholy  one,  exhibiting  the 
patient  endurance,  by  a  generous  people,  of  very  many  griev- 
ances, at  the  hands,  not  of  their  own  ancient  Norwegian  udal 
landlords,  but  of  tyrannical  strangers  intruding  on  them  as 
feudal  superiors,  after  their  connexion  with  the  crown  of  Scot- 
land ;  and  these  foreigners  themselves  being  often  but  tempo- 
rary possessors,  renting  the  islands  from  their  sovereigns  for  a 
mere  trifle,  and  endeavouring  to  repair  their  finances,  for  the 
most  part  desperate,  by  grinding  down  the  poor. 

Prom  the  slight  notices  in  the  ancient  classics,  and  from 
more  recent  authentic  records,  it  has  been  rendered  probable 
by  Dr.  Hibbert  that  the  successive  early  colonists  of  Orkney 
were  composed  of  Celtic,  Saxon,  and  Scandinavian  tribes,  but 
that  the  first  sect  never  reached  Zetland,  in  no  part  of  which  are 
Celtic  names  of  places  to  be  found.  The  general  result  of  this 
very  learned  author's  researches  has  thus  enabled  him  to  keep 
in  view  three  great  periods  in  the  history  of  these  islands.  "  In 
the  first  period,  when  Agricola  visited  Orkney,  a  Celtic  race 
very  probably  inhabited  the  country,  who  appear  to  have  com- 
pletely forsaken  it  a  century  and  a  half  afterwards,  since  it  was 
described  by  Solinus,  in  the  middle  of  the  third  century,  as  a 
complete  desert.  In  the  second  period,  Orkney,  and  probably 
Shetland  also,  were  infested  by  a  Gothic  tribe  of  Saxon  rovers, 
who  were  routed,  A.  D.  368,  by  Theodosius.  In  the  third  period, 
probably  at  or  before  the  sixth  century,  succeeded  in  the  pos- 
session of  these  islands,  the  Scandinavians,  who  were  the  pro- 
genitors of  the  present  race  of  inhabitants  in  Orkney  and  Shet- 
land." 

HAROLD  HARFAGER,  or  the  FAIR-HAIRED,  having,  as  Nor- 
wegian poets  narrate,  to  please  his  love,  the  Princess  Gida, 
reduced  all  Norway  under  his  power,  in  the  year  875,  was  roused 
to  avenge  the  devastations  and  slaughter  committed  on  the 
coasts  of  his  kingdom,  by  the  numerous  pirates  and  petty 
princes  who  had  escaped  from  their  native  land,  impatient  of 
his  yoke,  and  who  had  settled  themselves  in  Iceland,  Faroe, 
Shetland,  and  Orkney.  He  soon  freed  the  seas  from  these 


728  OLD   MARK    OP  LAND.  SECT.  IX. 

hordes,  and  subjugated  all  the  islands  adjoining  the  north  of 
Scotland,  including  the  Hebrides.  Harold  then  offered  the 
conquered  provinces  of  Caithness,  Orkney,  and  Shetland  as  one 
earldom,  to  a  favourite  warrior,  Ronald,  Count  of  Merca;  but  this 
nobleman,  being  more  attached  to  a  Norwegian  residence,  re- 
signed the  grant  in  favour  of  his  brother  Sigurd,  who  was 
accordingly  elected  the  first  Earl  of  Orkney,  and  from  whom 
sprang  the  true  Scandinavian  dynasty  of  the  Earls  of  Orkney 
and  Shetland,  the  latter  country  being  at  first  too  insignificant 
to  be  included  in  the  title,  although  it  was  comprehended  in 
the  grant.  The  earldom  was  unfettered  by  any  homage  to  a 
superior ;  and  Sigurd,  the  first  earl,  by  an  alliance  with  Thorfin, 
son  of  the  King  of  Dublin,  soon  greatly  extended  his  dominions 
by  the  conquest  of  Caithness,  Sutherland,  and  part  of  Ross  and 
Moray  shires. 

9.  But  both  for  the  support  of  the  new  earl,  and  that  the 
islands  and  coasts  which  he  had  subdued  might  no  longer  be  a 
refuge  to  his  foes,  Harold  Harfager  peopled  them  by  individuals 
firm  in  their  attachment  to  the  crown  of  Norway ;  and,  in  a 
partition  of  the  vanquished  territories  among  the  first  colonists, 
the  magnitude  of  shares  would  of  course  be  regulated  by  mili- 
tary or  civil  rank  and  services.  "  But  in  measuring  out  allot- 
ments in  proportional  shares,"  says  Dr.  Hibbert,  "it  would  be 
necessary  to  resort  to  some  familiar  standard  of  valuation.  The 
Norwegians,  in  the  time  of  Harold,  appear  to  have  scarcely 
known  any  other  than  what  was  suggested  by  the  coarse  woollen 
attire  of  the  country  named  wadmel:  eight  pieces  of  this  de- 
scription of  cloth,  each  measuring  six  ells,  constituted  a  mark  ; 
the  extent,  therefore,  of  each  Shetland  site  of  land  bearing  the 
appellation  of  MARK  was  originally  determined  by  this  rude 
standard  of  comparison,  its  exact  limits  being  described  by 
loose  stones  or  shells,  under  the  name  of  mark-stones,  or  meitkes, 
many  of  which  still  remain  undisturbed  on  the  brown  heaths  of 
the  country.  The  Shetland  mark  of  land  presents  every  variety 
of  magnitude,  indicating  at  the  same  time  that  allotments  of 
hind  were  rendered  uniform  in  value  by  a  much  greater  extent 
of  surface  being  given  to  the  delineation  of  a  mark  of  indifferent 
land  than  to  soil  of  a  good  quality."  Subsequently,  on  the  in- 
troduction of  metals  as  a  standard  for  value,  the  mark  of  land 
was  seldom  thought  of  in  reference  to  the  wadmel  or  cloth,  but 
the  equivalent  for  it,  or  the  mark-weight  of  metal,  was  divided 


PART  II.          UDAL  AND  SCATTALD.  729 

into  eight  parts,  called  cures,  or  ounces,  like  those  of  the  mark 
of  wadmel,  and  hence  we  find  such  subdivisions  of  the  ground 
as  eurelands  or  ouncelands. 

Before  the  reign  of  Harold,  Scandinavian  lands  had  been 
held  unfettered  by  any  tax  or  impost.      The  hardy  Northman, 
after  discovering  that  a  soil  could  be  so  improved  by  labour  as 
to  afford  to  the  cultivator  a  subsistence  less  precarious  than  that 
which  depends  upon  the  resources  of  fishing  or  hunting,  could 
enclose  a  piece  of  ground  around  the  cabin  he  had  erected,  to 
which  he  would  affix  some  limited  notions  of  property  ;  and  such 
enclosed  land,  though  it  had  only  a  single  cottage  on  it,  was 
originally  called  a  TOWN,  the  idea  that  this  name  includes  a 
collection  of  buildings  being  a  change  of  signification  induced 
by  feudal  maxims  and  habits.     Harold  is  supposed  to  have  been 
the  first  monarch  of  Norway  who  oppressed  his  people  by  levying 
a  tax  or  scat  upon  land.     "  But  in  whatever  mode  the  tax  might 
have  been  exacted  in  Norway,  it  appears  that  in  the  colony 
of  Shetland,  the  enclosures  designed  for  cultivation  were  ever 
considered  as  property  that  was  sacred  to  the  free  use  of  the 
possessor :  these  were  never  violated  by  the  intrusion  of  a  col- 
lector of  scat.     Each  mark  of  land  bounded  by  mark-stones,  or 
meithes,  naturally  contained  very  little  soil  fit  for  tillage.     It 
was,  therefore,  from  pastures,  and  from  the  produce  of  the  flocks 
which  grazed  upon  them,  that  the  scat  or  contribution  for  the 
exigencies  of  the  state  of  Norway  was  originally  levied.     The 
patch  of  ground  which  the  possessor  had  enclosed  being  ren- 
dered exempt  from  every  imposition  to  which  grazing  lands 
were  liable,  it  is  possible  that  the  uncontrolled  enjoyment  of 
the  soil  destined  for  culture  first  suggested  to  the  early  colonists 
of  Shetland,  such  a  term  as  ODHAL,  or  UDAL,  expressive,  in  the 
northern  language,  of  free  property  or  possession  ;  whilst  to  pas- 
ture land,  which  was  held  by  the  payment  of  a  scat  or  tax,  the 
distinctive  appellation  was  awarded  of  SCATTALD.      Thus  the 
Shetland  mark  of  land  originally  included  pasture  or  scattald, 
as  well  as  enclosed  cultivated  ground,  free  from  scat,  and  hence 
named  udal.   Accordingly,  when  a  mark  of  land  was  transferred 
by  sale  or  bequest  from  one  individual  to  another,  or  was  even 
let  to  a  tenant,  the  proportion  of  scattald  remaining  after  the 
patch  of  free  arable  ground  had  been  separated  from  it,  was 
always  clearly  expressed."* 

*  Hibbert's  Shetland,  p.  180. 


730  FOUDRIE — EARL  OF  ORKNEY.  SECT.  IX. 

10.  Shetland,  being  by  nature  a  separate  province  from  the 
other  divisions  of  territory  belonging  to  the  earldom  of  Orkney, 
had  a  separate  civil  governor  appointed  by  the  King  of  Den- 
mark, as  judge  of  all  civil  affairs  ;  the  country  at  the  same 
time  acquiring  the  name  of  a  Foudrie,  and  being  subdivided 
into  several  districts,  each  of  which  was  under  the  direction  of 
an  inferior  foude,  or  magistrate,  whose  power  extended  little 
beyond  the  preservation  of  the  peace  and  good  neighbourhood. 
The  lesser  foude  was  assisted  in  the  execution  of  his  office  by 
ten  or  twelve  active  officers,  called  rancilmen,  and  by  a  law- 
rightinan,  who  was  entrusted  with  the  regulation  of  weights 
and  measures.  Cases  of  importance  were,  at  stated  periods, 
tried  by  the  GRAND  FOUDE  ;  and  at  an  annual  court — at  which 
all  the  native  proprietors  or  udallers  were  obliged  to  attend — 
new  legislative  measures  were  enacted,  appeals  were  heard 
against  the  decisions  of  the  subordinate  foudes ;  and  causes  in- 
volving the  life  or  death  of  an  accused  person  were  determined 
by  the  voice  of  the  people.  Such  is  an  outline  of  the  free  and 
simple  polity  of  the  ancient  Shetlanders,  and  which  partook  so 
little  of  feudalism,  that  the  Earl  of  Orkney  was  regarded  as 
possessing  no  legal  civil  authority  whatever,  nor  any  way  en- 
titled to  interfere  with  the  national  laws,  rights,  and  privileges 
of  the  udallers.  He  was  only  the  military  protector  of  the 
islands,  who,  on  an  invasion  of  the  coasts,  or  when  any  foreign 
enterprise  was  contemplated,  had  merely  to  unfurl  the  Black 
Banner  of  the  Raven,  to  ensure  the  repairing  of  a  crowd  of 
eager  warriors  to  his  standard.  The  extensive  possessions  and 
wealth  of  the  Earl  no  doubt  secured  him  power,  and  often  con- 
trol, over  the  national  councils,  but  such  influence  was  ever 
considered  as  illegal.  Even  when  soldiers  were  required  to  be 
raised,  a  popular  convocation  was  held,  when  the  levy  was 
made  up,  by  their  fixing  the  number  of  men  which  each  village 
or  town  could  conveniently  furnish. 

Our  limits  prevent  our  following  up  the  details  of  the  law 
of  the  udal  succession  to  lands  which  prevailed  in  Shetland 
while  it  remained  under  the  crown  of  Norway,  all  the  features 
of  which  differ  remarkably  from  the  feudal  maxims  which  re- 
gulated the  transmission  of  property  in  Scotland. 

Northern  antiquaries  have  bestowed  much  attention  on  this 
interesting  topic,  and  it  has  been  most  completely  and  success- 
fully elucidated  by  Dr.  Hibbert  in  his  admirable  work  on  Shet- 


PART  II.          UDAL  SUCCESSION — DANISH  CLAIM.  731 

land,  and  in  several  papers  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Society 
of  Scottish  Antiquaries,  to  which  we  must  refer  our  readers. 
We  may  shortly  remark,  however,  that,  by  this  law,  which  is 
ascribed  to  King  Olaus,  the  arable  ground,  which,  having  been 
separated  by  enclosure  from  the  scattald,  was  the  free  property 
of  the  cultivator,  went  to  all  the  children  of  the  proprietor,  male 
and  female,  in  equal  shares ;  and,  in  order  to  obviate  any  evasion 
of  this  rule  of  inheritance,  no  one  could  dispose  of  an  estate 
without  the  public  consent  of  his  heirs.  Even  the  property  of 
the  Earls  of  Orkney  was  often  portioned  out  in  nearly  equal 
shares  among  descendants,  and  the  kingdom  of  Harold  Harfager 
himself  was  divided  among  male  successors  in  nearly  equal 
proportions. 

11.  On  the  accession  of  the  Zetland  Islands  to  the  Scottish 
crown,  these  principles  of  law  were  gradually  encroached  upon, 
and  most  of  the  grievances  of  the  people,  for  centuries  after- 
wards, were  founded  on  the  barbarous  and  oppressive  endeavours 
of  the  Scottish  earls  to  introduce  feudal  subjection  and  seigni- 
orage, in  place  of  the  ancient  udal  tenures.      Our  article  on 
Orkney  contains  a  Sketch  of  the  farther  encroachments  of  the 
Scottish  monarchs,  and  their  minions,  on  the  liberties  of  these 
poor  islanders,  to  which  we  refer. 

12.  The  transition  from  the  freedom  enjoyed  by  the  islanders 
under  their  native  sovereigns  and  earls,  to  the  feudal  thraldom 
imposed  by  the  Scottish  government,  was  consummated  in  the 
reign  of  Queen  Mary,  who,  in  the  year  1565,  made  an  heredi- 
tary grant  of  the  crown's  patrimony,  and  of  the  superiority 
over  the  free  tenants  in  the  islands,  to  her  natural  brother, 
LORD   ROBERT  STEWART,   THE  ABBOT  OF   HOLYROOD,  for  an 
annual  acknowledgment  of  J2006  : 13  :  4   Scots.      With   her 
usual  caprice,  this  grant  was  afterwards  revoked  by  Mary,  for 
the  purpose  of  erecting  Orkney  and  Shetland  into  a  dukedom 
for  her  favourite  the  Earl  of  Bothwell ;  but  on  his  attainder, 
Lord  Robert  was  immediately  reinstated  in  the  enjoyment  of 
the    crown    lands,   when  he    left    to    a    superintendent    the 
collection  of  the  third  of  the   popish  benefices  appointed  by 
the   reformed  parliament  of  Scotland  to  be  collected  for  the 
support   of  parochial  ministers,   and  contented  himself  with 
the  immense  temporal  influence   which  the   estates   of    the 
crown  and  of  the  bishopric  gave  him,  when  subsisting  under 
one  undivided  fee.     An  attempt  was  now  made  to  bring  the 


732  CHANGES  IN  TUB  EARLDOM  OP  ORKNEY.     SECT.  IX. 

free  tenants  of  the  crown  under  his  power  as  a  mesne  lord,  and, 
by  issuing  out  new  investitures  to  them,  Lord  Robert  materially 
increased  his  revenue.  "  But  the  chief  design  of  this  tyrant," 
as  stated  by  Dr.  Hibbert,  "  was  to  wrest,  by  oppression  and  for- 
feiture, the  udal  lands  from  the  hands  of  their  possessors  ;  to 
retain  the  poor  natives  who  might  be  forced  out  of  their  tene- 
ments as  vassals  on  his  estates ;  and  to  entail  upon  them  the 
feudal  miseries  of  villain  services.  This  he  was  enabled  to 
accomplish  by  establishing  a  military  government  throughout 
the  islands,  which  was  intended  to  impede  all  avenues  to  judi- 
cial redress.  His  rapacity  and  oppression  at  length  became 
so  great,  and  the  complaints  of  the  natives  so  loud,  that  the 
Scottish  government  was  obliged  to  interfere  ;  and,  after  an 
investigation,  Lord  Robert  was  condemned  to  imprisonment  in 
the  Palace  of  Linlithgow,  and  the  estates  of  Orkney  and  Shet- 
land reverted,  by  his  forfeiture,  to  the  crown.  He  was  thus, 
for  three  years,  restrained  from  tyrannising  over  the  islanders ; 
but  his  interest  at  the  Scottish  court,  where  his  crimes  and 
follies  were  always  forgiven,  procured  for  him,  in  the  year  1581, 
a  reinstatement  in  his  former  possessions  ;  and,  to  enable  him 
to  control  the  decrees  of  justice  in  the  country  courts  with  less 
chance  of  detection,  he  had  the  address  to  procure  for  himself 
the  heritable  appointment  (by  King  James  VI.,  in  1581)  of 
JUSTICIAR,  with  power  to  convoke  and  adjourn  the  law-tings, 
to  administer  justice  in  his  own  person,  and  appoint  the  various 
officers  of  the  court ;  to  all  which  were  added  the  hereditary 
titles  of  Earl  of  Orkney  and  Lord  of  Zetland.  One  of  the  most 
successful  measures  of  Earl  Robert  for  increasing  his  exactions 
from  the  poor  Shetlanders  was  his  afterwards  effecting,  by 
quibbling,  and  a  technical  interpretation  of  his  new  charters, 
the  setting  aside  of  the  ancient  shynd-bill  or  document  by 
which  land  was  conveyed  to  a  purchaser.  It  was  the  recorded 
decree  of  a  court,  that  all  the  heirs  and  claimants  over  a  pro- 
perty consented  to  its  transfer  or  sale ;  and  when  signed  and 
sealed  by  the  foude,  it  constituted  the  only  legal  title  by 
which  udal  lands  could  be  bequeathed  to  heirs,  or  disposed  of 
by  sale.  The  abolition  of  this  excellent  form  must  have  greatly 
increased  the  dependence  of  the  people  on  their  feudal  lord  ; 
and  the  new  mode  of  investiture  introduced  by  him,  with  all 
the  burdens  and  casualties  common  in  Scotland,  must  have 
materially  augmented  his  revenues. 


PART  II.  EARL    ROBERT    STEWART.  733 

EAEL  ROBERT  STEWART  was  succeeded,  about  the  year 
1595,  by  his  son,  Earl  Patrick,  a  man  more  wicked  and  rapa- 
cious than  his  father  ;  and  who,  at  the  time  of  his  investiture, 
had  wasted  his  original  patrimony  by  riotous  expenses,  which 
he  sought  to  redeem  by  fraud  and  violence.  He  compelled  the 
poorest  of  the  people  by  force  to  erect  his  Castle  of  Scalloway  ; 
and  many  wealthy  Scandinavians  were  obliged  to  abandon 
their  possessions  and  quit  the  country.  At  length  the  lamen- 
tations of  the  inhabitants  pierced  even  the  dull  ears  of  the 
Scottish  government,  and  Earl  Patrick  was  summoned,  by  open 
proclamation,  "to  compear  upon  the  2d  of  March  1608,  to 
answer  to  the  complaints  of  the  distressit  people  of  Orkney." 
The  charges  were  fully  proved,  principally  by  the  humane 
bishop  of  the  province,  who  had  matured  and  preferred  them ; 
and,  the  earl  being  cast  into  ward,  and  afterwards  beheaded, 
the  government  of  Orkney  and  Shetland  was  for  a  time  in- 
trusted to  Bishop  Law.  In  the  year  1612,  the  lands  and 
earldom  were  annexed  to  the  crown,  and  erected  into  a  STEW- 
ARTRY  ;  and  Sir  James  Stewart  got  a  grant  of  the  islands  in 
the  quality  of  farmer-general.  A  court  of  stewartry  was 
erected,  the  power  of  the  bishop  was  restricted  to  the  exercise 
of  his  jurisdiction  as  commissary ;  and  causes  were  now  tried 
in  the  halls  of  the  Castles  of  Scalloway  and  Kirkwall ;  while 
the  open  spaces  of  the  Scandinavian  law-tings  were  again  devoted 
to  legislative  convocations,  at  which  a  little  parliament  of  udal- 
lers  again  began  to  meet,  in  order  to  replace,  by  a  fresh  code 
of  pandects,  the  ancient  law  books  which  Earl  Patrick  had 
destroyed. 

But  the  sufferings  of  the  people  had  not  yet  come  to  an  end. 
The  tyrannical  privilege  first  assumed  by  the  late  Earls  of  Ork- 
ney, of  condemning  lands  on  pretended  feudal  forfeitures,  was 
perpetuated  in  various  ways  by  the  tacksmen  of  the  crown  re- 
venues. The  oppressions  of  Sir  James  Stewart,  the  new  farmer, 
occasioned,  in  ten  years  afterwards,  his  recall.  The  crown 
estates  were  then  let  out  to  a  number  of  court  favourites,  who 
felt  little  compunction  in  flagrantly  abusing  their  trust  ;  and 
the  udallers  were  reduced,  by  their  overwhelming  authority,  to 
the  most  dispirited  state  of  humiliation. 

In  1641,  the  rents  of  the  bishopric,  upon  the  establishment 
of  a  presbytery  in  the  islands,  were  granted  to  the  city  of  Edin- 
burgh ;  and,  two  years  afterwards,  King  Charles  I.,  on  the  fie- 


734  RECENT  HISTORY  OF  ZETLAND.  SECT.  IX. 

titious  plea  of  a  loan  affirmed  to  have  been  made  to  him  by  the 
Earl  of  Morton,  procured  from  parliament  the  confirmation  of  a 
grant,  to  his  favourite,  of  the  lands  of  the  Earldom  of  Orkney 
and  lordship  of  Shetland,  subject  to  redemption  by  payment  of 
.£30,000  sterling.  Soon  after  this  contract  the  Earl  of  Morton 
died,  and  his  son,  on  coming  into  possession  of  the  islands,  im- 
mediately endeavoured  to  sweep  away  every  relic  of  the  udal 
tenures,  and  especially  of  the  shynd-bill,  which  he  represented 
as  an  illegal  infringement  of  his  universal  right  of  superiority 
over  the  lands  of  the  province. 

13.  During  the  Commonwealth,  Cromwell  sent  deputies  in- 
to the  islands,  who  committed  great  irregularities,  particularly 
in  the  clandestine  alteration  of  the  weights  and  measures. 
Charles  II.  restored  episcopacy,  and  commanded  the  rents  of 
the  church  lands  to  be  paid  to  the  bishop.  As  the  family  of 
Morton  was  then  in  embarrassed  circumstances,  the  possession 
of  the  crown  lands  was  committed  in  trust  for  the  family  to 
GEORGE  VISCOUNT  GRANDISON,  who  appointed  ALEXANDER 
DOUGLAS  OP  SPTNIE  as  factor  to  receive  the  crown  rents  of  the 
islands,  and  to  grant  feu  charters.  Spynie's  mission  to  Shet- 
land is  well  remembered  ;  for  he  was  instructed  to  dispute  the 
validity  of  all  tenures  which  did  not  depend  on  confirmations 
from  the  crown  ;  and  as  many  of  the  recent  settlers  possessed 
only  dispositions  and  sasines  from  the  old  udallers,  which  they 
expected  would  have  been  at  least  preferable  to  the  despised 
shynd-bitt,  they  were  likewise  compelled  to  make  up  new  titles 
as  vassals  to  the  king.  From  this  period,  then,  may  be  dated 
the  complete  subversion  of  the  ancient  laws  of  the  country. 
The  udallers  now  abandoned  for  ever  the  open  space  of  the  law- 
ting,  where,  beneath  no  other  canopy  than  the  sky,  their  fathers 
had  met  to  legislate  for  at  least  six  centuries.  They  were 
henceforward  required,  as  vassals  of  the  crown,  to  give  suit  and 
presence  at  the  courts  held  within  some  covered  hall  at  Kirk- 
wall  and  Scalloway. 

The  right  of  representation  in  parliament,  bestowed  on  the 
people  of  Orkney, — for,  till  the  late  Reform  Act,  those  of  Shet- 
land were  denied  the  privilege  of  sharing  in  the  election  of  a 
member  of  the  British  senate,  and  which  right  was  necessarily 
exercised  under  the  Scottish  law  regulating  freehold  qualifica- 
tions,— likewise  entailed  on  the  former,  in  the  most  complete 
manner,  all  the  forms  of  feudal  conveyancings,  and  thus  caused 


PART  II.  BURGH  OF  MOCSA.  735 

them  farther  to  seek  an  alteration  of  the  usages  of  their  fore- 
fathers. 

In  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  the  Morton  family  acquired 
still  larger  and  less  qualified  grants  of  the  islands,  and  especially 
their  vice-admiralty,  and  the  right  of  patronage  to  all  the 
churches  ;  and,  in  1742,  the  Earl  of  Morton  obtained  from 
parliament  a  discharge  of  the  claim  of  reversion  previously 
competent  to  the  crown:  but,  in  the  year  1776,  the  earl  found 
this  property  so  troublesome  to  him,  from  the  vexatious  law- 
suits in  which  it  had  involved  him,  that  he  sold  his  entire  rights 
over  Orkney  and  Shetland  for  the  sum  of  £60,000  to  Sir 
Lawrence  Dundas.  The  Earl  of  Zetland,  whose  father,  Lord 
Dundas  (lately  deceased),  obtained  this  title,  is  now  lord-lieu- 
tenant of  the  Stewartry.  The  islands  pay  their  proportion  of 
the  land-tax,  and  in  every  other  respect  have  become  subject 
to  British  laws,  their  internal  administration  being  committed 
to  the  sheriffs  and  justices  of  peace. 

14.  The  preceding  historical  details  have  been  rendered 
necessary  by  our  desire  to  make  tourists  fully  acquainted  with 
the  associations  of  the  people  among  whom  they  have  to  sojourn, 
before  mixing  with  them,  and  to  avoid  repetition  and  lengthened 
explanations  in  the  subsequent  parts  of  our  Itinerary.  Land- 
ing, then,  on  the  mainland,  and  securing  one  of  the  first  of  the 
little  black  or  brownish  barrel-bellied  broad-backed  ponies  he 
meets  with,  we  would  advise  the  tourist,  after  taking  a  peep  of 
the  fine  corn  lands  about  Dunrossness  and  Quendal,  to  hasten 
on  over  the  bleak  mountain  ridge  of  the  Cliff  Hills,  which  are 
too  often  muffled  up  in  wet  and  exhaled  mists,  to  Lerwick, 
visiting  on  his  way  the  Scandinavian  burgh  of  Mousa,*  and  the 

*  The  Burgh  of  Mousa  is,  perhaps,  the  most  perfect  Teutonic  fortress  now  extant 
in  Europe.  It  occupies  a  circular  site  of  ground,  about  50  feet  in  diameter,  and  is 
built  of  middle-sized  schistoze  stones,  well  laid  together  without  any  cement.  The 
round  edifice  attains  the  height  of  42  feet,  bulging  out  below  and  tapering  off  towards 
the  top,  where  it  is  again  cast  out  from  its  lesser  diameter,  so  as  to  prevent  its  being 
scaled  from  without.  The  doorway  is  so  low  and  narrow  as  only  to  admit  one  person 
at  a  time,  and  who  has  to  creep  along  a  passage  15  feet  deep  ere  he  attains  the  interior 
open  area.  He  then  perceives  that  the  structure  is  hollow,  consisting  of  two  walls, 
each  about  five  feet  thick,  with  a  passage  or  winding  staircase  between  them  of  similar 
size,  and  enclosing  within  an  open  court  about  20  feet  in  diameter.  Near  the  top  of 
the  building,  and  opposite  the  entrance,  three  or  four  vertical  rows  of  holes  are  seen, 
resembling  the  holes  of  a  pigeon-house,  and  varying  from  eight  to  eighteen  in  number. 
These  admitted  air  and  a  feeble  degree  of  light  to  the  chambers  or  galleries  within, 
which  wound  round  the  building,  and  to  which  the  passage  from  the  entrance  conducts, 
the  roof  of  one  chamber  being  the  floor  of  that  above  it.  In  this  structure,  it  is  on 
record  that  the  ancient  inhabitants,on  the  occasion  of  sudden  invasion,  hastily  secured 
their  women  and  children  and  goods ;  and  it  would  appear  that  even  one  of  the  Earls 
of  Orkney  was  not  able  to  force  it.  Such  burghs  seldom  yielded  except  to  stratagem 


736  SCALLOWAY   CASTLE.  SECT.  IX. 

modern  Castle  of  Scalloway.  For  several  miles  before  him,  as 
he  scampers  on,  the  traveller  will  perceive  the  sea-coast  broken 
into  creeks,  islets,  and  sea  holms,  and  long  lines  of  ragged  rocks ; 
and  around  him,  misty  hills  and  heaths  without  a  shrub,  but 
relieved  occasionally  by  groups  of  cottages,  and  winding  stone 
dykes,  intended  to  protect  from  the  invasions  of  cattle  a  few 
patches  of  greenish  corn  land. 

15.  Scalloway  Bay,  with  the  numerous  cottages,  of  a  better 
description  than  common,  arranged  round  its  fine  semicircular 
harbour,  is  exceedingly  picturesque.  Towering  above  the 
village  is  the  castellated  mansion  of  Earl  Patrick,  erected  in 
the  year  1600,  with  the  building  of  which  a  most  flagrant  ex- 
ercise of  oppression  is  still  remembered  by  the  poor  Shetlanders. 
Under  the  penalty  of  the  forfeiture  of  property,  a  tax  was 
wantonly  laid  by  the  Earl  on  each  parish,  obliging  the  inhabi- 
tants to  find  as  many  men  as  were  requisite,  as  well  as  provisions 
for  the  workmen,  who  were  kept  to  their  tasks  by  military 
force.  The  castle  is  a  square  formal  structure,  now  reduced  to 
a  mere  shell,  composed  of  freestone  brought  from  Orkney,  and 
of  the  fashion  of  most  of  the  castellated  mansions  of  the  same 
date  in  Scotland ;  it  is  three  storeys  high,  the  windows  being  of 
a  very  ample  size,  with  a  small  handsome  round  turret  at  the 
top  of  each  angle  of  the  building.  Entering  by  an  insignificant 
doorway,  over  which  are  the  remains  of  a  Latin  inscription,  we 
pass  by  an  excellent  kitchen  and  vaulted  cellars,  while  a  broad 
flight  of  steps  leads  above  to  a  spacious  hall ;  the  other  cham- 
bers, however,  being  of  a  small  size. 

North  from  Scalloway  the  tourist  should  visit  the  beautiful 
green  valley  of  Tingwall,  contained  between  the  Cliff"  Hills  on 
the  east,  and  a  less  steep  parallel  ridge  on  the  west.  He  will 
first  meet  a  large  stone  of  memorial,  and  in  a  small  holm  at  the 
top  of  the  adjoining  loch  he  will  be  shewn  the  seat  where  the 
chief  foude,  or  magistrate,  of  Shetland  was  wont  to  issue  out 
his  decrees — a  communication  having  been  made  to  it  from  the 
shore  by  means  of  large  stepping-stones.  The  foude,  his  raad- 
men  or  counsellors,  the  recorder,  witnesses,  and  other  members 
of  the  court,  occupied  the  inner  area  of  the  holm,  their  faces 
being  turned  towards  the  east,  while  the  people  stood  on  the 

or  famine ;  and  being  the  places  of  defence  round  which  the  huts  of  the  neighbour- 
hood naturally  arranged  themselves,  their  name  came  latterly  to  designate  the  town 
or  burgh  which  arose  about  them. 


PART  II.  LERWICK.  737 

outside  of  the  sacred  ring  and  along  the  shores  of  the  loch. 
When,  in  criminal  cases,  the  accused  was  condemned  by  this 
court,  he  had  the  right  of  appeal  to  the  people  at  large ;  and 
if  they  opened  a  way  for  him  to  escape  from  the  holm,  and  he 
was  enabled,  without  being  apprehended,  to  touch  the  round 
steeple  of  the  adjoining  ancient  church  of  Tingwall,  the  sen- 
tence of  death  was  revoked,  and  the  condemned  obtained  an 
indemnity. 

16.  A  paved  road,  cut  across  a  thick  bed  of  peat  moss,  leads 
from  the  fertile  vale  of  Tingwall  to  Lerwick,  distant  about  four 
miles ;  and,  as  the  traveller  approaches  the  town,  he  will  likely 
be  regaled  with  a  splendid  view  of  the  Sound  of  Bressay,  bur- 
dened with  vessels  of  all  sizes,  among  which  stately  king's  ships 
may  be  majestically  gliding,  and  backed  by  the  fine  symmet- 
rical conoidal  hill  which  occupies  the  whole  of  the  island  of 
Bressay,  and  by  the  distant  cliffs  of  Noss.  Ranged  along  the 
shore  are  a  number  of  white  houses,  of  from  two  to  three  storeys 
in  height,  roofed  with  a  blue  rough  sandstone  slate,  but  dis- 
posed with  the  utmost  irregularity,  and  an  utter  disregard  of 
every  convenience,  except  that  of  being  as  near  as  possible 
to  the  sea  and  its  landing-places.  Such  is  Lerwick,  the  capital 
of  Shetland,  which  seems  to  have  been  originally  erected  in  the 
beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  in  connexion  with  the 
Dutch  fishermen,  whose  busses,  to  the  number  of  not  less  than 
2000,  annually  crowded  on  the  approach  of  the  fishing  sea- 
son into  Bressay  Sound.  Nor  were  the  subsequent  attempts 
of  builders  to  form  a  street  or  double  row  of  houses  more 
successful  in  introducing  ideas  of  mutual  accommodation, 
in  order  to  obtain  equality  of  breadth  and  straightness  of 
direction.  The  sturdy  Shetlander  was  not  to  be  so  dis- 
possessed of  his  ground ;  and,  accordingly,  some  taller  houses 
may  be  seen  to  advance  proudly  into  the  road,  taking  preced- 
ence of  the  contiguous  range,  while  in  some  places  lesser  dwel- 
lings claim  the  privilege  of  encroachment,  as  of  equal  importance. 
The  salient  and  re-entering  angles  of  fortification  may  thus 
be  studied  in  Lerwick  ;  or,  in  the  more  peaceful  thoughts  of 
Gray's  description  of  Kendal,  we  may  say — "  They  seem  as  if 
they  had  been  dancing  a  country  dance,  and  were  out.  There  they 
stand,  back  to  back,  corner  to  corner,  some  up  hill,  some  down." 
Like  part  of  Stromness  in  Orkney,  the  Lerwick  street  is  laid 
with  flags,  which  are  seldom  pressed  by  heavier  beasts  of  bur- 
2  r  2 


738  LERWICK.  SECT.  IX. 

den  than  the  little  shelties  from  the  neighbouring  scatholds, 
loaded  with  cazies  of  turf ;  and  no  cart  ever  rattles  over  their 
surface.  The  number  of  shops  in  the  town,  and  the  groups  of 
sailors  of  all  nations  engaged  in  their  small  purchases,  gives  it 
an  unusually  lively  appearance.  It  boasts  no  kind  of  manu- 
factory except  one  for  straw-plait,  and  Shetland  hose  and  other 
woollen  stuffs,  which  are  daily  becoming  more  and  more  valu- 
able, and  no  public  buildings  except  one,  which  serves  as  a 
town-house,  court  of  justice,  masonic  lodge,  and  prison,  to 
which  may  be  added  the  parish  kirk,  and  dissenting  meeting- 
house. Provisions  are  here  abundant,  and  about  one-half  their 
price  in  Scotland ;  and  the  great  boast  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Lerwick  is  its  vegetables,  and  especially  its  esculent  roots  and 
artichokes.  The  number  of  inhabitants  is  greatly  increasing  : 
by  the  census  of  1821,  the  parish  contained  2224  individuals  ; 
and  by  the  census  of  1841,  3284.  In  1701,  when  the  adjoining 
Sound  was  frequented  by  Dutch  vessels,  from  200  to  300  fami- 
lies resided  in  Lerwick  ;  but,  in  1778,  Mr.  Low  remarked  that 
the  town  then  only  contained  140  families.  The  printed  re- 
ports of  the  Government  census  of  1841,  state  the  gross  popu- 
lation of  the  Orkney  and  Shetland  Isles  to  be  together  60,007, 
without  discriminating  between  the  two  groups  ;  and  the  in- 
crease to  be  three  per  cent,  within  the  previous  ten  years.  Dr. 
L.  Edmonston,  writing  in  1840  for  the  New  Statistical  Account, 
believed  the  population  to  be  decreasing,  owing  to  the  disasters 
of  the  recent  seasons,  and  the  departure  from  the  country  of  the 
young  and  able-bodied  men.  The  proportion  of  females  to 
males  he  reckons  to  be  as  two  to  one  ;  but  he  thinks  that,  under 
judicious  management,  the  Shetland  Isles  could  probably  main- 
tain three  times  the  present  number  of  inhabitants,  which  a  few 
years  ago,  he  states,  amounted  to  31,000. 

To  the  south  of  the  town  stands  the  citadel,  named  after 
the  queen-consort  of  George  III.,  Fort-Charlotte.  It  is  believed 
to  have  been  originally  constructed  during  Oliver  Cromwell's 
time,  and  rebuilt  by  Charles  II.  in  1665  ;  but,  being  burnt  and 
rendered  defenceless  in  the  year  1673  by  a  Dutch  frigate,  it 
was  utterly  neglected,  till  remodelled  in  1781,  and  mounted 
with  twelve  guns,  for  the  protection  of  the  town  from  attacks 
by  sea. 

The  habits  of  the  higher  classes  in  Lerwick  differ  but  little 
from  those  of  the  generality  of  Scottish  towns.  Like  the  more 


PART  II. 


CRADLE  OF  NOSS. 


739 


wealthy  inhabitants  of  the  adjoining  country  and  of  Orkney, 
they  receive  part  of  their  education  in  Aberdeen  or  Edinburgh, 
or  in  England  ;  returning  with  much-to-be-admired  content- 
ment to  their  native  solitudes,  to  which  they  are  uniformly 
observed  to  have  the  strongest  attachment.  Strangers  have 
always  spoken  in  the  highest  terms  of  the  urbanity  of  the  people 
of  Lerwick,  and  sailors  are  wont  to  descant  with  rapture  on  the 
hours  they  have  spent  in  its  hospitable  harbour.  When  Dr. 
Hibbert  visited  Lerwick,  there  was  but  one  inn  in  the  place, 
where  he  met  with  much  civility  and  attention. 

17.  From  Lerwick  the  tourist  should  cross  over  to  Bressay, 
and  thence  to  the  island  of  Noss,  to  see  the  famous  wooden 
trough  or  cradle,  suspended  by  ropes,  communicating  with  the 
Holm  of  Noss.  It  is  sufficient  for  the  conveyance  across  of  one 
man  and  a  sheep  at  a  time.  The  Holm,  which  is  only  500  feet 


in  length  and  170  broad,  rises  abruptly  from  the  sea  in  the  form 
of  a  perpendicular  cliff,  160  feet  in  height,  the  elevation  at 
which  the  cradle  hangs  over  the  boiling  surge  in  the  channel 
below.  The  temptation  of  getting  access  to  the  numberless  eggs 


740  CAT  FIRTH — PARSON  OF  ORPHIR.  SECT.  IX. 

and  young  of  the  sea-fowl  which  whiten  the  surface  of  the 
Holm,  joined  to  the  promised  reward  of  a  cow,  induced  a  hardy 
and  adventurous  fowler,  about  two  centuries  ago,  to  scale  the 
cliff  of  the  Holm,  and  establish  a  connexion  by  ropes  with  the 
neighbouring  main  island.  Having  driven  two  stakes  into  the 
rock,  and  fastened  his  ropes,  the  desperate  man  was  entreated 
to  avail  himself  of  the  communication  thus  established  in  re- 
turning across  the  gulf ;  but  this  he  refused  to  do,  and,  in 
attempting  to  descend  the  way  he  had  climbed,  he  fell,  and 
perished  by  his  fool-hardiness.  We  will  not  spoil  the  interest 
the  tourist  will  feel  in  ascertaining  on  the  spot  the  method 
whereby  the  communication  was  afterwards  completed,  and  the 
cradle  lowered  down  on  its  cordage  for  the  transport  of  the  little 
stock  of  sheep  which  now  tenant  the  Holm,  by  describing  the 
process. 

Proceeding  northward  along  the  coast  of  the  mainland  to 
the  capacious  Bay  of  Cat  Firth,  which  is  closed  in  on  the  farther 
side  by  the  promontory  of  Eswick,  the  traveller  should  next 
visit  the  valley  of  Burgh,  with  the  remains  of  the  old  house 
and  chapel  of  the  Barons  of  Burgh — a  Scottish  family  of  the 
name  of  Sinclair,  who  were  established  here  in  1587  by  King 
James  VI.,  on  the  express  condition  that  they  should  not  hold 
their  lands  according  to  the  law  of  udal  succession,  but  by  feudal 
tenure,  as  observed  in  Scotland  ;  and  which  family,  during  the 
seventeenth  century,  maintained  here  an  establishment  of  a  de- 
gree of  splendour  previously  unknown  in  Shetland. 

Passing  on  to  the  house  of  Nesting — which  is  noted  as  the 
spot  where  the  Parson  of  Orphir  in  Orkney,  a  creature  of  Earl 
Patrick  Stewart,  who  had  ministered  greatly  to  his  avarice,  was 
pursued  by  four  brothers,  who  here  slew  him,  and  of  one  of 
whom  it  is  recorded,  that,  tearing  open  the  dying  man's  breast, 
he  drank  of  his  heart's  blood — we  reach  the  barren  shores  of 
Vidlin  Voe,  and  the  house  of  Lunna,  from  the  neighbourhood 
of  which  a  long  promontory  stretches  out  for  several  miles  into 
Yell  Sound.  Lunna  is  a  great  fishing  station — much  ling,  cod, 
and  torsk  or  tusk  (Gadus  Brosme)  being  cured  at  it. 

18.  If  the  tourist  has  time,  he  should  hence  cross  to  the 
island  of  Whalsey,  in  which  he  will  see  a  system  of  farming 
practised  that  would  not  do  discredit  to  the  Lothians,  and  the 
appearance  of  which  is  highly  encouraging  to  every  philan- 
thropic mind ;  and  if  he  desires  to  witness  the  deep-sea  fishing 


PART  II.  OUTSKERRIES — FETLAR — UNST.  741 

for  ling,  with  its  full  equipment  of  sheds  for  drying,  agents' 
houses,  and  temporary  huts  for  the  boatmen,  and  all  the  bustle 
and  activity  of  those  who  are  obliged  to  catch  the  few  calm 
days  of  summer  in  seeking  their  bread  upon  the  waters,  he  will 
from  Whalsey  sail  over  to  the  little  cluster  of  islands  called  the 
OUTSKERRIES,  where  this  fishing  is  pursued  on  a  large  scale. 

19.  FETLAR,  an  island  from  five  miles  to  six  miles  and  a 
half  long  and  five  miles  broad,  notwithstanding  the  fertility  of 
its  valleys  and  the  number  of  its  ancient  law-tings,  and  its 
steep  cliffs  at  Lamboga  being  the  resort  of  the  peregrine  falcon, 
has  little  to  recommend  it  to  the  tourist,  unless  he  be  a  geolo- 
gist. Its  southern  shores  consist  of  a  ridge  of  gneiss,  succeeded, 
between  Urie  and  the  Bay  of  Tresta,  by  a  broad  belt  of  alternat- 
ing beds  of  serpentine,  diallage  rock,  micaceous  schist,  and 
chlorite  schist,  to  the  north  of  which  rises  the  high  serpentine 
vord  or  Wardhill  of  Fetlar,  which  is  in  like  manner  flanked  on 
the  farther  side  with  a  similar  succession  of  rocky  beds  inter- 
mixed with  talcose  schist,  and  exhibiting  occasionally  a  con- 
glomerate structure.  From  Fetlar  to  the  handsome  seat  of 
Belmont  (Thos.  Mouat,  Esq.)  in  Unst,  the  distance  is  about  six 
miles,  being  across  a  channel  diversified  with  several  sea-holms. 
Guarded  by  the  tumultuous  rousts  and  tides  in  Blomel  and 
Uyea  sounds,  and  on  the  north  of  Scaw,  Unst  presents  but  few 
interesting  external  features,  except  its  sea-coast  precipices, 
above  -which  its  bleak  yellowish  serpentine  hills  rise  with  a 
most  forbidding  and  dreary  aspect.  Uyea  island  is,  however, 
the  great  resort  of  shipping  in  pursuit  of  the  deep-sea  fishing, 
which  also  rendezvous  here  for  the  supply  of  goods  to  the 
several  fishing  stations  in  the  neighbouring  isles  ;  and  Buness, 
the  residence  of  T.  Edmonston,  Esq.,  near  the  head  of  Balta 
Sound,  on  the  eastern  coast,  will  long  be  celebrated  as  having 
been  the  site  where  the  French  philosopher  Biot,  and  his  suc- 
cessor Captain  Kater,  in  the  years  1817-18,  carried  on  their 
experiments  for  the  purpose  of  determining,  in  this  high  lati- 
tude, the  variation  in  the  length  of  the  second's  pendulum.  The 
island  also  abounds  in  stone  circles  and  barrows  ;  and  at 
Cruciefield  the  great  juridical  assemblies  of  Shetland  were 
anciently  held,  previous  to  their  removal  to  the  Vale  of  Ting- 
wall,  on  the  mainland. 

But  the  great  treasure  of  Unst  is  its  chromate  of  iron,  a 
mineral  which  of  late  years  has  become  an  object  of  commercial 


742  MINERALOGY — SEA-FOWL.  SECT.  IX. 

importance,  on  account  of  the  use  to  which  it  has  been  converted, 
in  affording  the  means  for  procuring  a  yellow  pigment  for  the 
use  of  the  arts,  and  its  application  to  the  dyeing  of  silk,  woollen, 
linen,  and  cotton.  It  was  formerly  obtained,  at  a  high  price, 
chiefly  from  America  ;  but  Dr.  Hibbert,  in  the  year  1817,  dis- 
covered it  strewed  in  great  loose  masses  on  the  surface  of  the 
hill  of  Cruciefield,  at  Hagdale,  and  Buness,  and  in  several  other 
places  in  the  vicinity  of  Balta  Sound  in  Unst,  and  succeeded 
in  satisfying  the  proprietors  of  its  value.  It  was  first  seen  in 
insulated  granular  pieces  left  loose  on  the  surface  from  the  dis- 
integration of  the  rocks  of  serpentine  which  enclosed  it  ;  but  it 
was  soon  traced  out  as  disseminated  in  thin  ramifying  veins 
from  two  to  six  inches  in  breadth,  and  ultimately  in  beds  of 
much  greater  magnitude.  The  ingredients  of  the  serpentine 
rock  are  silex,  magnesian  earth,  alumen,  oxidulated  iron,  and 
chromate  of  iron  ;  the  two  latter  also  being  found  in  grains  as 
minute  as  gunpowder,  and  therefore  appearing  as  component 
parts  of  the  rock,  as  well  as  in  detached  masses  and  veins.  As- 
sociated with  these  occur  potstone  and  indurated  talc,  with 
beautiful  specimens  of  amianthus  and  common  asbestus  ;  and 
at  Swinaness,  a  headland  at  the  northern  entrance  of  Balta 
Sound,  Dr.  Hibbert  also  discovered  a  very  rare  pure  white  and 
transparent  mineral,  the  native  hydrate  of  magnesia,  which,  on 
analysis,  presents  69-75  parts  of  pure  magnesia,  and  30'25  of 
water,  in  100  parts. 

Besides  the  other  kinds  of  sea-fowl  with  which  this  island 
abounds,  the  hill  of  Saxaford,  on  the  north-east  side,  which  is 
estimated  at  a  height  of  600  feet,  and  which  is  composed  of 
micaceous  and  talcose  slate,  is  noted  as  the  occasional  resort  of 
the  rare  skua  gull  (Cataractes  wulgaris)  which  breeds  also  in 
Foula,  and  on  Rona  Hill,  in  the  mainland. 

20.  Yell  is  a  dull  uninteresting  island,  six  miles  broad  by 
about  twenty  miles  long,  wholly  composed  of  long  parallel 
ridges  of  gneiss  rocks,  of  a  heavy  uniform  course  from  south- 
west to  north-east,  and  sloping  gradually  towards  the  shore. 
It  is,  however,  an  excellent  fishing  station  ;  and,  from  the 
days  of  George  Buchanan,  has  been  noted  for  its  booths,  or 
small  warerooms,  filled  with  all  sorts  of  vendible  articles,  now 
chiefly  imported  from  Scotland,  but  anciently  from  Hamburgh 
and  Bremen.  In  the  troubled  sea  of  Yell  Sound,  and  the 
vicinity  of  its  little  holms  or  islets,  distinguished  for  their  fine 


PART  II.  YELL — THE   CA'lNG  WHALES.  743 

succulent  pastures,  and  as  the  breeding-places  of  the  tern, 
parasitic  gull,  and  eider  duck,  herring  shoals  and  swarms  of 
young  sillocks  are  always  to  be  seen ;  and  perhaps  the  tourist 
may  witness  the  pursuit  and  capture  of  a  drove  of  ccCing  whales, 
as  the  Delphinus  deductor  is  styled  in  Shetland,  which  occa- 
sionally appear  off  these  coasts  in  a  gregarious  assemblage  of 
from  100  to  500  at  a  time.  Their  seizure  is  always  attended 
with  great  excitement  and  cruelty ;  and,  although  the  blubber 
affords  a  rich  prize  to  the  captors,  nothing  can  better  display 
the  debased  state  of  the  husbandry  in  some  of  these  north  isles, 
than  the  fact  that  the  carcases  of  the  whales  are  in  general 
allowed  to  remain  untouched,  tainting  the  air  until  they  are 
completely  devoured  by  the  gulls  and  crows.* 

Yell  boasts  of  no  less  than  eight  ancient  circular  burghs ; 
and,  at  one  time,  of  twenty  chapels  or  religious  houses,  although 
they  are  almost  all  completely  in  ruins.  All  the  ecclesiastical 
buildings  of  Hialtland  appear  to  have  been  devoid  of  the  least 
show  of  ornament ;  for  the  pointed  arch,  pinnacled  buttress,  or 
the  rich  stone  canopy,  never  dignified  any  of  them.  A  tall,  rude 
tower  was  their  only,  and  that  but  an  occasional,  appendage  : 
but,  from  their  great  number,  they  would  appear  often  to  be  not 
so  much  parish  churches  as  the  private  oratories  of  the  inde- 
pendent udallers,  or  the  free-will  offerings  of  foreign  seamen, 
erected  in  fulfilment  of  their  vows  to  Our  Lady,  St.  Olla,  St.  Mag- 
nus, St.  John,  or  some  of  the  other  saints  of  the  calendar,  whose 
intercession  was  believed  to  have  saved  them  from  shipwreck. 
Crossing  from  this  island  to  the  central  districts  of  the  main- 
land, the  tourist  will  find  but  little  to  reward  his  toil,  if  he 
attempt  to  thread  his  way  among  their  endless  swamps,  firths, 
and  uninteresting  tame  hills,  composed  chiefly  of  gneiss,  with 
a  few  interstratified  beds  of  limestone,  the  latter  of  which  how- 
ever, where  they  occur,  bestowing  a  superior  verdure  and  rich- 
ness on  the  pastures.  A  few  gentlemen's  seats,  some  of  them, 
as  at  Busta,  having  walled  gardens,  and,  for  the  climate,  rather 
large-sized  trees,  though  no  bigger  than  bushes,  may  be  seen : 
but  in  general  the  country  is  tenanted  chiefly  by  flocks  of  the 
little  wild  yet  fine-fleeced  sheep,  for  which  Shetland  is  famed, 
with  here  and  there  a  few  patches  of  corn  land,  tilled  by  the 
ancient  Scandinavian  single-stilted  plough,  the  produce  of  which 

*  We  understand  that  the  carcases  are  now  in  some  instances  better  estimated, 
aud  that  the  bones  are  purchased  for  exportation  as  bone  manure. 


744 


ROYAL  HAWKS. 


SECT.  IX. 


is  ground  into  meal  by  the  no  less  primitive  simply-constructed 
water-mill  peculiar  to  the  country,  or  the  still  more  antique 
hand-mill  or  quern.  The  richer  pastures  of  the  sea  holms, 
which,  by  strict  laws,  were  wont  to  be  preserved  from  being 
encroached  on  by  the  passing  stranger,  always  exhibit  a  more 


A  Zetland  Mill. 

lively  green  than  the  adjoining  hills ;  and  the  bold  granitic 
shores,  crowned  with  the  remains  of  ancient  burghs  or  round 
towers,  (like  that  of  Cullswick,  on  the  south-western  coast), 
would,  but  for  their  continued  recurrence  under  similar  forms, 
be  considered  grand  and  imposing.  Around  the  more  lofty  and 
inaccessible  headlands,  the  voyager  may  yet  descry  solitary 
couples  of  the  royal  hawks,  which  can  bear  no  other  birds,  even 
of  their  own  species,  to  occupy  the  same  cliff  with  them,  hover- 
ing over  their  young ;  and  he  may  be  told  that  old  acts  of  par- 
liament specially  reserved  them,  from  all  ordinary  grants,  for 
his  majesty's  use,  according  to  ancient  custom.  The  goshawk, 
or  Falco  palumbarius,  was  the  object  in  general  of  the  falconer's 
search ;  but  the  bird  held  in  chief  estimation  was  the  Falco 
perigrinus  niger,  of  which  a  single  pair  is  believed  to  have 
always  bred  in  Fair  Isle,  and  others  in  Foula,  Lamboga,  Fitfiel, 
and  Sumburgh  Head. 


PART  II.  FOREIGN  MERCHANTS THE  HAAF.  745 

21.  To  the  naturalist,  view-hunter,  and  commercial  gentle- 
man, studious  of  knowing  the  arcana  of  the  Haaf,  or  deep-sea 
fishing,  the  north-western  portions  of  the  Mainland,  consisting 
of  the  parishes  of  Aithsting,  Walls,  Sandness,  and  North  Ma- 
vine,  present  many  objects  deserving  of  a  visit.  At  Aithness, 
Soulam  Voe,  Stennis,  Hillswick,  Feideland,  Vementry  Island, 
and  many  other  places,  the  cod,  ling,  and  tusk  fisheries  have 
been  pursued  for  a  very  long  period ;  and  in  ancient  times, 
from  the  1st  of  May  to  the  1st  of  August,  vessels  freighted  with 
goods  for  exchange  of  fish,  were  constantly  arriving  from  Ham- 
burgh, Lubeck,  Bremen,  and  Denmark,  and  latterly  from  Scot- 
land and  England.  In  our  introductory  paper  to  this  work  (p. 
14)  we  have  given  a  short  sketch  of  the  Dutch  fisheries  in 
Shetland,  to  which  we  refer ;  and  our  limits  permit  us  only  to 
add,  that  the  foreign  merchants,  on  landing,  always  found  booths 
ready  for  their  use,  or  they  were  permitted  to  erect  shops  for 
the  display  of  their  wares,  for  the  ground-rent  of  which  they 
paid  the  native  proprietors  at  a  most  exorbitant  rate.  Besides 
hooks,  lines,  nets,  and  various  kinds  of  grain  and  fruits,  cloths, 
linens,  and  muslins,  were  the  articles  tendered  to  the  fishermen, 
who  bartered  for  them  their  fish,  both  in  a  wet  state,  and,  under 
the  name  of  stock-fish,  such  as  were  dried  in  their  stone  build- 
ings, called  skoes,  to  which  also  they  added  stockings,  wadmel, 
horses,  cows,  sheep,  seal-skins,  otter-skins,  with  butter,  and  oil 
extracted  from  the  livers  of  fish. 

The  men  employed  at  the  haaf,  or  the  fishing  station  most 
distant  from  the  land,  are  generally  the  young  and  hardiest  of 
the  islanders.  Six  tenants  join  in  manning  a  boat,  their  land- 
lords importing  for  them  frames,  ready  modelled  and  cut  out  in 
Norway,  which,  when  put  together,  form  a  yawl  of  six  oars, 
from  eighteen  to  nineteen  feet  in  keel,  and  six  in  beam  ;  and 
which  is  also  furnished  with  a  square  sail.  After  waiting 
for  a  fair  wind,  or  the  ceasing  of  a  storm,  the  most  adventurous 
boatmen  give  the  example  to  their  comrades,  starting  off  in  their 
yawl,  and  taking  the  first  turn  round  in  the  course  of  the  sun, 
when  they  are  instantly  followed  by  the  whole  fleet,  each  boat 
of  which  strives  to  be  first  at  the  fishing  station,  often  forty  or 
fifty  miles  away.  Arrived  at  the  ground,  they  prepare  to  set 
their  tows,  or  lines,  provided  with  ling  hooks.  Forty-five  or 
fifty  fathoms  of  tows  constitute  a  bught,  and  each  bught  is  fitted 
with  from  nine  to  fourteen  hooks.  Twenty  bughts  are  called  a 

2K 


746  THE    HAAF FEIDELAND.  SECT.  IX. 

packie,  and  the  whole  of  thepackies  a  boat  carries  is  a  fleet  of  tows. 
The  fleets  belonging  to  the  Feideland  haaf  are  so  large  as  seldom 
to  be  baited  with  less  than  1200  hooks,  provided  with  three  buoys, 
and  extending  to  a  distance  of  from  5000  to  6000  fathoms. 
The  depth  to  which  the  ling  are  fished  for  varies  from  fifty  to 
one  hundred  fathoms ;  and  after  the  lines  are  all  set,  which,  in 
moderate  weather,  requires  from  three  to  four  hours,  the  fisher- 
men rest  for  two  hours,  and  take  their  scanty  sustenance : 
their  poverty,  however,  allowing  them  no  richer  food  than  a 
little  oatmeal  and  a  few  gallons  of  water;  for  the  Shetlanders 
can  rarely  supply  themselves  with  spirits. 

At  length  one  man,  by  means  of  the  buoy  rope,  undertakes 
to  haul  up  the  tows  ;  another  extricates  the  fish  from  the  hooks, 
and  throws  them  in  a  place  near  the  stern,  named  the  shot ;  a 
third  guts  them,  and  deposits  their  livers  and  heads  in  the 
middle  of  the  boat.  Along  with  the  ling,  a  much  smaller  quan- 
tity of  tusk,  skate,  and  halibut  are  caught,  the  two  last  being 
reserved  for  the  tables  of  the  fishermen  ;  and  six  or  seven  score 
of  fish  are  reckoned  a  decent  haul,  fifteen  or  sixteen  a  very  good 
one,  and  when  above  this  quantity  the  garbage,  heads,  and 
small  fish  are  thrown  overboard,  the  boat,  notwithstanding,  being 
then  sunk  so  far  as  just  to  Upper  with  the  water.  If  the 
weather  be  moderate,  a  crew  is  not  detained  longer  than  a  day 
and  a  half  at  the  haaf ;  but  as  gales  too  often  come  on,  and  as 
the  men  are  reluctant  to  cut  their  lines,  the  most  dreadful  con- 
sequences ensue,  and  many  of  the  poor  fishermen  never  reach 
land.  On  their  return  to  shore,  the  boatmen  are  first  engaged 
in  spreading  out  their  tows  to  dry  ;  then  some  of  them  catch 
piltocks  with  a  rod  and  line,  or  procure  other  kinds  of  bait,  at 
a  distance  from  the  shore  ;  while  others,  again,  mend  the  tows 
and  cook  victuals  for  the  next  voyage  to  the  haaf :  thus,  in  the 
busy  fishing  season,  so  incessant  and  varied  are  the  demands  on 
the  fishermen's  time,  that  they  rarely  can  snatch  above  two  or 
three  hours  in  the  twenty-four  for  repose.  Their  huts  are  con- 
structed of  rude  stones  without  any  cement,  covered  with  thin 
pieces  of  wood  and  turf  for  a  roof,  and  the  dormitories  consist 
only  of  a  little  straw  thrown  into  a  corner  on  the  bare  floor, 
where  a  whole  boat's  crew  may  be  found  stealing  a  brief  rest 
from  their  laborious  occupations. 

22.  Feideland,  the  most  northerly  of  these  great  fishing 
stations,  is  a  long  narrow  peninsula,  jutting  far  out  into  the 


PAKT  II.  ROENESS  HILL.  747 

ocean,  distinguished,  as  is  every  place  having  the  same  Scandi- 
navian name,  by  its  superior  green  pastures  :  everywhere  about 
it  the  coast  is  awfully  wild  ;  and  the  peninsula,  broken  on  each 
side  into  steep  precipices,  exhibits  now  and  then  a  gaping  chasm, 
through  which  the  sea  struggles,  while  numerous  stacks  rise 
from  the  surface  of  a  turbulent  ocean,  the  waves  beating  around 
them  in  angry  and  tumultuous  roar. 

23.  Sailing  westward  by  Uyea  Island  to  Roeness  Voe,  the 
stranger  will  obtain  a  complete  view  of  the  vast  impending 
cliffs  of  granite,  cut  into  numerous  caves  and  arches  open  to  the 
Atlantic,  that  form  the  farther  coast  of  North  Mavine.  Above 
these  rises  the  red  barren  scalp  of  Roeness  Hill  to  a  height  of 
1447  feet,  which,  though  steep,  abounds  with  alpine  plants,  and 
from  the  circular  watch-tower  on  its  summit  commands  a  most 
extensive  and  instructive  view,  from  the  peaks  of  Foula  to  the 
broad  bay  of  St.  Magnus  and  the  hills  of  Unst.  In  the  district 
near  at  hand  there  is  a  chain  of  deep  circular  lakes,  which, 
when  the  sun  shines  bright,  reflect  on  their  bosom  every  one  of 
the  rugged  and  dreary  crags  by  which  they  are  surrounded  ; 
sky,  rocks,  and  heath  limiting  the  horizon  on  all  sides  ;  no  marks 
of  man's  labour  appearing,  but  tranquillity  pervading  the  scene, 
except  where  the  stranger,  gaining  the  summit  of  a  sea  cliff, 
beholds  suddenly  the  tumbling  billows  of  the  ocean,  and  thou- 
sands of  insulated  rocks  whitened  with  innumerable  flocks  of 
sea-fowl,  and  hollowed  out  at  their  base  into  caverns,  the  secure 
retreats  of  otters  and  seals. 

At  Doreholm,  a  spacious  arch  of  seventy  feet,  and  the  Isle 
of  Stennis,  a  great  fishing-station  belonging  to  Messrs.  Cheyne, 
which  are  exposed  to  the  unbroken  fury  of  the  Atlantic,  enor- 
mous masses  of  rock  have  been  bodily  heaved  up,  and  removed 
to  considerable  distances  by  the  waves,  while,  on  the  summit  of 
the  cliffs  in  that  neighbourhood,  especially  at  the  Villians  of 
Tire,  the  tired  feet  of  the  traveller  will  be  unexpectedly  re- 
freshed with  a  walk  on  the  finest  and  softest  sward,  to  which 
the  compliment,  often  paid  to  some  rich  vale  of  England,  may 
well  apply — "  Fairies  joy  in  its  soil."  It  is  the  favourite  pro- 
menade of  the  inhabitants,  especially  on  the  fine  summer  even- 
ings ;  nor  is  this  pleasing  bank,  on  which  numerous  sheep  are 
continually  feeding,  the  less  interesting  from  being  encircled 
with  the  harsher  features  which  Hialtland  usually  wears,  and 
perched  on  the  top  of  naked,  red,  precipitous  crags,  on  which  a 
rolling  sea  is  always  breaking. 


748  PAPA   STOUR — FOULA.  SECT.  IX. 

24  Though  troubled  is  the  channel  which  separates  PAPA 
STOUR,  the  southernmost  islet  and  promontory  of  St.  Magnus 
Bay,  from  the  mainland,  the  tourist,  if  possible,  should  not  omit 
paying  a  visit  to  its  grand  porphyritic  stacks,  and  magnificent 
underground  rocky  excavations  which  the  inhabitants  visit  at 
certain  seasons  armed  with  thick  clubs,  and  well  provided  with 
candles,  in  search  of  the  seals  which  breed  in  them.  When 
attacked  with  these  weapons,  the  poor  animals  boldly  advance 
in  defence  of  their  young,  and  often  wrench  with  their  feet  and 
teeth  the  clubs  out  of  their  enemies'  hands  ;  but  in  vain  :  escape 
is  denied,  and  these  gloomy  recesses  are  stained  with  blood,  and 
numbers  of  dead  victims  are  carried  off  in  boats. 

Papa  Stour,  like  lona  and  some  others  of  the  Hebrides,  was 
the  resort,  in  the  earliest  period  of  Christianity,  of  certain  Irish 
priests  or  papce,  who  fled  here  either  for  refuge  from  some  com- 
motion in  their  own  country,  or  came  over  to  proclaim  to  the 
heathen  the  glad  tidings  of  the  Gospel  of  God's  grace.  In 
Shetland,  three  islands  bear  the  name  of  Papa,  Papa  Stour 
being  the  largest  ;  and  this  island  is  the  only  part  of  the 
country  where  the  ancient  Norwegian  amusement  of  the 
sword-dance  has  been  preserved,  and  where  it  still  continues 
to  beguile  the  tediousness  of  a  long  winter's  evening.  We 
have  no  room  for  a  description  of  it,  and  must  refer  our  readers 
to  Sir  Walter  Scott's  "  Pirate,"  and  Dr.  Hibbert's  minute 
account. 

25.  The  bold  island  of  Fughloe  (Foula)  or  Fowl  Island, 
is  the  last  we  have  room  to  notice  in  this  sketch.  It  presents 
the  appearance,  when  viewed  from  the  sea,  of  five  conical  hills 
rising  from  the  waters  at  the  distance  of  eight  leagues  west  of 
the  mainland,  and  towering  into  the  sky.  They  are  all  com- 
posed of  sandstone,  set  on  a  primitive  basement ;  and  the  high- 
est, called  the  Kaim,  is  estimated  as  of  an  elevation  of  i:ion 
feet. 

There  is  now  little  doubt  that  this  island  is  the  Thule  des- 
cried by  Agricola  from  Orkney,  from  the  north-western  parts 
of  which  it  is  often  visible.  It  was  one  of  the  last  places  in 
which  the  pure  Norse  language  was  spoken  ;  in  general,  the 
parish  schoolmaster  officiates  as  a  sort  of  pastor  to  the  inhabit- 
ants, except  when  the  minister  of  Waes  visits  them,  once  si- 
year,  for  the  purpose  of  celebrating  the  communion. 

"  The  low  lands  remote  from  the  sea,"  says  Dr.  Hibbert, 
"  are  frequented  by  parasitic  gulls,  which  build  among  the 


PART.  II.  FOULA.  749 

heather.  The  surface  of  the  hills  swarms  also  with  plovers, 
Royston  crows,  seapies,  and  curlews.  On  reaching  the  highest 
ridges  of  the  rocks,  the  prospect  presented  on  every  side  is  of 
the  sublimest  description.  The  spectator  looks  down  from  a 
perpendicular  height  of  1100  or  1200  feet,  and  sees  below,  the 
wide  Atlantic  roll  its  tide.  Dense  columns  of  birds  hover 
through  the  air,  consisting  of  maws,  kittywakes,  lyres,  sea- 
parrots  or  guillemots ;  the  cormorants  occupy  the  lowest 
portions  of  the  cliffs,  the  kittywakes  whiten  the  ledges  of  one 
distinct  cliff,  gulls  are  found  on  another,  and  lyres  on  a  third. 
The  welkin  is  darkened  with  their  flight  ;  nor  is  the  sea  less 
covered  with  them,  as  they  search  the  waters  in  quest  of  food. 
But  when  the  winter  appears,  the  colony  is  fled,  and  the  rude 
harmony  produced  by  their  various  screams  is  succeeded  by  a 
desert  stillness.  From  the  brink  of  this  awful  precipice  the 
adventurous  fowler  is,  by  means  of  a  rope  tied  round  his  body, 
let  down  many  fathoms  ;  he  then  lands  on  the  ledges  where  the 
various  sea-birds  nestle,  being  still  as  regardless  as  his  ances- 
tors of  the  destruction  that  awaits  the  falling  of  some  loose 
stones  from  a  crag,  or  the  untwisting  of  a  cord.  It  was  formerly 
said  of  the  Foula  man,  'his  gutcher  (grandfather)  guid  before, 
his  father  guid  before,  and  he  must  expect  to  go  over  the 
Sneug  too.1 " 

One  of  the  highest  rocks  is  occupied  by  the  bonxie  or  skua 
gull,  the  terror  of  the  feathered  race ;  but  he  is  so  noble- 
minded  as  to  prefer  waging  war  with  birds  larger  than  him- 
self :  even  the  eagle  forbearing  to  attack  lambs  in  the  skua's 
presence. 

NATURAL,  HISTORY  OF  THE  ZETLAND  ISLANDS. 

26.  The  natural  history  of  these  islands  so  greatly  resembles  that  of 
Orkney,  that,  after  the  full  details  we  have  given  of  the  latter,  it  would 
be  less  necessary  for  us  to  enter  minutely  on  that  of  the  former  groups, 
even  had  we  room  to  do  so.  The  plants  of  Shetland  differ  less  from  those 
of  the  north  of  Scotland  and  Orkney  in  the  number  of  new  species,  than 
in  the  more  limited  vegetation,  and  the  absence  of  species  elsewhere 
abundant,  especially  of  the  ligneous  and  larger  herbaceous  tribes ;  while 
they  no  doubt,  on  the  other  hand,  exhibit  many  approaches  to  an  identity 
with  the  Arctic  Floras  of  Spitzbergen  and  Greenland.  Similar  remarks 
apply  to  the  zoology  of  these  islands.  We  have  not  yet  been  enabled  to 
institute  a  proper  comparison,  with  any  degree  of  correctness,  between  the 
plants  of  Shetland  and  those  of  Great  Britain  in  general ;  and  we  regret 
not  having  it  in  our  power,  as  yet,  to  present  our  readers  with  the  results 
of  a  careful  examination  of  the  effects  which  the  high  latitude  and  ex- 


750  NATURAL  HISTORY   OP   ZETLAND.          SECT.  IX. 

posed  situation  of  these  islands  have  produced  on  the  size  and  geogra- 
phical distribution  of  their  vegetables.* 

But  to  the  geologist  we  can  say,  that  if  Scotland  in  general  be  the 
best  nursery  for  the  British  botanist,  Shetland,  undoubtedly,  presents  the 
most  varied  and  best  exposed  field  for  tracing  the  relations  of  rocks  to 
one  another,  and  acquiring  enlarged  and  correct  apprehensions  of  the 
forms  under  which  they  were  originally  consolidated,  as  well  as  the  sub- 
sequent changes  they  have  in  many  instances  undergone.  The  variety  of 
the  rocky  materials  of  these  islands  is  indeed  great ;  and  the  deep  inden- 
tations of  the  sea,  and  the  extensive  ranges  of  precipices  all  round  the 
coasts,  enable  the  explorer  to  obtain  easy  and  satisfactory  access  to  them  ; 
while  the  narrowness  of  their  rocky  zones,  and  the  prolonged  courses  of 
some  of  the  beds  along  the  headlands  and  islets,  extending  out  into  the 
contiguous  ocean,  leave  us  at  no  loss  to  conclude  that  the  whole  group 
are  but  the  wrecks  or  small  remaining  portions  of  a  high  ridge  or  breast- 
work of  stone,  which  may  have  originally  extended  not  only  to  the 
adjoining  mainland  of  Scotland,  but  also,  in  all  probability,  to  the  opposite 
continent. 

In  the  preceding  remarks  we  have  noticed  the  positions  of  several  par- 
ticular rocks  and  minerals ;  and  it  now  only  remains  for  us  to  present  our 
readers  with  a  general  sketch  of  the  geology  of  the  whole  cluster  of  tin 
Zetland  Islands,  such  as  they  may  find  useful  in  directing  them  where  to 
seek  for  specimens  for  scientific  "collections,  or  the  examination  of  the 
country. 

The  central  ridges  of  the  south-eastern  portion  of  the  mainland,  ex- 
tending from  Fitfiel  Head  to  Hawksness,  and  composing  the  range  of  the 
Cliff  Hills,  consist  chiefly  of  primitive  clay  slate  (the  phyllade  of  the 
French),  with  a  few  quartz  and  hornblende  beds  amongst  it ;  but  with  the 
exception,  however,  of  a  small  belt  of  land,  stretching  from  Quendal  Bay 
in  a  north-westerly  direction  to  Spiggie  (a  district  about  five  miles  in 
length  by  one  in  breadth),  which  is  formed  of  a  sienite,  denominated  by 
Dr.  Hibbert,  from  the  prevalence  of  a  mineral  disseminated  through  if, 
epidotic  sienite.  To  this  clay  slate  deposit  succeeds,  on  the  eastern  side  of 
the  island,  a  series  of  blue  and  reddish  sandstones,  presenting  a  good  deal 
of  the  aspect  of  hard  unstratified  quartz  rock  in  their  lower  masses ;  but 
decidedly  arenaceous  and  mechanical  in  their  structure,  and  passing  into 
coarse  conglomerate  in  their  upper  beds.  Their  greatest  breadth  does  not 
exceed  two  miles,  and  they  extend  along  the  coast  from  Sumburgh 
Head  to  Bressay  Island,  a  distance  of  about  twenty-two  miles.  In  some 
of  the  sandstones,  intermixed  with  magnesian  earth,  a  few  copper  ores 
occur,  which  were  at  one  time  worked  for  the  sake  of  the  metal,  but  have 
since  been  neglected. 

Adjoining  the  Cliff  Hills  on  the  west,  a  few  beds  of  blue  granular  lime- 
stone stretch  along  the  coast  and  across  the  mainland,  by  Scalloway  and 
Tingwall,  which  are  succeeded  by  a  great  deposit  of  gneiss  rocks,  compos- 
ing the  districts  of  Whiteness,  Aithsting,  and  Delting ;  and  which,  cross- 
ing over  to  the  island  of  Whalsey,  forms  the  whole  of  it,  with  Mickle 
Skerry  and  the  Outskerries,  the  whole  of  the  island  of  Yell,  the  south-west 
side  of  Fetlar,  the  north-west  corner  of  Unst,  with  the  larger  islands  in 
the  bay  of  Scalloway. 

Fitfiel  Head  is  formed  of  clay  slate.  At  the  adjoining  headland  of 
Garthsness,  is  mica  slate,  of  which  the  peninsular  tract  of  Eswick  and 

*  In  our  introductory  remarks  on  the  resources  of  the  Highlands,  and  in  the 
preceding  Itinerary,  we  have  said  enough,  for  such  a  work  as  this,  on  the  fishes  of  the 
Shetland  seas ;  and  to  these  details  we  refer. 


PART  II.  NATURAL  HISTORY  OP  ZETLAND.  751 

Glitness,  (a  site  six  miles  long  by  two  broad,  lying  to  the  north  of  Hawks- 
ness),  and  some  of  the  rocks  about  Feideland,  on  the  north  point  of  the 
mainland,  are  also  composed. 

Roeuess  Hill  and  the  greater  part  of  the  adjoining  district  of  North 
Mavine  consist  of  a  hard  red  granite,  flanked  on  the  south-east  by  sieni- 
tic  greenstone,  both  being  closely  united  together  by  numerous  veins  and 
processes  proceeding  mutually  from  one  another.  If  from  the  adjoining 
island  of  Papa  Little,  as  an  apex,  two  diverging  lines  be  drawn,  one  in  a 
direction  S.  60°  W.  to  the  western  coast  of  the  parish  of  Sandness,  a  little 
north  of  the  village  of  Dale,  and  the  other  S.  32°  W.  to  the  head  of  Big- 
settervoe ;  and  thence  to  the  south-east  promontory  of  Vailey  Island,  be- 
longing to  the  parish  of  Sandsting,  these  lines  will  be  found  to  enclose  a 
large  wedge-shaped  deposit,  the  two  sides  of  which  are  about  thirteen  miles 
long,  and  the  greatest  breadth  about  seven  miles,  consisting  of  primary 
blue  quartz-rock,  of  a  hard  crystalline  texture  and  homogeneous  appear- 
ance ;  and  which,  instead  of  observing  the  usual  bearing  of  the  other  rocks 
from  S.  by  W.  to  N.  by  E.,  extends  in  a  transverse  direction  from  S.  60° 
E.  to  N.  60°  W.,  from  E.  to  W.  and  from  S.  70°  W.  to  N.  70°  E.  In 
some  places  the  quartz-rock  is  of  a  red  colour,  establishing  a  transition 
into  primary  sandstone. 

Between  Vailey  Island  and  Skelda  Ness,  the  western  promontory  of 
Scalloway  Bay,  another  wedge-shaped  formation  of  granite  is  seen,  which 
is  separated  from  the  great  central  gneiss  rocks  of  the  mainland  by  a  small 
belt  of  rocks  composed  of  epidotic  sienite,  similar  to  that  of  Dunrossness, 
and  probably  of  the  same  age  with  it,  as  their  former  connexion  with  one 
another  is  established  by  means  of  the  little  islands  of  Oxna,  Hildasay, 
and  the  Sandistura  Rocks,  which  are  all  composed  of  the  same  sort  of 
sienite.  ' 

We  have  already  alluded  to  the  serpentine  rocks  of  Fetlar  and  Unst, 
which  form  the  greater  portion  of  these  islands ;  and  we  may  here  add 
that  they  are  associated  with  large  masses  of  euphotide  or  diallage  rock, 
a  compound  of  felspar  and  hornblende,  modified  by  the  presence  of  mag- 
nesia, and  which  in  several  places  assumes  the  characters  of  Labrador 
hornblende,  of  hyperstene,  and  of  Schiller  spar. 

Lastly,  the  north-western  cliffs  of  the  parish  of  Sandness  in  the  main- 
land, with  the  distant  isle  of  Foula,  are  composed  of  sandstones  similar  to 
those  on  the  south-eastern  coast  at  Sumburgh  ;  and  on  them,  composing 
Papa  Stour,  and  the  outer  peninsula  of  North  Mavine,  lying  west  of  St. 
Magnus  Bay,  and  Roeness  Voe,  we  find  great  overlying  masses  of  secon- 
dary porphyry,  consisting  of  a  basis  of  compact  felspar,  chiefly  in  the  state 
of  claystone ;  but  presenting  all  the  usual  varieties  of  porphyritic,  amyg- 
daloidal,  and  conglomerate  or  tufaceous  claystone. 


ADDENDA  AND  ERRATA  AS  TO  THE  LEWS,  SECT.  vm. 

P.  6&).lFootnote. — The  two  principal  inns  in  Stornoway  are  "The  Lews"  and  "Com- 
mercial." In  the  interior  of  the  Island  there  are  as  yet  only  two  small 
inns,  one  at  Callernish,  on  Loch  Iloag,  and  one  at  Dalbeg,  half-way  from 
Callernish  to  Barvas. 

P.  650. — Mr.  Matheson,  we  understand,  is  only  a  second  son,  and  therefore  not  in  his 
own  person  the  head  of  the  clan  Matheson.  In  the  5th  line  from  the 
hottom,  for  "  isthmus,"  read  "  mountain  range." 


752  ADDENDA 

P.  651. — For  "  ornamental  plantations  around,"  read  "  trees  a£." 
P.  651. — Line  14  from  top,  for  "hill,"  read  "range." 
P.  652. — Line  5  from  bottom,  for  "  Honourable,"  read  "  Right  Honourable." 
P.  653. — At  line  18  from  the  bottom,  after  " building  stances,"  add  "in  Stornoway." 
P.  657. — In  line  12  from  bottom,  after  "Masonic  Lodge,"  read  "containing,"  &c. 
P.  658. — Line  11  from  top,  delete  the  words  "  and  completing." 
P.  658. — A  gentleman  who  visited  Stornoway  last  summer,  writes.as  follows  : — "  My 
impressions  of  Stornoway  are  favourable,  which  might  have  been  occa- 
sioned partly  perhaps  by  the  fine  weather.    A  cloudless  sky  and  effulgent 
sun  may  deck  barrenness  itself  with  some  attractions,  but  the  dry  and 
cleanly  aspect  of  the  town,  the  bustle  at  the  quay  and  beach,  the  adjoining 
fields  starting  into  verdure,  the  joyous  lark  carolling  .overhead,  and  the 
busy  husbandman  toiling  underneath,  imparted  pleasing  sensations,  and 
foreboded  a  coming  prosperity.    Then  there  was  the  adamantine  outline  of 
the  coast,  with  the  islets  and  bays,  over  and  amidst  which  towered  the  em- 
battled castle,  all  combining  to  form  a  picture  that  I  was  unprepared  for." 
P.  658. — Lowest  line,  for  "  Colonsay,"  read  "  Carloway." 
P.  659.  Footnote. — Last  line,  for  "  average,"  say  "  extent  of  surface."  ' 

SECT.   VI. 

P.  505.— For  the  inscription  at  Duirness,  read  "  Donald  Mack  Murshov." 


APPENDIX. 


DIRECTIONS  FOR  VISITING  THE  LOWLANDS 
OF  SCOTLAND 


DESCRIPTIVE    NOTICES. 


General  Object  of  the  Appendix;  List  of  Gnide-Books  for  the  Lowlands,  footnote,  1. 

I.  THE  TWEED  ;  THE  BOBDEB  COUNTRY  ;  THE  FOBEST  (SELKIRK  and  ETTRICK), 
and  CLYDESDALE— General  Features,  2. — Outline  of  Tour  to  these  Districts, 
3. — Edinburgh  to  Melrose .-  Dalkeith ;  Lasswade ; .  Hawthornden  and  Roslin, 
footnote ;  Borthwick  and  Crichton  Castles ;  Currie  Wood ;  The  Gala  Water, 
4.  —  Galashiels;  Bridge-end;  Darnick;  Skirmish  between  Buccleuch  and 
Angus,  5. — Melrose  Abbey,  6. — General  Character  of  the  Tweed,  7. — Old 
Melrose;  The  Cowdenknowes ;  Earlstoun,  8. — Dryburgh;  St.  Boswell's; 
Littledean  Tower;  Smailholme  Tower,  9. — Kelso  and  Abbey;  Roxburgh 
Castle ;  Fleurs ;  Home  Castle ;  Ednam  —  Kelso  to  Berwick :  Flodden  ; 
Hollywell  Haugh ;  Norham  Castle ;  Halidon  Hill ;  Berwick,  footnote,  10. — 
Kelso  to  Jedburgh:  Penielheugh;  Vale  of  the  Jed;  Bonjedward;  Jedburgh 
Abbey;  Ferniehirst,  II.— Jedburgh  to  Eawick:  Minto  House;  Monteviot; 
Denholm;  Battle  of  Ancrum  Moor,  12. — Hawick;  Branxholm;  Goldieland 
Tower;  Harden  Castle;  The  Cheviot  Hills;  Laugholm;  Gilnockie  Tower; 
The  Esk;  Netherby  Hall;  Longtown;  Liddesdale;  Hermitage  Castle — 
Hawick  to  Melrose :  Mangerton  Tower,  footnote,  13. — Melrose  to  AViotsford 
and  Selkirk:  Abbotsford,  14;  Selkirk;  Ettrick  Forest;  Philiphaugh;  Oak- 
wood  Tower;  Tushielaw;  Tliirlstane  Castle ;  Ettrick  Churchyard  and  Village, 
15.— Moffat  Wells— Moffat  to  Selkirk,  by  Yarrow:  Loch  Skene;  The  Grey 
Mare's  Tail,  16.— The  Covenanters;  St.  Mary's  Loch;  Henderland  Tower; 
Dryhope  Tower ;  The  Yarrow ;  Altrive ;  Mount  Benger ;  Blackhouse  Tower ; 
Upright  Stones  near  Manse  of  Yarrow;  Newark  Castle;  Sweet  Bowhill; 
Carterhaugh,  17. — Selkirk  to.  Peebles:  Ashiestiel;  Elibank  Tower;  Inver- 
leithen;  Traquair;  Horsburgh  Castle;  Border  Peels  along  the  Tweed; 
Peebles,  18. — Peebles  to  Lanark;  Nidpath  Castle;  Drnmmelzier;  Biggar; 
Carnwath ;  Cowdaily  Castle ;  Wilsontown  Iron-Works ;  Edinburgh  and  Glas- 


754  LINES  OF  RAILWAY.  APP. 

gow  Forks  of  Caledonian  Railway,  19. — Lanark ;  Falls  of  Clyde ;  Cartland 
Crags — Lanark  to  Hamilton :  Craignethan  Castle ;  Battle  of  Drumclog ;  Cad- 
zow  Castle ;  Wild  Cattle,  20.— Hamilton  Palace— Hamilton  to  Glasgow .-  Battle 
of  BothwellBrig;  Bothwell  Castle ;  Blantyre  Priory;  Butherglen;  Battle  of 
Langside,  21. 

II.  EDINBURGH  TO  GLASGOW  AND  AYR,  AND  THE  LAND  op  BURNS,  THE  COASTS 
OF  GALLOWAY  AND  DUMFRIES — Most  Striking  Points  on  Glasgow  Railway 
Line ;  Viaduct  over  the  Almond ;  Niddry  Castle,  22. — Linlithgow  Palace  and 
Church,  23. — Falkirk ;  Diverging  Railway  Lines,  24. — Country  from  Glasgow 
to  Ayr ;  Lochwinnoch  and  Kalbirnie  Loch ;  Crookston  Castle ;  Paisley ;  El- 
derslie ;  Branch  to  Kilmamock ;  Kilwinning ;  Ardrossan ;  Eglintoun  Castle, 
25. — Ayr ;  Burns'  Monument  and  Birthplace,  and  other  Localities  connected 
with  his  Name  and  Works,  26. — The  Carrick  Shore ;  Colzgan  and  Turnherry 
Castles;  Maybole  Parish,  27. — Coasts  of  Galloway .-  Dundrennan  Ahhey; 
Balcarry  Shore;  Colvend;  Sweetheart  Ahhey,  28. — Dumfries:  Lincluden 
Abbey ;  Caerlaverock  Castle ;  Lochmaben  and  Castle ;  Dumfriesshire,  29. 

III.  MAIN  RAILWAY  LINES  THROUGH  SCOTLAND. — (1.)  Berwick  to  Edinburgh: 
General  Features  of  the  Country ;  Spots  of  Interest ;  Battles  of  Preston- 
pans  and  Pinkie ;  Conference  at  Carberry  Hill,  30. — Dunbar  and  Castle ; 
Church ;  Works  on  the  Line ;  Holly  Hedges  at  Tyningham ;  Coldingham 
Priory ;  Fast  Castle,  31.— North  Berwick ;  Tantallan  Castle ;  The  Bass  Rock ; 
Haddington ;  Abbey,  32.— (2.)  Caledonian  Railway,  33.— (3.)  The  Edinburgh, 
Perth,  and  Dundee  Railway — Grange  House  ;  Kirkcaldy  ;  Falkland  Palace ; 
Wilkie's  Birth-Place,  34.— St.  Andrews ;  Cathedral;  Tower  and  Chapel  of  St. 
Regulus,  35. — Perth  Branch — Lindores  Abbey ;  Round  Tower  at  Abernethy  ; 
Moncrieffe  Hill,  36.— (4.)  The  Scottish  Central  Railway— General  Course,  37- 
The  adjoining  Scenery  of  the  Devon ;  Alva  Glen  ;  Dollar ;  Castle  Campbell ; 
The  Caldron  Linn ;  The  Rumbline  Bridge,  and  the  Devil's  Mill,  38.— Dun- 
fermline  ;  Malcolm's  Tower  ;  Aohev  Church  ;  Palace ;  Clackmannan  and 
AJloa  Towers,  39. — Bridge  of  Allan ;  kippenross  Sycamore  Tree ;  Dunblane ; 
Cathedral ;  Archbishop  Leighton's  Walk  and  Library ;  Battle  of  Sheriffmuir ; 
Forteviot ;  Tunnel  at  MoncriefFe  Hill,  40.— (5.)  The  Perth  and  Dundee , 
Dundee  and  Arbroath ;  Scottish  Midland  Junction,  and  Arbroath  and  Forfar 
Railways :  Carse  of  Gowrie  ;  Dundee ;  Glammis  Castle ;  Arbroath ;  Abbey 
of  Aberbrothock,  41.  —  (6.)  The  Aberdeen  Railway:  Montrose;  Brechin; 
Church  and  Round  Tower ;  Dunnotar  Castle,  42. 

1.  WITH  a  view  of  supplying  such  information  as  we  hope  may  suffice  to 
enable  the  tourist  to  make  his  way  to  the  more  interesting  portions  of  the 
Lowlands  of  Scotland,  we  have  been  induced  to  throw  together  a  concise 
epitome  of  the  routes  most  worthy  of  the  stranger's  attention,  with  brief 
sketches  of  the  railway  lines,  without  pretending  to  supersede  reference 
to  the  more  copious  descriptions  in  the  guide  books,  professedly  of  the 
whole  of  Scotland,  or  of  the  many  serviceable  local  treatises,  and  the 
railway  sheets  which  are  now  to  be  had  at  a  small  cost,*  and  without  at- 
tempting to  trace  out  all  the  lines  of  road  through  the  south  of  Scotland, 
but  leaving  necessarily  untouched,  several,  yet  not  many,  objects  of  inter- 
est and  places  of  importance. 

•  We  may  particularize  Black's  Tourist  of  Scotland,  and  Economical  Tourist  of 
Scotland ;  Black's  Guides  through  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow ;  the  Scottish  Tourist's 
Abbotslord  Tour  ;  Falls  of  Clyde  and  Western  Tour ;  and  the  Land  of  Burns'  Tour ; 
M'Phun's  Scottish  Laud  and  Steam-boat  Tourists'  Guides ;  Jeffrey's  Guide  to  the 
Border;  Sylvan's  Pictorial  Hand-book  to  the  Clyde  and  to  Land  of  Burns;  The 
Tourist's  Companion  through  Stirling,  &c. ;  Murray's  Hand-books  for  River  and 
Firth  of  Clyde,  Clydesdale  and  Hamilton  Palace,  Arran  and  Ailsa  Craig ;  Lizars' 
Guides  to  the  Railways  in  sheets ;  Murray's  Railway  Record ;  and  Bradshaw's  De- 
scriptive Guide  to  the  Caledonian  Railway. 


APP.  THE  TWEED  AND  THE  BORDERS.  755 

I.  THE  TWEED,  THE  BORDER  COUNTRY,  AND  CLYDESDALE. 

Mil.         Milei. 
Edinburgh  by  Bail  to  Gallowshall  Station  8 


Short  Branch  to  Dalkeith. 

Gorebridge        

4 

12 

Tynehead          

4 

16 

Fountainhall     

7 

23 

Stow          

4 

27 

Galashiels         

7 

34 

Melrose    

3 

37 

St.  Boswell's,  Newton      .... 

4 

41 

Kelso        ' 

10 

51 

Coldstream  from  Kelso      .... 

9 

Berwick    

14 

Hawick     

20 

71 

Langholm  from  Hawick 

23 

Longtown         

9 

Jedburgh,  about  two  miles  off  Hawick  Koad 

63 

Melrose     

16 

87 

Selkirk      

7 

94 

Moffat  by  Ettrick,  about 

36 

130 

Birkhill     

11 

141 

Gordon  Arms  Inn     

10 

151 

Selkirk      

13 

164 

Peebles     

21 

185 

Biggar       

15 

200 

Lanark     

12 

212 

Hamilton          

.        14* 

226| 

Glasgow           

.        10J 

237 

2.  Of  all  districts  south  of  the  Grampians,  there  is  no  difficulty  in 
selecting  for  pre-eminence  in  all  that  attracts  the  foot  of  the  tourist— the 
Tweed  and  Border  country,  with  the  adjoining  reaches  of  Clydesdale — 
scenery  the  richest  and  most  beautiful  that  cultivation  and  woodland, 
embellished  with  many  a  princely  structure,  watered  by  noble  rivers  and 
delightful  streams,  lined  with  gentle  slopes  and  swelling  hills  and  craggy 
heights,  and  passing  in  the  uplands  into  smiling  pastoral  vales  and  ver- 
dant hill  tracts,  can  present — is  combined  with  objects  of  antiquarian 
interest  innumerable  and  varied,  while  the  whole  region  is  intensely 
marked  with  historical  association,  and  much  of  it  is  familiarly  known 
by  name  in  Scottish  Song  and  Border  Story,  while  in  our  own  days  the 
Tweed,  the  Ettrick,  and  the  Yarrow,  are  sort  of  consecrated  names  to  all, 
for  of  the  magician  of  Abbotsford,  and  the  Ettrick  shepherd,  all  have 
heard.  The  splendid  ecclesiastical  fanes  of  Melrose,  Dryburgh,  Kelso, 
and  Jedburgh,  alone  are  worthy  of  a  pilgrimage.  But  in  addition  are 
scattered  all  over  the  country,  the  ruins  of  many  a  noble  stronghold  and 
sturdy  Border  peel,  each  with  its  tales  of  love  and  war.  The  whole  Bor- 
der and  contiguous  country  was  for  centuries  a  battle-field,  and  its  annals 
are  written  in  blood.  It  is  consequently  studded  over  with  fortalices,  and 
nowhere  in  our  country  is  the  happy  transition  from  strife  to  peace  more 
strongly  indicated  than  by  the  frequent  memorials  of  Border  chivalry  in 
contrast  with  the  waving  fields  and  quiet  pastures,  dotted  with  fleecy 
flocks  of  the  present  day. 


756  EDINBURGH  TO  MELROSE.  APP. 

The  lines  of  railway  from  Edinburgh  to  Melrose,  and  thence  to  Hawick, 
and  also  to  Kelso,  and  projected  to  Berwick ;  and  again  from  Edinburgh 
and  Glasgow  to  the  sources  of  the  Clyde,  have  rendered  all  the  districts 
in  question  of  peculiarly  easy  access. 

3.  We  will  suppose  the  tourist  at  Edinburgh,*  and  the  tour  we  would 
chalk  out  for  him  in  order  to  an  acquaintance  with  the  districts  in  ques- 
tion, is  by  railway  to  Galashiels,  Melrose,  and  Kslso  —  thence  to  Jed- 
burgh — from  Jedburgh   to  Hawick;    then  back  by  rail,  to   Melrose — 
thence  by  Abbotsford  to  Selkirk — from  Selkirk  up  the  Ettrick  as  far  as 
Moffat,  and  back  by  the  Loch  of  the  Lowes  and  St.  Mary's  Loch,  and 
down  the  Yarrow  to  Selkirk— from  Selkirk  by  Inverleithen  to  Peebles — 
from  Peebles  by  Carnwath  or  Biggar  to  Lanark  and  the  Falls  of  Clyde, 
Hamilton,  Bothwell  Castle,  and  Glasgow.    The  detour  by  Jedburgh  and 
Hawick,  and  again  along  the  Ettrick  and  Yarrow,  can  be  omitted ;  while, 
on  the  other  hand  again,  the  tour  can  be  prolonged  by  a  run  from  Kelso 
to  Berwick,  or  from  Hawick  to  Langholm  and  Longtown  by  Branxholm, 
and  back  by  Liddesdale. 

EDINBURGH  TO   MELROSE. 

4.  The  Edinburgh  and  Hawick  railway  diverges  from  the  east  coast 
line  at  Portobello.     On  the  way  to  Dalkeith,f  where  is  Dalkeith  Palace, 
the  heavy-looking  seat  of  the  Duke  of  Buccleuch,  we  pass  the  ruins  of 
Craigmillar  Castle,  frequently  used  as  a  royal  residence,  particularly  by 
James  V.  and  Queen  Mary. 

Beyond  Dalkeith,  pass  Newbattle  Abbey,  a  seat  of  the  Marquis  of 
Lothian  ;  and  Dalhousie,  the  seat  of  the  Earl  of  Dalhousie.  Near  Gore- 
bridge  station,  Arniston  House,  the  seat  of  the  family  of  Dundas  of 
Arniston,  of  judicial  eminence.  Beyond  Fushie  Bridge  station,  we  pass 
the  ruins  of  the  old  Castle  of  Catcune,  and  of  Borthwick  Castle,  the 
largest  and  finest  specimen  of  the  square  tower  style  of  Scottish  castles. 
Here  Queen  Mary  and  Bothwell  sojourned  for  a  brief  space  after  their 
marriage,  and  from  hence  she  had  to  flee  in  the  disguise  of  a  page,  and 
shortly  after  the  conference  at  Carberry  Hill  sealed  her  ill-starred  destiny. 
Borthwick  Manse  was  the  birth-place  of  Dr.  Robertson  the  historian. 

*  We  cannot,  in  our  limited  space,  attempt  any  description  of  Edinburgh  and 
Glasgow,  and  must  refer  the  reader  to  Black's  Guides  to  these  cities. 

+  From  Dalkeith  may  be  visited  the  wooded  rock-girt  Hawthornden,  and  the 
architectural  bijou  Roslln  chapel.  But  a  better  way  is  to  take  the  coach  from 
10  Princes  Street  to  Lasswade.  distinguished  for  its  paper  works  and  velvet  carpet 
manufactories.  Admission  to  Hawthornden  grounds  is  restricted  to  the  south  side 
of  the  Esk,  and  that  only  on  Wednesdays,  and  the  egress  is  at  Roslin.  Any  convey- 
ance has  then  to  be  sent  round  by  Lasswade  to  Roslin  to  meet  its  freight  there,  or 
the  visitor,  by  a  walk  from  Roslin  to  Loanhead,  can  meet  the  Lasswade  coach  on  its 
return.  Below  the  chapel  Roslin  Castle  forms  a  fine  ruin.  On  Rosslyn  moor,  a  cele- 
brated battle  was  fought  on  24th  February  1302,  when  the  Regent  Comyn  and  Sir 
Simon  Fraser  on  the  same  day  routed  three  divisions  of  the  English  army.  Near 
Lasswade  is  Melville  Castle,  the  seat  of  Viscount  Melville. 


APP.  MELROSE  ABBET.  757 

A  short  way  north-east  of  Borthwick,  stands  the  noble  ruin  of  Crich- 
ton  Castle,  12J  miles  from  Edinburgh,  admirably  described  in  Marmion. 
In  its  descent  to  the  Tweed,  the  railway  repeatedly  crosses  and  recrosses 
the  Gala  Water. 

5.  Galashiels  and  Hawick  are  now  the  most  important  woollen  manu- 
facturing towns  in  the  south  of  Scotland ;  the  former,  in  particular, 
distinguished  for  its  fine  fabric  called  Tweeds. 

Following  the  line  to  the  eastward,  we  find  it  cross  the  Tweed  at 
Bridgend,  and  passing  the  village  and  ruined  tower  of  Darnick,  we  soon 
reach  Melrose,  at  the  foot  of  the  "  triple-capped  "  Eildon  Hills,  36  miles 
from  Edinburgh,  14  from  Kelso,  and  12  from  Jedburgh. 

Close  by  Bridgend,  the  Tweed  is  joined  from  the  south  by  the  Allan 
water,  famed  in  Scottish  Song,  and  now  as  the  Glendearg  of  the  Monas- 
tery. Between  Bridgend  and  Darnick,  Buccleuch  intercepted  Archi- 
bald, Earl  of  Douglas  and  Angus,  returning  with  the  youthful  James  "V. 
from  an  expedition  in  1528  against  the  Armstrongs,  and  endeavoured  to 
rescue  him  from  the  Earl's  power,  but  was  defeated,  the  followers  of  Lords 
Home  and  Ker  having  come  up  and  reinforced  the  royal  forces. 

6.  MELROSE  ABBEY 

of  St.  Mary's,  is  altogether  the  finest  specimen  of  middle-pointed,  or  in- 
deed any  age  of  architecture,  which  Scotland  has  produced.  It  was  built 
by  David  I.  The  monks  were  of  the  Cistertian  order.  The  choir  and 
transepts  are  smaller,  but  the  nave  larger  than  those  of  Dryburgh  and 
Jedburgh.  Melrose  and  the  neighbouring  religious  structures  did  not 
escape  from  their  share  of  the  rapine  and  violence  which  so  often  devas- 
tated all  around,  when  marauding  inroads  and  reprisals  formed  the  great 
business  of  the  Border — Scotch  and  English.  Sir  Walter's  gorgeous 
imagery  has  cast  into  the  shade  the  earlier  history  of  Melrose,  when,  bor- 
rowing the  pure  light  of  truth  from  lona,  it  served  to  reflect  it  on  the 
adjoining  English  provinces.  The  original  shrine  stood  on  a  different 
site  from  the  present  edifice.  Considerable  portions  of  the  buttressed 
walls  of  Melrose  Abbey  are  standing,  and  still  form  a  most  beautiful 
edifice :  all  parts  are  richly  figured  with  exquisite  tracery,  and  statuary 
distinguished  for  expressiveness,  the  chiselling  and  sculpturing  being 
to  this  day  quite  fresh  and  sharp.  Alexander  II.  is  buried  at  Melrose ; 
and  the  wizard  Michael  Scott,  to  open  whose  tomb  at  dead  of  night  came 
William  of  Deloraine.  Many,  also,  of  the  great  family  of  Douglas  are 
interred  here ;  and  here  also  is  entombed  the  heart  of  Robert  the  Bruce. 

7.  The  scenery  between  Melrose  and  Kelso  is  exceedingly  beautiful. 
Generally  the  whole  valley  of  the  Tweed  is  open,  and  the  bordering  ver- 
dant hills  rounded  into  smooth  summits.  The  ranges  are  of  some  eleva- 
tion, sloping  gradually  from  the  haugh  grounds  along  the  river.  At 
times  they  hem  in  the  latter  more  closely,  and  rise  more  suddenly,  but 
are  not  much  broken  by  rocky  faces  or  precipitous  acclivities  ;  frequently 
intersected,  however,  by  lateral  winding  hollows  or  hopes  as  they  are 


758  DRYBURGH.  APP. 

styled,  each  with  its  tributary  rivulet.  The  channel  of  the  river  is  but 
little  depressed,  and  it  flows  limpid  and  steadily  over  its  pebbly  bed. 
Mingled  rich  wood,  corn,  and  pasture  land,  gladden  the  eye  and  engage 
the  attention,  more  by  the  general  tone  and  complexion,  so  to  speak  (ex- 
cept for  some  miles  below  Melrose,  where  the  Eildon  and  other  eminences 
diversify  the  general  character),  and  by  individual  accessories  and  em- 
bellishments, than  by  form  and  feature  in  the  extended  landscape.  In 
the  latter  part  of  the  course  of  the  Tweed,  the  country  beyond  its  banks 
assumes  a  fine  champaign  character. 

8.  At  Old  Melrose,  there  was  a  Culdee  establishment  (afterwards 
removed  to  Coldingham),  said  to  have  been  founded  by  Aidan,  a  monk  of 
lona,  who  had  been  selected,  on  the  application  of  Oswald  King  of 
Northumbria,  for  the  work  of  evangelising  his  subjects,  and  who  took  up 
his  episcopal  residence  at  Lindisfarne  about  the  year  635. 

The  Tweed  is  joined  on  the  opposite  side  by  the  Leader,  issuing  from 
a  beautiful  wooded  vale.  On  this,  the  North  Road,  though  longer,  to 
Dryburgh,  some  of  the  finest  views  are  to  be  obtained. 

On  the  east  bank  of  the  Leader,  and  about  a  mile  and  a-half  from 
where  it  joins  the  Tweed,  is  Cowdenlenowes,  a  name  well  known  to  every 
lover  of  Scottish  song ;  and,  a  mile  further  up  the  Leader,  the  village  of 
Earlstoun,  or  Ercildoune,  close  by  which  are  the  remains  of  the  tower  in 
which  lived  the  famous  "  Thomas  the  Rhymer"  author  of  the  metrical  ro- 
mance of  "  Sir  Tristrem,"  and  reputed  utterer  of  many  popular  prophecies. 

9.  DRYBURGH 

is  situated  on  the  haugh  land  on  the  north  side,  about  four  miles  from 
Melrose,  contiguous  to  the  mansion  of  the  Buchan  family,  and  completely 
embosomed  amid  rich  foliage.  Of  the  Abbey,  except  some  of  the  terminal 
walls,  little  remains,  but  forming  altogether  a  highly  picturesque  group, 

"  Where  Bain  greenly  dwells." 

Dryburgh  was  also  founded  by  the  pious  King  David  in  1150.  A  height- 
ened interest  now  attaches  to  Dryburgh,  as  the  last  resting-place  of  the 
remains  of  Sir  Walter  Scott 

Returning  to  the  public  road,  about  four  miles  from  Melrose  is  the  vil- 
lage of  St.  Boswells,  or  Lessnden,  where  the  principal  cattle  and  sheep  fair 
in  the  south  of  Scotland  is  held  on  the  18th  of  July.  This  village,  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  contained  sixteen  strong  bastel,  or  fortified  houses — a 
curious  exemplification  of  the  then  disturbed  state  of  this  part  of  Scot- 
land. 

Littledean  Tower,  somewhat  more  than  two  miles  below  St.  Boswells, 
was  the  residence  of  a  family  of  the  Kerrs. 

Several  beautiful  residences  come  in  sight  in  our  progress;  but  the 
tourist  will  be  most  interested  to  know  that,  -within  about  four  miles  of 
Kelso,  a  view  is  obtained  of  the  Tower  of  Smailholme,  or  Sandy  Knowe 
Tower,  about  two  miles  north  of  the  river,  in  the  close  vicinity  of  which 


APP.  KELSO.  759 

Sir  Walter  resided  in  his  childhood  with  his  paternal  grandmother,  and 
imbibed  in  great  measure  the  impressions  which  aroused  and  gave  a  bias 
to  his  genius.  It  is  described  in  the  "  Eve  of  St.  John." 

KELSO. 

10.  Kelso,  a  handsome  town,  situated  on  the  north  margin  of  the  Tweed, 
with  the  remains  of  the  ancient  castle  of  Roxburgh,  the  Marche  dun,  as 
it  was  called — on  a  low  eminence,  near  the  junction  of  the  Tweed  and 
Teviot,  above  the  town,  and  on  the  further  side  of  the  river,  and  opposite, 
the  splendid  ducal  palace  and  rich  woods  of  Fleurs — combine  to  form 
pictures  of  the  most  exquisite  beauty.  Roxburgh  Castle  was  a  principal 
residence  of  the  kings  of  Scotland,  but  little  of  it  now  remains.  The  most 
prominent  object  in  the  town  is  the  Abbey,  a  tall  massive  structure,  one 
of  the  most  ancient  edifices  in  the  kingdom.  The  style  is  purest  Saxon, 
but  the  arches  which  support  the  tower  are  Early  English  Gothic.  Of  the 
choir,  only  two  arches,  with  the  superstructure,  remain.  James  III.  was 
crowned  in  Kelso  Abbey  in  1460,  in  the  seventh  year  of  his  age.  A  holly 
tree,  opposite  Koxburgh  Castle,  marks  the  spot  where  his  father,  James 
II.,  was  killed,  during  the  siege  of  the  castle,  by  the  bursting  of  a  cannon. 

About  five  miles  north  of  Kelso  are  the  ruins  of  Home  Castle,  once  an 
important  Border  fortress,  and  two  miles  north-east  of  Kelso  is  the  village 
of  Ednam,  the  birth-place  of  the  author  of  "  The  Seasons,"*  to  whom  a 
conspicuous  monument  has  been  erected  on  a  rising  ground  at  about  a 
mile's  distance  from  Ednam. 

11.   FROM  KELSO  TO  JEDBUKGH. 

The  road  to  Jedburgh  and  Hawick,  which  latter  is  20  miles  from 
Kelso,  ascends  the  course  of  the  Teviot,  but  Jedburgh  lies  about  a  couple 
of  miles  up  the  river  Jed.  which  falls  into  the  Teviot  from  the  south. 

*   KELSO  TO  BERWICK. 

The  principal  objects  of  interest  on  the  way  to  Berwick,  twenty-three  miles 
distant  from  Kelso,  are  the  following :— The  ruins  of  Wark  Castle,  about  six  miles 
from  Kelso,  of  which  frequent  mention  is  made  in  the  wars  between  the  two  king- 
doms. About  thirteen  miles  from  Kelso,  and  four  below  Coldstream,  the  old  bridge 
by  which  the  English  crossed  the  Till  before  the  battle  of  Flodden,  of  which  the 
fatal  field  lies  on  the  English  side  of  the  Border,  between  the  Till  and  Norham  Castle. 
The  ruins  of  Norham  Castle,  immortalised  in  the  pages  of  Marmion,  overhang  the 
Tweed  about  seven  miles  above  Berwick.  Above  it  is  Holywell  Haugh,  where  Ed- 
ward I.  met  the  Scottish  nobility,  who  had  referred  to  his  arbitration  the  claims  of 
the  different  competitors  to  the  crown,  on  the  death  of  Alexander  III.,  and  where  he 
first  advanced  his  pretensions  as  Lord  Paramount,  which  led  to  so  protracted  and 
desolating  wars.  Here,  at  the  ford  of  Ladykirk,  the  English  and  Scottish  armies 
used  chiefly  to  cross  before  the  bridge  of  Berwick  was  erected.  About  five  miles 
above  Berwick  is  the  Union  Chain  Bridge,  designed  by  Captain  Brown,  and  erected 
in  1830 — the  first  suspension  bridge  in  Great  Britain  fitted  for  loaded  carriages. 
Before  entering  Berwick,  which  is  fortified  by  a  rampart  and  double  walls,  with  live 
bastions,  we  pass  Halidon  Hill,  the  scene  ot  a  battle,  1333,  in  which  the  Scots  were 
defeated. 


760  JEDBURGH  ABBEY.  APP. 

Teviotdale  is  eminently  beautiful,  and  particularly  picturesque  where  the 
Cayle  joins  the  Teviot.  A  monument,  in  commemoration  of  Waterloo, 
has  been  erected  on  the  top  of  Penielheugh,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
Teviot,  at  the  confluence  of  the  Jed,  from  which  the  view  of  Merse,  Teviot- 
dale, and  Tweeddale,  with  their  numerous  abbeys,  castles,  and  towns,  is 
very  beautiful,  and  extends  to  Berwick  and  the  German  Ocean. 

The  vale  of  the  Jed,  rendered  classic  ground  by  the  pen  of  Thomson, 
is  more  confined,  but  its  serpentine  windings  present  a  great  variety  of 
beautiful  landscape.  Shortly  after  crossing  the  Jed,  we  pass  Bonjedward 
where  there  was  a  Roman  station,  and  celebrated  in  the  ballad  of  Reds- 
wire— a  Border  conflict  in  1575,  in  which  Sir  George  Heron  was  killed, 
and  Sir  John  Foster,  warden  of  the  marches,  and  others,  made  prisoners. 
Jedburgh  is  delightfully  situated  amid  a  profusion  of  trees  and  garden 
and  orchard  ground.  The  town  retains  an  antique  air  in  many  of  its 
houses.  No  traces  remain  of  its  once  important  castle.  The  abbey  is  a 
magnificent  Saxo-Gothic  pile.  The  south  transept  is  almost  entirely 
gone,  as  also  the  whole  of  the  aisles  and  portions  of  the  choir.  There  are 
two  tiers  of  arches — those  in  the  second  tier  subdivided  by  central  shafts, 
and  above  these  a  third  storey — in  the  nave,  four  lancet  windows  above 
each  set  of  arches,  forming  the  upper  corridor  into  an  elegant  arcade. 
The  nave,  in  being  converted  into  a  parish  church,  has  been  shockingly 
defaced.  There  is  a  door  of  Saxon  architecture  in  the  south  wall,  unri- 
valled in  Scotland  for  elegance  of  workmanship,  and  symmetry  of  pro- 
portions. The  tower,  crowned  with  turrets  and  pinnacles,  is  about  120 
feet  high,  and  the  view  from  the  top  is  quite  magnificent.  The  proportions 
of  this  fine  edifice  are  considered  peculiarly  pure.  Jedburgh  Abbey  was 
enlarged,  or  perhaps  rebuilt  by  David  I.,  and  appropriated  to  Canons 
Regular  of  the  order  of  St.  Austin. 

The  burghers  of  Jedburgh  often  signalized  their  warlike  propensities, 
and  the  shoemakers  carefully  preserve  an  English  penon,  a  trophy  of 
their  prowess  at  Bannockburn. 

The  ruins  of  Ferniehirst,  the  ancient  seat  of  the  Kerrs,  lie  a  short  dis- 
tance from  the  town.  Beside  it  there  is  a  well-known  oak  tree  of  great 
size,  called  the  "  Capon  Tree,"  and  about  a  mile  from  the  castle,  another, 
called  the  "  King  of  the  Wood."  The  impervious  forest  of  Jed  was  the 
scene  of  many  of  the  most  gallant  exploits  of  the  Douglas. 

JEDBURGH    TO    HAWICK. 

12.  Numerous  mansions  occupy  the  Vale  of  Teviot  to  Hawick,  a  dis- 
tance of  about  ten  miles,  of  which  the  principal  is  Minto  House,  the  seat 
of  the  Earl  of  Minto,  and  the  scenery  along  the  river  is  diversified  by 
Minto  Crags,  rising  from  the  bed  of  the  Teviot  The  village  of  Denholm, 
nearly  opposite  Minto  House,  was  the  birth-place  of  Dr.  John  Leyden. 
From  Penielheugh,  at  the  base  of  which  is  Monteviot,  the  residence  of  the 
Marquis  of  Lothian,  and  to  the  west,  Ancrum  House,  the  seat  of  Sir  Wil- 


APP.  HAWICK.  761 

Ham  Scott,  we  may  look  down  upon  Ancrum  Moor  or  Lilliard's  Edge, 
where,  in  1545,  a  victory  was  obtained  over  the  English  by  the  Earl  of 
Angus — 

"  Where  fierce  Latour  and  savage  Evers  fell," 
and 

"  Where  Scott  and  Douglas  led  the  Border  spear." 

The  spot  is  marked  by  a  monument  to  the  fair  maiden  Lilliard,  who  fell 
here  fighting  on  the  side  of  the  Scots. 

13.  HAWICK, 

on  the  right  bank  of  the  Slittrig,  hemmed  in  by  hilly  ground  on  all 
sides,  is  sweetly  situated.  The  town  is  singularly  deficient  in  public 
buildings,  but  carries  on  extensive  woollen  manufactures.  Within  three 
miles  is 

BRANXHOLM  CASTLE, 

formerly  a  place  of  great  extent  and  strength,  and  at  one  time  the  residence 
of  the  Scotts  of  Buccleuch,  now  occupied  by  the  Duke's  chamberlains.* 

HAWICK   TO   MELROSE. 

The  line  of  railway  to  Melrose  (16  miles)  passes  through  some  pretty 
dean  scenery — that  is,  small  dells  or  ravines,  watered  by  rivulets — and  to 
the  west  of  the  Minto  Crags,  and  of  Minto  House,  and  of  Ancrum  Moor,  and 

*  Nearer  Hawick,  and  opposite  the  junction  of  the  Borthwick  with  the  Teviot, 
stands  Goldielands  Tower,  and  in  the  narrow  valley  formed  by  the  Borthwick,  Harden 
Castle,  another  of  the  old  Border  strengths,  and  which  both  belonged  to  members  of 
the  clan  Scott. 

HAWICK  TO  LANGHOLM  AND   LONGTOWN. 

The  continuation  of  the  same  line  of  road  (the  usual  Carlisle  and  Edinburgh  coach 
road),  through  the  Cheviot  Hills  to  Langholm,  a  distance  of  23  miles  from  Hawick, 
presents  little  of  interest.  The  whole  of  this,  as  of  the  adjoining  pastoral  districts, 
exhibits  a  continued  series  of  smooth,  green,  rounded  eminences  appropriated  to 
sheep.  Langholm  is  very  beautifully  situated.  About  three  miles  below  Langholm 
is  Gilnoclcie  Tower,  which  belonged,  to  the  famous  Johnnie  Armstrong,  who  was 
treacherously  hanged  by  James  V.  At  the  small  village  of  Canobie,  the  scenery  is 
also  beautiful,  and  the  winding  stream  of  the  Esk  to  Longtown,  nine  miles  from 
Langholm,  presents  a  succession  of  very  pleasing  landscapes.  Three  miles  before 
reaching  Longtown,  where  English  ground  commences,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
Esk,  is  Netherby  Hall,  the  fine  seat  of  Sir  James  Graham.  The  route  from  Hawick 
to  Langholm,  by  Liddesdale,  possesses  more  of  interest  for  the  pedestrian  or  horse- 
man than  that  by  Branxholm.  Liddesdale  is  made  frequent  mention  of  in  the 
Minstrelsy  of  the  Scottish  Border,  and  is  also  distinguished  as  the  scene  of  Dandie 
Dinmont's  home.  Far  the  most  interesting  object  in  Liddesdale  is  Hermitage  Castle, 
which  was  one  of  the  strongest  of  the  Border  fortresses.  It  was  built  by  Lord  de 
Soulis  in  1243,  and  afterwards  became  the  stronghold  of  the  great  family  of  Douglas. 
It  now  belongs  to  the  Duke  of  Buccleuch,  and  is  kept  in  good  preservation.  Near 
Ettleton  Church  are  the  remains  of  the  Castle  of  Jock  o'  the  Stile,  and  farther  down 
the  ruins  of  Mangerton  Tower,  a  stronghold  of  the  Armstrongs. 

Longtown  is  within  a  very  short  distance  of  Gretna  Green,  which  everybody  has 
heard  of. 

2K2 


762  SELKIRK.  APP. 

crosses  the  Ale  Water,  which  is  overhung  by  rugged  and  partially  wooded 
rocks. 

MELROSE  TO  ABBOTSFORD  AND   SELKIRK. 

14.  Abbotsford  is  about  2£  miles  from  Melrose.  The  house,  a  pet 
creation  of  Sir  Walter's,  was  designated  by  himself  "  a  romance  in  stone 
and  lime,"  being  a  congeries  "  borrowing  outlines  and  ornaments  from 
every  part  of  Scotland."  The  grounds  and  plantations  have  also  been 
fashioned  by  the  same  great  hand,  of  which  it  may  well  be  said — 

"  Nihil  tetigit  quod  non  ornavit." 

A  large  collection  of  rare  and  curious  antiquities,  and  many  costly  and 
interesting  articles  presented  to  the  late  owner  by  persons  of  rank  and 
note,  and  the  valuable  library,  also  contained  in  a  magnificent  room  50 
feet  by  60,  and  comprising  about  20,000  volumes,  will  gratify  the  visitor. 
But  the  most  affecting  objects  are  the  body  clothes  of  the  gifted  dead, 
worn  by  him  previous  to  his  decease,  and  the  closet  or  study  in  which  he 
used  to  forge  his  glowing  conceptions.  The  library,  museum,  plate,  and 
furniture,  were  presented  to  Sir  Walter  as  a  free  gift  by  his  creditors,  and 
have  been  entailed  as  an  heirloom  in  the  family.  Abbotsford  is  open  to 
the  public  on  Wednesdays  and  Fridays,  from  2  till  5. 

15.  SELKIRK 

lies  about  three  miles  up,  and  on  the  east  side  of  the  Ettrick,  and  about 
four  miles  from  Abbotsford. 

Selkirk  and  Peebles,  being  out-of-the-way  burghs,  retain  a  good  deal 
of  the  air  of  old  Scottish  towns.  In  the  triangular  market-place  of 
Selkirk,  there  is  a  fine  monument  and  statue  of  Sir  Walter  Scott  The 
citizens  of  Selkirk  distinguished  themselves  at  the  battle  of  Flodden,  and 
the  loss  sustained  by  them  gave  rise  to  the  beautiful  ballad  of  "  The 
Flowers  of  the  Forest ;"  and  a  standard  taken  by  them  is  still  in  pos- 
session of  the  Corporation  of  Weavers. 

ETTRICK  FOREST. 

The  field  of  Philiphaugh,  where  Montrose  was  surprised  by  General 
Leslie,  and  lost  all  the  fruits  of  his  previous  victories,  lies  on  the  opposite 
side,  below  the  junction  of  the  Ettrick  and  Yarrow.  These  two  streams 
run  nearly  parallel,  with  an  intervening  ridge  of  hills,  till  they  almost 
meet  near  Moffat  Water,  which  flows  in  an  opposite  direction  into  the 
Annan  river.  The  whole  of  Ettrick  is  now  one  extensive  sheep-walk. 
Advancing  up  the  Ettrick,  we  pass,  in  succession,  Oakwood  Tower — said 
to  have  been  the  residence  of  the  wizard  Michael  Scott — and,  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  glen,  Tushielaw,  the  fortress  of  the  famous  Adam  Scott — called 
"  The  King  of  the  Border" — who  was  hung  on  an  ash  tree  beside  his  own 
gate  (still  to  the  fore,  and  called  the  Gallows  Tree)  by  James  V.  In  this 
memorable  expedition,  in  1528,  the  king  was  accompanied  by  about 


APP.  MOFFAT.  763 

12,000  men,  whom  noblemen  and  gentlemen,  especially  of  the  Highlands, 
assembled  in  obedience  to  his  proclamation,  "  to  danton  the  thieves  of 
Teviotdale,  Annandale,  Liddesdale,  and  others."  A  road  leads  from 
Tushielaw  to  the  Yarrow,  below  St.  Mary's  Lake.  Near  Tushielaw  there 
is  a  comfortable  inn,  and  thereafter  we  reach  the  ruins  of  Thirlstane 
Castle,  and  the  modern  mansion  of  Lord  Napier.  In  the  churchyard  of 
Ettrick,  still  further  up,  there  is  a  monument  to  the  well-known  Eev. 
Thomas  Boston,  author  of  "  The  Fourfold  State ;"  and  one  of  the  few 
houses  in  the  village  was  the  birth-place  of  Hogg  the  Ettrick  Shepherd. 
The  road  we  are  now  pursuing  joins  that  up  the  Yarrow,  at  the  farm  of 
Bodsbeck,  in  Moffatdale,  which  has  given  a  name  to  one  of  Hogg's  tales. 

MOFFAT. 

1C.  Descending  Moft'atdale,  we  soon  reach  the  fashionable  watering- 
place  of  Moffat,  which  is  about  35  miles  from  Selkirk,  and  within  two 
miles  of  the  Beatock  Station,  on  the  Caledonian  Railway,  which  is  60£ 
miles  from  Edinburgh,  and  39J  from  Carlisle — Edinburgh,  by  road,  being 
distant  from  Moffat  51  miles,  and  Dumfries  21.  It  is  pleasantly  situated 
in  the  upper  vale  of  Annan.  In  the  immediate  vicinity  are  the  highest 
hills  south  of  the  Forth,  affording  a  great  variety  of  blended  Highland  and 
Lowland  scenery.  The  views  from  Hartfell  and  the  white  Coomb  of  Pol- 
moody  are  most  commanding.  There  are  mineral  baths,  a  bowling  green, 
and  promenade,  attached  to  the  pump-room,  and  there  are  both  sulphur- 
ated hydrogen  and  chalybeate  wells. 

MOFFAT  TO  SELKIRK  BY  YARROW. 

Keascending  now  the  Moffat  Water,  and  deflecting  from  the  Yarrow 
road,  a  few  miles  up  a  small  glen,  to  the  north,  about  nine  or  ten  miles  from 
Moffat,  it  will  be  found  to  issue  from  the  dark  Loch  Skene,  a  sequestered 
and  desolate  spot ;  about  a  mile  below  which  the  stream  forms  a  mag- 
nificent waterfall,  called  "  The  Gray  Mare's  Tail,"  falling  into  a  wild 
gully,  and  computed  to  be  about  300  feet  in  height,  and  certainly  one  of 
the  most  striking  natural  objects  in  the  south  of  Scotland.  It  is  well 
worthy  of  a  visit  from  the  vicinity  of  Moffat. 

17.  Opposite  the  door  of  Birkhill,  a  small  house  eleven  miles  from 
Moffat,  at  the  highest  part  of  the  road  between  Moffatdale  and  Yarrow, 
four  Covenanters  were  shot  by  Claverhouse,  and  the  adjoining  district 
witnessed  many  of  the  sufferings  of  the  persecuted  remnant.  On  the 
"  Watch  Hill,"  opposite  Birkhill,  they  had  always  an  outlook,  and  a  cave 
at  Dobb's  Linn,  below,  was  a  favourite  place  of  retreat.  The  small  loch 
of  the  Lowes  is  next  reached,  with  Chapelhope  at  the  head,  a  name  met 
with  in  the  history  of  the  Covenanters,  and  the  scene  of  the  tale  of  the 
Brownie  of  Bodsbeck.  St.  Mary's  Loch  succeeds,  on  which 

"  The  swan 

Floats  double — swan  and  shadow." 

In  the  Vale  of  Meggat,  on  the  north,  are  the  ruins  of  Henderland,  the 


764  YARROW.  AIT. 

residence  of  another  Border  freebooter  of  the  name  of  Cockburn,  who  was 
also  hung  over  his  own  gate  by  James  V.  "  The  Lament  of  the  Border 
Widow,"  a  truly  pathetic  ballad,  has  reference  to  this  occurrence.  At  the 
east  end  of  the  loch  is  Dryhope  Tower,  the  birth-place  of  Mary  Scott 
"  The  Flower  of  Yarrow;"  and  about  a  mile  to  the  west,  by  the  loch  side, 
the  cemetery  of  St.  Mary's  Chapel,  east  of  which  is  the  grave  of  the  sacri- 
legious John  Birnam,  a  priest  of  the  chaplainry — 

"  That  wizard  priest  whose  bones  are  thrust 
From  company  of  holy  dust. 

The  Yarrow,  which  flows  from  St.  Mary's  Loch,  though  the  theme  of 
many  a  poem  and  song,  is  perhaps  most  familiarly  known  by  Hamilton 
of  Bangour's  song — 

"  Busk  ye,  busk  ye,  my  bonny  bonny  bride." 

South  of  the  east  end  of  the  loch  is  Altrive,  the  last  residence  and  scene 
of  the  death  of  the  Ettrick  Shepherd,  and  to  which  a  road  leads  from  the 
Gordon  Arms  Inn,  about  thirteen  miles  from  Selkirk.  Again,  three  miles 
below  the  lake,  is  Mount  Benger,  at  one  time  also  occupied  by  him.  A 
wild  glen  on  the  Douglas  Water,  to  the  north,  is  said  to  be  the  scene  of 
the  "  Douglas  Tragedy,"  and  belonged  to  the  Douglasses  so  early  as  the 
reign  of  Malcolm  Caenmore,  and  of  whose  very  old  peel-house,  Blackhouse 
Tower,  there  are  still  some  remains.  Near  the  church  and  manse  of  Tar- 
row,  three  miles  below  Mount  Benger,  two  huge  masses  of  upright  stone 
are  said  to  commemorate  one  of  the  tragic  Border  duels,  but  which  is 
matter  of  dispute.  It  forms  the  subject  of  the  old  song  of  the  "  Dowie 
Dens  of  Yarrow,"  and  of  a  modern  ballad  of  Hogg's,  and  it  is  also  com- 
memorated in  Wordsworth's  Poems  on  Yarrow.  This  or  other  early 
tragedy  seems  to  have  given  a  key-note  of  plaintiveness  to  the  muse  of 
each  succeeding  poet  who  has  made  the  Yarrow  a  theme  of  lofty  rhyme. 
An  air  of  plaintive  sadness,  it  is  fancied,  also  accompanies  the  stillness 
and  silence  of  the  upper  vale  of  Yarrow — the  result  we  take  it  of  associa- 
tion rather  than  of  any  pecnliarity  from  other  sequestered  pastoral  scene*. 
By  and  by  the  glen  begins  to  merge  its  pastoral  in  a  wooded  charac- 
ter, and  four  miles  below  the  church  are  the  ruins  of  Newark  Castle ;  and 
previously  on  the  way,  near  the  village  of  Yarrowford,  the  ruins  of 
Hangingshaw  Castle,  the  scene  of  the  song  of  "  The  Outlaw  Murray." 

Newark,  a  hunting-seat  built  by  James  II.,  and  now  belonging  to  the 
Buccleuch  family,  is  the  place  where  the  last  minstrel  is  supposed  to  pour 
forth  his  la}r  to  Anne,  Duchess  of  Buccleuch  and  Monmouth.  Here,  on 
"  The  Slain  Man's  Lee,"  Leslie,  after  the  Battle  of  Philiphaugh,  caused  a 
number  of  his  prisoners  to  be  massacred  in  cold  blood.  Nearly  opposite  is 
Fowlshiels,  where  Mungo  Park  was  born  and  resided.  A  mile  below 
Newark  is  "  'llie  Sweet  Bowhill,"  a  summer  residence  of  the  Duke  of 
Buccleuch.  Descending  to  the  extremity  of  Yarrow  vale,  at  the  junction 
of  the  Ettrick  and  Yarrow,  we  come  to  Carterhaugh,  the  supposed  scene 
of  the  fairy  ballad  of  "  Tamlane." 


APP.  PEEBLES  765 

Instead  of  the  route  we  have  traced,  the  tourist  may  prefer  to  reverse 
it,  or  he  may  choose  to  confine  himself  to  the  Yarrow,  and  instead  of  re- 
turning from  MofFat,  find  his  way  on  direct  from  thence  to  the  Falls  of 
Clyde  or  elsewhere. 

SELKIRK  TO  PEEBLES  AND  LANARK. 

18.  Directing  our  course  now  from  Selkirk  to  Peebles,  and  thence 
across  to  the  Clyde  at  Lanark,  the  road  crossing  and  descending  the 
Ettrick,  also  directly  passes  to  the  further  side  of  the  Tweed  at  Yair 
Bridge.    As  we  ascend  the  Tweed,  the  scenery  becomes  more  pastoral. 

On  the  south  side  is  Ashiestiel,  at  one  time  the  residence  of  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  and  the  ruins  of  Elibank  Tower.  About  fifteen  miles  from  Selkirk, 
and  six  from  Peebles,  we  reach  the  watering  place  of  Inverleithen,  the  St. 
Ronan's  Well  of  the  Waverley  Novels.  Nearly  opposite  is  Traqvair  House, 
and  on  the  hill  side  may  still  be  seen  some  fine  thorn  trees,  the  survivors 
of  the  famous  thicket,  the  "Bush  aboon  Traquair."  On  the  way  to  Peebles 
are  the  remains  of  several  other  Border  strengths,  as  Cardrona.  Nether 
Horsburgh,  and  Horsburgh  Castle.  And  here  we  may  observe,  that  the 
whole  course  of  the  Tweed  had  been  at  one  time  lined  on  both  sides 
alternately,  at  intervals  of  almost  every  mile,  with  square  towers,  keeps, 
or  peels,  while  numerous  rinks,  or  dry  stone  circular  forts,  occupied  the 
heights.  Between  Thanes'  Castle,  the  most  westerly  of  the  square  keeps, 
and  Peebles,  a  distance  of  ten  miles,  there  were  eight  such  fortalices.  They 
served  as  points  for  beacon-fires  and  places  of  temporary  security  for 
cattle. 

PEEBLES, 

distant  twenty-two  miles  from  Edinburgh,  and  twenty-one  miles  from 
Selkirk,  is  a  very  old  town,  and  is  the  scene  of  James  I.'s  celebrated  poem 
of  "  Peblis  to  the  Play." 

PEEBLES  TO  LANARK. 

19.  Half  a  mile  west  of  the  town,  stands  Nidpath  Castle  one  of  the 
most  entire  of  the  castles  alluded  to,  and  having  walls  of  great  thickness. 
It  belonged  at  one  time  to  the  Frasers  of  Tweeddale,  and  is  now  the 
property  of  the  Earl  of  Wemyss.    On  the  way  to  Biggar,  Drummelzier 
Castle,  the  ancient  seat  of  the  Tweedies,  now  belonging  to  the  Hays,  is 
passed.    Biggar  is  a  neat  little  town,  about  fifteen  miles  from  Peebles,  and 
twelve  from  Lanark ;  and  the  Bog  of  Biggar  is  supposed  to  have  been  the 
scene  of  one  of  Wallace's  victories.     South  of  the  town  are  the  remains  of 
Boghall  Castle,  formerly  pertaining  to  the  Earls  of  Wigton.     Nothing 
particular  presents  itself  to  notice  on  the  way  from  Biggar  to  Lanark. 
The  country  is  monotonous,  and  the  tourist  had  best  find  his  way  to  the 
Caledonian  Railway,  about  four  miles  off.    To  the  south-west  lies  the 
lofty  hill  of  Tinto,  verdant  to  the  top,  and  "facile  princeps"  among  the 
adjoining  hills.    The  way  from  Peebles  by  Carnwath  is  two  or  three  miles 


766  LANARK.  APP. 

shorter  than  that  by  Biggar.  Near  the  village  are  the  ruins  of  Cowdaily 
Castle,  a  seat  of  the  Somervilles,  and  also  an  extensive  iron-foundry  at 
Wilsontown.  The  district  about  the  sources  of  the  Clyde  and  Tweed  is 
rich  in  coal  and  minerals. 

The  Glasgow  and  Edinburgh  forks  of  the  Caledonian  Railway  here 
form  a  junction  by  a  large  triangle,  and  one  of  the  most  remarkable  em- 
bankments on  the  line  occurs  at  Carnwath — an  embankment  of  sand, 
forty  feet  wide,  twenty  feet  deep,  and  2J  miles  in  length,  well  consoli- 
dated, and  displacing  the  fluid  moss  through  which  the  line  advances. 

20.  LANARK, 

Twenty-five  miles  from  Glasgow  and  thirty-two  from  Edinburgh,  is  dis- 
tinguished as  the  scene  of  Wallace's  first  exploits,  and  the  neighbouring 
localities  have  attached  to  them  numberless  traditions  connecled  with  his 
life.  About  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  town  are  the  remains  of  a  fine 
very  old  church ;  and  between  the  town  and  the  river  lies  Owen's  cele- 
brated cotton  manufacturing  establishment  of  New  Lanark ;  but  Lanark 
is  chiefly  famous  for  its  proximity  to  the 

FALLS  OF  CLYDE. 

If  we  except  the  river  Beauly,  the  falls  of  which  are  not  of  any  conse- 
quence in  point  of  height,  though  eminently  distinguished  by  the  great 
beauty  of  the  river  scenery,  there  is  none  of  our  larger  rivers  which  dis- 
plays the  phenomenon  of  waterfalls.  Those  on  the  Dee  are  near  its  source, 
before  it  has  attained  much  volume.  On  the  Clyde  we  have  no  less  than 
three  fine  falls,  all  within  the  compass  of  a  few  miles.  For  several  miles 
below,  and  for  a  couple  of  miles  or  so  above  Lanark,  the  channel  of  the 
river  is  closely  confined  by  high  rocky  banks.  These,  indeed,  in  some 
places,  approach  within  a  few  feet  of  each  other,  but  again  diverging  so 
as  to  afford  a  fine  breadth  to  the  river,  and  beautiful  and  romantic  reaches. 
The  two  upper  falls,  Bonniton  and  Corra  Linn,  are  within  half  a  mile  of 
each  other,  and  the  former  two  miles  distant  from  Lanark.  The  fall  of 
Stonebyres  is  about  three  miles  farther  down,  and  also  about  two  miles 
from  Lanark.  Of  these  the  uppermost  (Bonniton)  is  about  thirty,  Corra 
eighty-four,  and  Stonebyres  perhaps  sixty  feet  in  height.  It  is  advisable 
to  visit  the  uppermost  first.  The  falls  can  be  visited  from  either  side  of 
the  river,  there  being  a  bridge  between  the  second  and  third  falls.  The 
summits  and  ledges  of  the  rocks  throughout  are  embellished  with  trees 
and  coppice.  At  Corra  Linn  the  rocks  form  a  fine  amphitheatre,  and 
they  are  set  off  by  the  ruins  of  the  old  castle  of  Corra  on  the  western 
brink ;  and  the  whole  series  and  intervening  river  course  are  exceedingly 
beautiful  and  gratifying. 

The  tourist  ought  not  to  omit  to  visit  Cartiand  Crags  on  the  Mouse, 
about  a  mile  from  Lanark,  where  the  stream  flows  through  a  narrow 
chasm  between  rocky  wooded  banks  about  400  feet  in  height,  and  where 
a  bridge  of  three  arches  has  been  thrown  across  the  ravine  of  the  very 
great  height  of  146  feet. 


APP.  HAMILTON  TOWN   AND   PALACE.  767 

LANARK  TO   HAMILTON. 

The  road  to  Hamilton  crosses  to  the  west  side  of  the  Clyde,  and  con- 
ducts through  a  district  deservedly  termed  "  The  Orchard  of  Scotland," 
from  the  wealth  of  rich  fruit  trees,  now  whitened  with  blossom,  again 
bowed  down  with  generous  fruit.  The  scenery  is  gladsome,  charming, 
and  heart  and  eye  filling,  in  no  common  degree. 

On  a  rock  overhanging  the  Nethan  stands  the  ruins  of  Craignethan 
Castle,  which  furnished  the  model  for  Tillietudlem  in  Old  Mortality. 

Approaching  Hamilton,  we  cross  the  Avon,  which  presents  a  dell  of 
like  character  with  that  of  Koslin  and  Hawthornden.  Drumclog  lies  to- 
wards the  source  of  this  stream,  famous  for  the  defeat  of  Claverhouse  by 
a  body  of  Covenanters,  on  the  first  Sunday  of  June  1679,  as  so  vividly 
described  in  the  above  work. 

On  the  west  bank  of  the  Avon  are  the  ivy  clad,  wood  embosomed 
ruins  of  Cadzow  Castle,  the  ancient  baronial  residence  of  the  family  of 
Hamilton.  Some  of  the  most  gigantic  and  oldest  oaks  in  Scotland  are  to 
be  found  here ;  and  in  the  forest  are  preserved  herds  of  the  famous  breed 
of  Scottish  wild  cattle,  milk-white,  with  muzzles,  horns,  and  hoofs  of  jet. 

HAMILTON  TOWN  AND  PALACE. 

21.  Hamilton,  as  its  chief  attraction,  has  to  boast  of  the  magnificent 
ducal  palace,  standing  on  a  plain  between  it  and  the  river.  Since  the  ex- 
tensive recent  additions  (designed  by  Hamilton),  this  is  altogether  about 
the  most  superb  private  edifice  in  Scotland ;  and  it  is  surrounded  by  a 
'princely  park  of  about  1400  acres  of  valuable  land,  comprising  a  great 
meadow  of  some  500  acres.  The  front  facade  is  a  splendid  specimen  of 
the  Corinthian  order,  taken  from  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Stator  at  Rome. 
It  has  a  central  and  two  terminal  projections.  In  front  of  the  central 
compartments  is  a  noble  double  portico  of  columns  of  thirty  feet  high, 
each  of  a  single  stone,  and  weighing  twenty-six  tons,  with  rich  entab- 
lature and  pediment.  The  portico  is  peculiarly  striking,  and  the  harmony 
and  just  proportions  of  the  whole  elicit  universal  admiration.  Nor  is  the 
splendour  and  costliness  of  the  interior  less  worthy  of  note.  But  its  pecu- 
liar charm  is  the  great  celebrity  of  several  of  the  masterpieces  in  painting, 
especially  " Daniel  in  the  Lion's  Den,"  Rubens'  finest  picture,  "the  glory 
of  Hamilton,"  as  it  has  been  well  called,  and,  among  others,  the  "  Two 
Misers,"  by  Mastys ;  "  The  Marriage  Feast,"  by  Paul  Veronese ;  and  the 
best  of  Vandyke's  portraits,  that  of  "William  Viscount  Fielding,  First 
Earl  of  Denbigh."  All  this  opulence  of  art  is,  with  a  noble  liberality, 
open  to  every  respectable  person,  without  any  special  application. 

The  South  Calder  water  in  the  neighbourhood  will  be  found  to  possess 
beautiful  natural  scenery,  in  combination  with  a  great  number  of  fine 
country  seats. 


768  HAMILTON.  APP. 

HAMILTON  TO   GLASGOW. 

The  attractions  of  the  Clyde,  apart  from  its  peculiar  features  below 
Glasgow,  are  not  yet  exhausted.  About  a  mile  aud  a  half  from  Hamilton 
we  cross  the  river  by  the  identical  bridge — though  now  much  widened — 
which  witnessed  the  battle  of  Boihwett  Brig,  for  the  details  of  which  we 
must  refer  our  readers  to  the  pages  of  Old  Mortality.  The  only  struggle 
was  by  a  brave  band  posted  af  the  bridge.  The  holm  by  the  river  side 
belonged  to  "  fierce  but  injured  Bothwellhaugh,"  who  shot  the  Regent 
Murray  at  Linlithgow.  The  old  Gothic  church,  and  the  tower  of  the 
new  church  of  Bothwell,  give  a  finely  featured  character  to  the  otherwise 
pretty  village.  A  mile  and  a  half  further  on  are  the  magnificent  ruins  of 
the  massive  towers  and  lofty  walls  of  Bothwell  Castle,  a  noble  specimen  of 
the  first  class  of  Scottish  strongholds.  This  imposing  edifice  crowns  a 
bank  in  a  fine  sweep  of  the  Clyde,  whose  course  is  here  highly  banked 
and  richly  wooded.  On  the  opposite  side  the  picturesque  ruins  of  Blan- 
tyre  Priory,  on  the  edge  of  a  precipitous  rock,  add  to  the  fine  effect  of  the 
whole.  The  castle  has  repeatedly  changed  owners,  and  is  now,  for  the 
second  time,  the  property  of  the  Douglas  family. 

The  most  pleasant  road  to  Glasgow  lies  on  the  north  side  of  the  river, 
but  near  the  ruins  of  Cathcart  Castle,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Rutherglen, 
on  the  other  side,  is  the  battle-field  of  Lanyside,  so  fatal  to  Queen  Mary's 
fortunes.  At  Rutherglen  it  was  that  Monteith  agreed  to  betray  Wallace 
to  the  English. 

Ten  and  a  half  miles  from  Hamilton  the  tourist  reaches  the  prosperous 
capital  of  the  West  of  Scotland. 


II.  EDINBURGH  TO  GLASGOW  AND  AYR  AND  THE  LAND  OF  BURNS. 
THE  COASTS  OF  GALLOWAY  AND  DUMFRIES. 

Miles. 

Edinburgh  to  Glasgow 47J 

Glasgow  to  Ayr 40 

For  intermediate  places,  and  for  those  on  all  the  Railway  Lines,  see  Table 
of  Distances  for  Railway  Lines. 

22.  We  have  been  led  to  linger  so  long  over  the  Tweed,  the  Clyde,  and 
the  Border  land,  that  we  can  but  very  cursorily  notice  the  other  objects 
in  the  Lowlands,  to  which  we  purpose  to  direct  the  tourist's  attention. 

The  railway  station  in  Edinburgh,  of  the  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow,  as 
of  the  North  British  Railway,  is  at  a  central  point  between  the  New  and 
Old  Towns,  and  near  the  east  end  of  Princes  Street.  Along  the  line  to 
Glasgow,  the  most  striking  portions  of  the  route,  in  point  of  scenery,  arc 


APP.  LINLITHGOW  PALACE.  769 

the  wooded  Corstorphine  Hills,  near  Edinburgh,  studded  with  -numerous 
villas,  and  a  favourite  resort  from  Edinburgh — the  very  beautiful  wide 
valley  of  the  Almond  between  nine  or  ten  miles  from  the  city — the  view  from 
the  Avon  Valley  Viaduct,  about  the  nineteenth  mile,  where  the  Forth,  with 
Stirling  Castle,  the  Ochils,  and  Grampians  come  in  sight — and  that  beyond 
Falkirk,  where  the  eye  commands  the  battle-fields  of  Falkirk  and  Ban- 
nockburn,  the  town  of  Falkirk,  Stirling  Rock  and  Castle,  a  large  sec- 
tion of  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Forth,  with  the  high  mountain  screens 
beyond. 

The  viaduct  over  the  Almond  is  a  most  imposing  work,  consisting  in 
all  of  forty-two  arches,  with  very  extensive  and  high  embankments. 
Between  Broxburn  and  Winchburgh  Stations  is  Newliston  House,  built 
by  the  celebrated  John  Earl  of  Stair,  and  the  ruins  of  Niddry  Castle, 
Queen  Mary's  first  resting-place,  on  her  flight  from  Loch  Leven,  under 
the  escort  of  the  then  owner  of  Niddry,  the  gallant  Seton  Earl  of  Wintoun. 

23.  But  far  the  most  interesting  object  to  the  antiquarian  is  the  ruins 
of  Linlithgow  Palace,  17f  miles  from  Edinburgh.     The  shell  of  the  build- 
ing— a  large  quadrangular  pile,  enclosing  a  spacious  court — is  entire,  and 
with  the  old  church — founded,  with  so  many  other  of  our  ecclesiastical 
structures,  by  David  I. — still  used  as  a  place  of  worship,  present  an  ex- 
tensive and  impressive  mass  of  architecture,  as  seen  from  the  railway. 
But  the  tourist  ought  not  to  content  himself  with  the  transient  views 
thus  obtained ;  he  will  be  highly  gratified  by  a  closer  inspection.     This 
was  the  finest  of  the  palaces,  and  a  favourite  retreat  of  our  Scottish  kings, 
and  the  birth-place  of  Mary  Queen  of  Scots.     Her  father  being  told,  on 
his  deathbed  at  Falkland,  of  the  birth  of  a  princess,  he  uttered  the  ex- 
pressions— "  '  Is  it  so  ?  then  God's  will  be  done ;  it  came  with  a  lass,  and 
it  will  go  with  a  lass,'  and  turned  his  face  and  died."     The  room  of  her 
birth  is  shewn,  and  also  Queen  Margaret's  bower,  where  she 

"  All  lonely  sat  and  wept  the  weary  hour." 

The  internal  elevations  of  each  side  differ  one  from  the  other.  On  one 
side  is  the  Parliament  Hall,  a  large  and  elegant  apartment.  In  the  centre 
of  the  court  are  the  remains  of  a  curious  and  elaborately- wrought  foun- 
tain, erected  by  James  V.,  one  somewhat  similar  to  which  has  been 
erected  in  the  town.  The  castle  overlooks  a  pretty  sheet  of  water.  It 
was  on  the  streets  of  Linlithgow  the  Regent  Murray  was  shot  by  Both- 
wellhaugh.  The  church  forms  the  largest  place  of  worship  (182  by  100 
feet,  including  the  aisles),  and  one  of  the  finest  pieces  of  Gothic  work- 
manship in  Scotland ;  and  in  it  are  buried  many  of  the  Great  of  ages  by- 
gone. About  three  miles  beyond  Linlithgow,  pass  the  ruins  of  Almond, 
formerly  Haining  Castle,  at  one  time  an  important  fortress. 

24.  Falkirk,  25J  miles  from  Edinburgh,  is  distinguished  for  the  great 
cattle  trysts  held  there,  and  is  of  historical  interest,  from  the  action 
fought  in  its  immediate  vicinity,  near  the  village  of  Grahamston,  in 
1298,  when  Wallace  was  worsted ;  and  the  more  recent  battle  of  Falkirk, 

2L 


770  GLASGOW  TO  AYR.  APP. 

in  the  Forty-five,  when  General  Hawley  suffered  a  signal  defeat  from  the 
Highland  army.  In  the  churchyard  are  interred  Sir  John  Graham,  the 
friend  of  Wallace  and  his  worthy  compeer,  and  Sir  John  Stewart  of  Bon- 
kill,  who  both  fell  in  the  first,  and  Sir  Robert  Monro  of  Fowlis  and  his 
brother  Doctor  Monro,  who  were  killed  in  the  second  of  these  national 
contests. 

About  two  miles  to  the  north  are  the  Carron,  the  greatest  iron  -works 
in  existence,  and  to  which  admission  is  now  readily  obtained. 

Between  Falkirk  and  Castlecary,  which  is  loi  miles  from  Glasgow, 
passengers  for  Stirling  and  Perth  diverge  by  the  Scottish  Central,  and  at 
Kirkintilloch,  nearly  nine  miles  on,  the  Monkland  Railway  branches  off 
on  the  left  to  Airdrie,  while  a  little  way  further  on.  another  branch  leads 
on  the  right  to  the  romantic  glen  of  Campsie. 

GLASGOW  TO   AYR. 

25.  The  Depot  of  the  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow  Railway  is  off  George 
Square,  and  the  Booking  Offices  of  the  Glasgow  and  Ayr,  and  Glas- 
gow and  Greenock  lines,  will  be  found  at  the  south  end  of  Glasgow 
Bridge.  The  tourist  will,  in  all  probability,  experience  unexpected 
disappointment  in  the  aspect  of  the  country  on  the  route  to  Ayr,  though 
it  is  generally  well  cultivated,  and  at  Lochwinnoch  and  Loch  Kilbirnie, 
between  the  sixteenth  and  twentieth  miles,  long  shelving  hill-sides  rise  in 
almost  unbroken  sheets  of  mingled  corn  and  woodland,  and  with  the  fine 
grounds  of  Castle  Sempil  on  the  former;  the  glare  of  the  iron  furnaces 
near  Beith,  adding  a  peculiar  feature  of  their  own.  Indeed,  great  part  of 
the  country  traversed  by  the  line,  and  by  the  branch  from  Dairy  to  Kil- 
marnock,  is  a  very  rich  mineral  field ;  but  the  portion  of  Ayrshire  through 
which  the  railway  passes  is  generally  flat  and  tame,  particularly  when  it 
deflects  along  the  coast,  without  the  redeeming  richness  which  the  dairy 
fame  of  Ayrshire  would  lead  one  to  anticipate,  and  quite  different  from 
the  fine  hilly  coast  of  the  Firth  of  Clyde,  and  the  bold  and  beautiful  fea- 
tures of  the  Carrick  shores  to  the  south  of  Ayr. 

Between  Glasgow  and  Paisley  are  the  ruins  of  Crookston  Castle,  where 
Mary  and  Darnley  sojourned  for  a  time. 

Paisky  contains  upwards  of  60,000  inhabitants,  and  is  celebrated  for 
its  manufactories  in  shawls,  silks,  and  velvets.  The  chancel  of  its  fine 
abbey  is  still  used  as  the  parish  church.  Beyond  Paisley  are  "  the  New- 
ton Wiids"  and  "  Braes  o'  Gleniffer,"  sung  by  Tannahill,  and  the  lands 
of  Elderslie,  the  patrimony  and  birth-place  of  Wallace. 

At  Dairy,  23  miles  from  Glasgow,  a  branch,  10J  miles  long,  leads  to 
KUmarnock.  To  the  eastward  lies  the  proper  district  of  the  celebrated 
Ayrshire  cows. 

KUvnnning  is  the  seat  of  the  first  Freemason  Lodge  established  in  Scot- 
land, which  it  was  by  a  party  of  free  masons,  from  the  continent,  who 
came  to  assist  in  building  the  abbey.  It  is  also  distinguished  by  the  fa- 
vour in  which  archery  has  been  held  here  for  nearly  four  centuries ;  and 


APP.  AYR BURNS'  MONUMENT.  771 

the  custom  of  shooting  for  the  popinjay,  described  in  Old  Mortality,  is 
still  kept  up. 

Here,  26  miles  from  Glasgow,  a  branch  leads  to  Saltcoats  and  Ardros- 
san,  the  latter  5J  miles  distant — a  favourite  watering-place,  and  a  point 
of  departure  and  arrival  of  steamers,  especially  for  Fleetwood,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Glasgow  Railway. 

Between  Kilwinning  and  Irvine  appear  the  towers  of  Eglinton  Castle, 
the  seat  of  the  Earl  of  Eglinton,  a  spacious,  modern  castellated  mansion, 
surrounded  by  extensive  plantations  and  very  large  old  trees.  Other 
towns — Irvine  (the  birth-place  of  James  Montgomery  the  poet,  and  of 
Gait  the  novelist)  and  Troon — are  passed  on  the  way  to  Ayr,  where  the 
towering  mountains  of  Arran,  which  had  been  in  sight  for  some  time, 
continue  to  attract  the  eye,  and  Ailsa  Craig  shews  itself  in  the  distance. 

26.  Ayr  is  a  very  pretty  town,  with  a  fine  river  running  through  it, 
navigable  into  the  heart  of  the  town,  and  having  a  suburb  of  fine  villas 
to  the  south.  It  possesses  several  historical  associations  connected  with 
Wallace  and  Bruce.  Two  statues  commemorate  the  first,  one  by  the  self- 
taught  sculptor  Thorn,  ornamenting  a  building  on  the  site  of  the  tower 
where  the  hero  had  been  confined.  The  Parliament  which  settled  the 
succession  was  held  by  the  latter  in  the  Dominican  monastery. 

The  principal  localities  connected  with  the  name  of  Burns,  about  Ayr, 
are  the  banks  of  the  Boon,  within  less  than  three  miles  to  the  south — 
and  some  spots  adjoining,  which  we  will  specify — and  the  villages  of  Tar- 
bolton  and  Mauchline,  eight  and  eleven  miles  to  the  east.  On  the  banks 
of  the  Boon,  close  by  the  "  Avid  Brig  o'  Moon,"  a  beautiful  monument, 
which  cost  upwards  of  £3000,  has  been  erected  to  the  memory  of  the 
great  Peasant  Bard.  It  is  a  temple,  consisting  of  nine  Corinthian  pillars, 
resting  on  a  rustic  triangular  base,  surrounded  by  ornamental  shrubbery, 
and  set  down  in  the  midst  of  a  beautiful  country,  and  immediately  over- 
looking those  immortalized  banks  and  braes,  soft  and  lovely,  "  o'  Bonnie 
Boon."  Within  an  apartment  on  the  ground  floor,  are  exhibited  several 
interesting  relics,  and  a  full  length  statue  of  the  poet  by  Flaxman  :  and 
in  an  adjoining  grotto  are  two  figures  of  Souter  Johny  and  Tarn  o'  Shanter 
by  Thorn. 

Before  reaching  the  monument,  however,  close  by  the  roadside,  and 
about  two  miles  from  Ayr,  is  the  cottage — a  clay  bigging,  a  but  and  a  ben 
— built  by  his  father  with  his  own  hands,  and  where  Burns  was  born  on 
25th  Januar}-  1759.  Between  the  town  and  the  cottage  will  be  pointed 
out — for  we  follow  nearly  in  the  track  of 

" honest  Tarn  o'  Shanter, 

As  he  frae  Ayr  ae  night  did  canter — " 


" the  ford, 

Whar  in  the  snaw  the  chapman  smoor'd 

" the  birks  and  meikle  stane, 

Whar  drucken  Charlie  brak  's  neck-bane 


772  THE  LAND  OF  BURNS.  APP. 

and,  nearer  the  monument, 


•  the  cairn 


Whar  hunters  fand  the  murder'd  bairn." 
Between  the  cottage  and  the  monument  still  stands  the  shell  of 

"  Alloway'a  auld  haunted  kirk ;" 
and  close  by  it, 


" the  well 

Where  Mungo's  mither  hang"d  hersel." 

The  original  of  Tarn  o'  Shanter  was  a  Douglas  Grahame,  tenant  of 
Shanter,  in  Carrick,  not  far  from  Tnrnberry  Castle,  and  a  noted  toper, 
with  whom  Burns  made  acquaintance  when  sojourning,  in  his  nineteenth 
year,  at  Kirkoswald. 

In  1766,  William  Burns  removed  from  the  cottage  to  the  farm  of 
Mount  Oliphant,  about  two  miles  to  the  south-east,  and  lived  there  for 
eight  years.  Obliged  by  ill  fortune  to  leave  Mount  Oliphant,  old  Burns 
next  resided  with  his  family  at  Locklea,  on  the  banks  of  the  Ayr,  three 
miles  from  Tarbolton.  The  scene  of  "  Death  and  Dr.  Hornbook"  is  on 
the  Faile,  in  the  immediate  vicinity ;  and  at  Coilsfield  lived  "  Highland 
Mary."  the  theme  of  one  of  his  finest  ballads. 

On  his  father's  death,  when  Burns  had  attained  the  age  of  twenty-five, 
his  brother  Gilbert  and  he  took  the  farm  of  Mossgiel,  near  Maiichline, 
which  is  about  eleven  miles  from  Ayr.  It  was  here  that  greater  part  of 
his  productions  were  penned,  many  of  them  in  the  stable-loft  where  he 
slept.  Mauchline  is  the  scene  of  the  "  Holy  Fair"  and  "  Holy  Willie," 
and  of  "  The  Jolly  Beggars."  "  Poor  Mailie,"  "  The  Mouse,"  "  The 
Daisy,"  and  other  exquisite  compositions  were  inspired  by  the  objects 
around  him  at  Mossgiel,  and  the  spence  of  the  farm-house  is  described  in 
the  opening  of  "  The  Vision ;"  and  here  he  composed  the  "  Cottar's  Sa- 
turday Night,"  which  of  all  his  productions,  perhaps,  most  enshrines  him 
in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen.  In  Mauchline  are  pointed  out  "  Auld 
Nanse  Tinnock's  "  house,  and  the  cottage  of  "  Poosie  Nansie  " — the  scene 
of  the  "  Jolly  Beggars."  John  Dow,  then  landlord  of  the  Whitefoord  Arms 
Inn,  was  the  subject  of  the  amusing  epitaph  written  on  a  pane  of  glass  in 
the  inn.  In  the  house  of  his  early  friend  Mr.  Gavin  Hamilton  he  penned 
the  satirical  poem,  "  The  Calf,"  and  in  it,  too,  he  was  married ;  for 
Mauchline  was  the  scene  of  his  courtship  of  "  Bonnie  Jean,"  as  it  was  also 
of  his  friendship  with  Lapraik  and  David  Sillar,  "  ace  o'  hearts."  "  The 
Lass  of  Ballochmyle  "  was  a  tribute  to  Miss  Wilhelmina  Alexander,  after 
having  encountered  her  in  the  grounds  of  Ballochmyle  House.  These 
brief  notices  must  suffice,  and  may  at  least  serve  to  direct  the  curiosity  of 
those  whose  admiration  of  Scotia's  Bard  may  lead  them  to  do  homage  to 
his  memory  by  a  visit  to  "  The  Land  of  Burns." 

27.  Should  time  permit,  a  drive  along  the  Carrick  shore,  and  into  the 
parish  of  Maybole,  before  retracing  his  steps,  will  amply  repay  the  tourist. 


APP.  COASTS  OF  GALLOWAY.  773 

The  coast  becomes  bold  and  rocky,  and  is  richly  wooded,  and  lined  with 
numerous  fine  ruins,  as  Greenan,  Dunure,  and  Turnberry,  the  castle  of 
the  Bruce,  while  Colzean,  the  spacious  and  magnificent  baronial  seat  of 
the  Marquis  of  Ailsa — representative  of  the  powerful  race  of  the  Kennedies 
Earls  of  Cassilis — overhanging  the  sea,  presents  a  most  picturesque  and 
imposing  appearance.  The  whole  of  the  parish  of  Maybole  is  exceedingly 
rich,  and  highly  wooded,  and  possesses  a  remarkable  number  of  old  feudal 
castles  in  various  stages  of  decay.  The  extensive  ruins  of  the  Cluniac 
abbey  of  Crossraguel,  also  about  two  miles  from  Maybole,  will  be  found 
full  of  interest. 

COASTS  OF  GALLOWAY. 

28.  Should  the  tourist  incline  to  make  himself  acquainted  with  the 
Stewartry  of  Kirkcudbright,  a  district  not  yet  much  visited,  he  will  find 
considerable  variety  of  scenery.  After  reaching  New  Galloway,  at  the 
head  of  Loch  Ken,  by  Dalmellington  and  Loch  Doon,  and  after  surveying 
the  fine  scenery  about  Loch  Ken,  he  had  better — in  order  to  a  complete 
range  of  the  coast,  which,  and  the  banks  of  the  rivers  out  of  the  beaten 
track  are  best  worthy  of  notice — strike  across  through  the  Highlands  of 
Galloway  to  Newton-Stewart,  whence  his  course  will  be  by  Creenan  to 
Gatehouse,  and  thence,  by  the  west  side  of  the  Dee,  to  Kirkcudbright — 
from  that  passing  through  the  wooded  grounds  of  St.  Mary's  Isle  (Earl 
of  Selkirk),  to  the  fine  ruins  of  Dundrennan  Abbey,  where  Queen  Mary 
passed  her  last  night  in  Scotland,  and  whence  she  embarked  for  England. 
From  Dundrennan,  we  proceed  along  the  bold  line  of  coast  to  Balcarry 
Point,  jutting  out  into  bold  and  lofty  headlands,  and  indented  by  nume- 
rous bays,  and  pierced  with  many  fine  caves,  at  no  distant  period  the 
haunts  of  most  determined  smugglers.  This  district  is  the  locality  of 
Ellang&wan  in  Guy  Maimering.  Progressing  along  the  bay  of  that  name 
to  the  very  pretty  village  of  Auchengairn,  afterwards  proceed  to  Orchard- 
ton,  where  there  is  much  beautiful  scenery.  Thence  to  Palnackie,  and, 
crossing  the  Urr,  to  Dalbeattie,  or  diverging  first  to  visit  Castle  Douglas. 
The  mouth  of  the  Urr  commands  beautiful  views,  and  the  shore  of  Colvend 
is  also  much  indented  by  deep  caves.  Passing  through  the  fertile  parish 
of  Kirkbean,  in  which,  near  Arbigland,  is  the  cottage  where  the  notorious 
Paul  Jones  was  born,  we  advance  along  a  range,  terminating  on  the  south 
in  the  hill  of  Criffel,  towards  Dumfries  by  the  village  of  New  Abbey — with 
the  beautiful  ruin  of  Sweetheart  Abbey,  founded  by  Devorgilla,  mother  of 
John  Baliol — and  obtain  views  of  Caerlaverock  Castle,  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  Nith.  The  views  from  Criffel,  or  other  of  the  heights  on  the 
route  we  have  traced,  are  very  extensive,  ranging  over  a  great  extent  of 
the  Scottish  and  English  coast,  and  seaward  embracing  the  Isle  of  Man. 

29.  DUMFRIES 

is  a  well  built  town,  beautifully  situated  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Nith, 
distant  71  miles  from  Edinburgh,  33  from  Carlisle,  and  60  from  Ayr, 


774  DUMFRIES LOCHMABEN.  APP. 

distinguished  by  the  general  opulence  of  its  inhabitants — the  spaciousness 
of  some  of  its  streets — the  number  and  style  of  its  public  buildings — its 
excellent  academy— its  libraries — the  variety  of  its  literary  and  other 
institutions,  and  the  rather  gay  propensities  of  the  upper  classes.  Its 
cemetery  is  remarkable  for  the  extraordinary  number  of  fine  monumental 
works,  but  its  chief  ornament,  and  a  much  visited  shrine,  is  the  beautiful 
and  far  seen  mausoleum  over  the  mortal  remains  of  Burns.  "  It  contains 
in  the  interior  a  fine  emblematical  marble  structure,  designed  by  Peter 
Turnerelli,  which  represents  the  Genius  of  Scotland  investing  Burns  in 
his  rustic  dress  and  employment  with  her  poetic  mantle."  The  best 
known  historical  incident  in  connection  with  the  town  is  the  assassination 
by  Robert  Bruce  of  "  the  Red  Comyn"  in  the  chapel  of  the  monastery  of 
Grey  Friars  in  1305.  Dumfries  carries  on  considerable  manufactures  in 
hats,  lambs'  wool  hosiery,  and  wooden  soled  shoes,  and  its  cattle,  horse, 
and  pig  markets  are  very  important.  The  chief  objects  around  Dumfries 
are  the  ruins  of  Lincluden  Abbey,  originally  a  nunnery,  remarkable  for 
the  large  scale  of  its  details,  and  of  which  the  few  remains  testify  to  the 
very  rich  style  of  decoration.  It  was  a  favourite  haunt  of  Burns,  whose 
last  farm  was  Ellisland,  seven  miles  above  the  town.  About  an  equal 
distance  to  the  south  are  the  ruins  of  Caerlaverock  Castle — of  triangular 
form — a  very  strong  fortress  of  the  Earls  of  Nithsdale.  At  one  angle  are 
two  round  towers,  with  the  entrance  between,  and  at  each  of  the  remain- 
ing angles  there  was  another  round  tower.  Its  strength  of  position  de- 
pended upon  the  waters  of  the  firth  and  of  the  Lochar  Moss,  by  which  it 
was  hemmed  in.  It  sustained  a  memorable  siege  from  Edward  I.  The 
old  Castle  of  Torthorwdld  is  also  a  picturesque  ruin. 

LOCHMABEN. 

There  is  also,  about  eight  miles  from  Dumfries,  the  very  peculiar  dis- 
trict of  Lochmaben,  with  the  ruins  of  its  castle,  the  strongest  fortress  on 
the  border.  Eight  different  lochs  lie  contiguous  in  a  plain  of  singular 
fertility.  Amidst  these,  to  appearance  in  an  island,  is  the  old  mean  look- 
ing burgh  of  Lochmaben.  The  fortress  on  one  of  the  lochs,  with  its  out- 
works, designed  with  great  jealousy  of  approach,  occupied  sixteen  acres, 
and  was  the  paternal  castle  of  Robert  the  Bruce  as  Lord  of  Annandale. 
The  possession  of  this  stronghold  was  an  object  of  much  solicitude  to  the 
monarchs  of  both  kingdoms.  The  fine  ashlar  casings  of  the  walls  have 
been  almost  all  demolished  by  the  Vandal  burghers  of  Lochmaben,  of 
which  several  houses  are  wholly  built  from  the  stones.  The  lochs  abound 
with  a  great  variety  of  trout,  severals  rare  in  Scotland,  among  others 
vendace,  a  small  delicious  fish,  almost  peculiar  to  this  locality.  Besides 
Lochmaben,  there  are  four  small  villages,  "  the  Four  Towns,"  among  the 
inhabitants  of  which,  called  "  the  King's  kindly  tenants  or  rentallers  of 
Lochmaben,"  an  extensive,  very  rich  haugh  is  parcelled  out  on  a  tenure, 
resembling  the  udal  tenure  in  Orkney — exempted  from  all  the  feudal 
forms  and  casualties  of  the  rest  of  our  landed  system  in  Scotland.  There 


APP.  BERWICK  TO  EDINBURGH.  77i> 

are  about  250  such  proprietors  here,  whose  ancestors  have  occupied  the 
same  lands  for  half  a-dozen  centuries !  forming  quite  a  rural  aristocracy. 

DUMFRIESSHIRE. 

Dumfriesshire  rises  on  the  north  into  mountain  ranges  of  very  consider- 
able elevation,  some  as  high  as  3300  feet.  From  these  it  subsides  into  lesser 
central  hills,  intersected  by  three  nearly  parallel  rivers,  the  Nith,  Annan, 
and  Esk— the  courses  of  which,  as  they  descend,  become  wide  valleys  or 
basins,  which  latterly  subside  into  extensive  plains,  separated  by  eminences 
of  moderate  height.  The  face  of  the  country  thus  exhibits  a  very  great 
variety  of  scenery,  the  inland  portion  in  particular  being  highly  diver- 
sified. 


III.  MAES  RAILWAY  LINES  THROUGH  SCOTLAND. 

1.    BERWICK  TO  EDINBURGH. 

30.  Communication  through  the  remainder  of  Scotland  has  now  been 
almost  completely  opened  up  by  lines  of  railway ;   and  as  the  several 
descriptive  railway  treatises  supply  a  large  amount  of  information  on 
each,  it  is  the  less  necessary  for  us  to  enter  into  any  lengthened  details, 
and  we  do  little  more  than  enumerate  the  most  prominent  successive 
objects  which  present  themselves. 

The  line  of  the  North  British  Railway  is  the  most  interesting  of  the 
approaches  from  England.  Before  leaving  Berwick,  now  remarkable 
for  the  stupendous  double  bridge  across  the  Tweed,  the  view  from  the 
eminence  on  which  stand  the  ruins  of  its  very  ancient  castle,  will  be  found 
well  worthy  of  attention.  The  railway  commands  many  splendid  sea- 
coast  landscapes,  and  crosses  several  deep  and  beautiful  ravines,  and  leads 
through  the  high  cultivation  of  Berwickshire  and  East  Lothian.  Various 
spots  important  in  Scottish  history  are  passed  over — thus,  the  scene  of 
the  victory  in  1296  by  the  forces  of  Edward  I.,  under  the  Earl  Warrinne, 
over  far  superior  numbers  under  the  Earls  of  Buchan,  Lennox,  and  Mar. 
and  of  the  defeat  of  the  Covenanting  Army  under  General  Leslie  by 
Cromwell  in  1650,  both  within  two  miles  south  of  Dunbar.  Again, 
between  the  Tranent  station,  10^,  and  Tnveresk,  6^  miles  from  Edinburgh, 
the  scenes  of  the  battles  of  Prestonpans,  where  Sir  John  Cope  sustained 
so  memorable  a  defeat  from  the  Highlanders  under  Prince  Charlie,  and 
Pinkie,  where  the  Scottish  army,  in  1541,  in  the  early  part  of  Queen 
Mary's  reign,  suffered  from  the  English  Protector,  the  Duke  of  Somerset, 
with  but  half  their  force,  one  of  the  most  disastrous  reverses  ever  sustained 
by  the  Scottish  arms ;  and  intermediate  Carberry  HUL,  where  Queen  Mary 
surrendered  to  the  Confederate  Lords. 

31.  At  Durbar  are  vestiges  of  its  very  ancient  and  once  formidable 


776  DUNBAR — TANTALLON  CASTLE.  APP. 

castle,  gifted,  so  early  as  1070,  by  Malcolm  Caenmore  to  Cospatrick,  a 
Saxon  noble,  who  fled  to  Scotland  with  Edgar  Atheling,  and  memorable 
for  the  successful  defence  made  in  1337  by  Black  Agnes,  daughter  of  the 
great  Thomas  Randolph,  Earl  of  Moray,  during  her  husband's  absence, 
against  the  Earl  of  Salisbury.  The  tower  of  the  Gothic  church  of  Dunbar 
is  117  feet  high,  and  several  other  churches  near  the  line  are  remarkable 
for  their  high  towers.  On  either  side  of  the  Cockburnspath  station,  twenty- 
one  miles  from  Berwick,  are  two  remarkable  railway  works — the  Tower 
Dean  Embankment,  of  the  very  unusual  height  of  136  feet,  and  the  Dun- 
glass  Dean  Viaduct,  of  six  arches ;  that  which  spans  the  Dean  124£  feet 
in  height  from  the  bed  of  the  stream,  135  feet  span,  and  45  feet  of  rise  in 
the  arch. 

Between  Dunbar  and  Linton,  the  silver  firs,  about  200  years  old,  at 
Belton  House,  and  the  very  extensive  hedges  of  gigantic  holly  in  the 
grounds  at  Tyningham,  measuring  from  eleven  to  eighteen  feet  in  width, 
and  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five  feet  in  height,  deserve  to  be  noticed. 

Off"  the  line  of  railway,  and  between  it  and  the  sea,  due  east  from 
Reston  station,  11J  miles  north  of  Berwick,  the  present  church  of  Colding- 
hame  exhibits,  in  its  northern  and  eastern  wall,  all  that  remains  of  the 
magnificent  priory  founded  in  1098  by  Edgar,  King  of  Scotland,  the 
wealthy  priors  of  which  figure  so  prominently  in  early  Scottish  history, 
and  beyond  it  is  the  bluff  promontory  of  St.  Abb's  Head. 

Due  east  from  Grant's  House  station,  5  miles  to  the  north,  on  the 
verge  of  the  cliffs,  are  two  tall  remnants  of  Fast  Castle,  the  principal 
strength  of  the  Homes,  and  the  "  Woolfscrag"  of  "  The  Bride  of  Lammer- 
moor." 

32.  Two  tranches  of  this  line  lead,  the  one  from  Drem,  17£  miles  from 
Edinburgh,  to  North  Berwick,  on  the  sea-coast,  and  the  other  from  Chance 
Inn,  about  3J-  miles  to  the  north,  in  an  opposite  direction,  to  Haddington. 
The  former  passes  over  a  plain,  the  most  fertile  portion  of  Scotland.  The 
conical  and  very  conspicuous  Law  at  Berwick  commands  most  extensive 
views.  Close  by  the  town  are  the  fine  ruins  of  a  Cistercian  nunnery,  and 
three  miles  to  the  east  of  the  town  are  the  ruins  of  the  impregnable  Castle 
of  TantaMon,  the  celebrated  hold  of  the  Douglasses,  and  so  forcibly  de- 
scribed in  Marmion,  and  opposite  it,  about  1£  miles  from  the  shore,  the 
high,  isolated  Bass  Rock,  on  which  stood  a  still  more  inaccessible  castle, 
at  times  used  as  a  state  prison,  and  especially  noted  for  the  confinement 
of  several  distinguished  Covenanters.  It  is  tenanted  by  great  flocks  of 
sea-fowl,  and,  among  others,  of  solan  geese.  Boats  may  be  had  of  the 
keeper  at  Canty  Bay. 

Haddington  is  remarkable  as  the  birthplace  of  Alexander  II.  of  Scot- 
land and  of  John  Knox.  Its  fine  abbey  was  called  "  Lucerna  Loudonite," 
the  nave  of  which  has  been  converted  into  a  parish  church.  There  are 
remains  of  another  such  structure  in  the  adjoining  village,  called  "  The 
Abbey." 


APP.         EDINBURGH,  PERTH,  AND  DUNDEE  RAILWAY.        777 
2.     CALEDONIAN   RAILWAY. 

33.  There  is  less  to  detain  us  on  this  great  and  important  central  line 
of  communication — in  the  way  of  description — as  of  the  distance  of  100 
miles  from  Carlisle  to  Edinburgh,  about  one-half  is  quite  uninteresting — 
that  is  from  Beatock  Station  near  Moffat,  to  within  about  fifteen  miles  of 
Edinburgh.      The  rest  of  the  line  passes  through  fertile  tracts,  with  the 
usual  accompaniments,  and  frequently  presents  beautiful  views ;  and  the 
Highlands  of  the  south  of  Scotland  possess  fine  distinctive  forms ;  but 
there  are  no  individual  objects  calling  for  special   note,  unless  Gretna 
Green — the  bare  mention  of  which  conveys  its  peculiar  attributes ;  and 
Lochmaben  and  Moffat  Wells,  already  alluded  to  ;  while  the  attractions 
along  the  Glasgow  Branch  have  met  with  all  we  can  spare  room  to  say, 
though  much  less  than  they  deserve. 

3.    THE   EDINBURGH,   PERTH,    AND  DUNDEE   RAILWAY 

34.  Courses  through  the  fertile  undulating  plains  of  Fifeshire,  with 
beautiful  sea  views  at  the  outset  along  the  Firth  of  Forth,  and  passing 
numerous  towns  and  villages.     The  cutting  of  rock  close  by  Pettycur, 
marks  the  scene  of  the  death   of  Alexander  III.,  in  the  train  of  which 
followed  such  disasters.     Grange  House,  near  Kinghorn,  was  the  resi- 
dence of  the  celebrated  Kirkaldy  of  Grange,  Queen  Mary's  staunchest 
adherent.    "  The  Lang  Town  of  Kirkaldy,"  a  street  of  about  3  miles  in 
length,  is  celebrated  as  the  birth-place  of  Dr.  Adam  Smith.      The 
tourist  will  be  gratified  by  stopping  at  the   Falkland  Station,  twenty 
miles  from  Edinburgh,  to  visit  the  beautiful  ruins  of  the  regal  palace 
of  Falkland  in   the  neighbourhood,  where  James  V.  died,   and   men- 
tioned in  his   "  Chrystes  Kirk  on  the   Greene"  as   "  Falkland  on   the 
Greene ;"  celebrated  also  as  the  place  of  imprisonment  of  David,  Duke  of 
Eothesay,  son  of  Robert  III.,  whose  life  was  sustained  for  a  time  by  a 
wet  nurse,  who  contrived  to  carry  milk  from  her  breasts  through  a  reed, 
to  the  unhappy  prisoner,  who,  however,  in  the  pangs  of  hunger,  is  said  to 
have  eaten  off  portions  of  his  own  fingers  !      The  architecture  is  mixed 
Classic,  Gothic,  and  Scottish   Baronial.     Between  Ladybank  Junction, 
twenty-seven  miles,  and  Springfield  Station,  thirty  miles,  we  pass  through 
the  parish  of  Cults,  in  which  Sir  David  Wilkie  (whose  father  was  minis- 
ter of  the  parish)  was  born.     The  work  which  brought  him  into  notice 
was  "  Pitlessie  Fan-,"  referring  to  a  village  in  the  parish.    Lord  Camp- 
bell's father  was  minister  of  the  adjoining  parish  of  Cupar.     Behind  the 
Crags  of  Blebo,  near  Dairsie  Station,  is  The  Magus  Moor,  the  scene  of 
the  murder  of  Archbishop  Sharpe. 

35.  Should  the  traveller's  time  permit,  he  ought  certainly  to  arrange 
a  visit  to  St.  Andrews,  which  bears  still  quite  an  ecclesiastical  and  colle- 
giate air,  with  its  spacious  main  street — the  ruins  of  its  magnificent 
cathedral  overlooking  the  sea — and  picturesque  castle  or  archiepiscopal 
palace  on  the  verge  of  a  rocky  cliff,  where  Cardinal  Beaton  was  murdered 
— its  University  and  Madras  College — the  latter  founded  by  the  late 


778  SCOTTISH   CENTRAL   RAILWAY.  APP. 

Dr.  Andrew  Bell ;  and  the  high  cincturing  fortified  walls  of  the  Augus- 
tine Monastery,  which  also  embrace  the  cathedral  buildings.  Of  the 
cathedral  little  more  remains  than  the  lofty  east  and  west  ends,  with 
their  corner  towers,  and  towering  high  into  the  sky  separated,  and  sepa- 
rated, so  large  was  this  structure,  by  an  interval  of  350  feet.  But  of 
most  interest  are  the  walls  of  the  small  oblong  chapel,  and  the  square 
tower  of  St.  Regulus,  of  a  size  very  disproportioned  to  the  fane  of  which 
it  is  an  adjunct,  beside  the  cathedral,  the  memorial  of  a  purer  faith,  and 
built  of  carefully  dressed  stone,  which  there  is  reason  to  believe,  to  be  the 
oldest  edifice  in  the  kingdom.  By  monkish  legends,  the  date  of  its  erection 
is  drawn  so  far  back  as  the  fourth  century.  The  archiepiscopal  see  was 
transferred  from  Abernethy  to  St.  Andrews  by  Malcolm  III.  The  city  is 
associated  with  many  important  events — not  of  least  interest  are  the 
martyrdoms  of  John  Resby  and  Paul  Craw,  of  Hamilton,  Forrest,  and 
Wishart,  and  the  preaching  of  John  Knox.  Of  the  latter,  the  demolition 
of  the  cathedral  was  however  a  lamentable  result.* 

36.  At  Ladybank  Junction  the  Perth  Branch  diverges,  and  passing 
the  beautiful  loch  of  Lindores,  affords,  near  Newburgh,  a  view  of  the 
mouldering  fragments  of  the  abbey  of  that  name  (Lindores) ;  and  its 
clustering  old  fruit  trees.     The  views  of  the  Firth  of  Tay  and  Carse  of 
Gowrie  are  splendid.     Hence  the  line  proceeds  through  the  now  incon- 
siderable village  of  Abernethy,  once  the  supposed  capital  of  the  Pictish 
kingdom,  where  is  the  celebrated  round  tower  (which  is  seventy-four  feet 
high) — regarding  which,  and  the  tower  of  Brechin  (the  only  specimens  in 
Scotland),  resembling  the  Irish  round  towers,  so  much  has  been  written. 
Antiquarians  of  authority  are  now  disposed  to  limit  the  age  of  these  two 
to  the  twelfth  century.     We  are  unwilling  to  give  up  the  period  of  1000 
years  as  their  assignable  age — i.  e.  as  built  in  the  ninth  century  —  when 
the  Scottish  and  Pictish  kingdoms  were  united,  being  a  conjectured  era 
of  their  erection,  if  not  the  Pictish  period  preceding.      Competent  judges 
range  the  Irish  round  towers  from  the  fifth  to  the  thirteenth  centuries. 
The  state  of  preservation  is  at  any  rate  very  remarkable.     There  seems 
no  doubt  that  these  edifices  were  ecclesiastical,  and  in  all  probability  used 
as  belfries. 

Afterwards  pass  the  well-known  watering  place  of  Bridge  of  Earn  and 
Pitkeathly  Wells.  The  view  from  Moncrieff  hill  between  these  and  the 
Tay,  was  called  by  Pennant,  "  the  glory  of  Scotland." 

4.   THE   SCOTTISH    CENTRAL, 

37.  Which  continues  the  direct  line  of  the  Caledonian  Railway  to 
Perth,  branches  off  from  the  Greenhill  Junction  about  half  way  between 
the  Falkirk  and  Castlecary  Stations  on  the  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow 
Railway.    This  line  passes  across  the  rich  plain  of  the  Forth,  near  the 

*  Omnibuses  run  from  the  Leucliar  Station  to  St.  Andrews  (6  miles)  at  all  hours, 
to  suit  the  trains. 


APP.  THE    DEVON.  779 

battle  fields  of  Falkirk  and  Bannockburn — past  Stirling — up  the  course 
of  the  Allan  past  Dunblane  and  the  Sheriff  Muir — and  near  the  Roman 
Camps  at  Ardoch — and  slants  into  Strathearn— throughout  a  very  rich 
tract  of  country.  Several  points  touched  by  the  line  have  been  already 
alluded  to. 

38.  But  we  must,  diverging  for  a  space,  specially  call  the  tourists 
attention  to  the  scenery  of  the  Devon,  which  falls  into  the  Firth  at  Cam- 
bus,  below  Stirling,  and  to  the  once  regal  town  of  Dunfermline. 

CASTLE   CAMPBELL  AND    THE  SCENERY    OF   THE  DEVON,   THE   CALDRON 
LINN,    RUMBLING   BRIDGE,    AND  DEVIL'S  MILL. 

The  course  of  "  the  crystal  Devon,"  "  the  winding  Devon,"  sung  by 
Burns,  is  of  a  charming  character  to  Dollar,  thirteen  miles  from  Stirling, 
having,  on  one  hand,  the  variegated  slopes  of  the  Ochils,  terminating  at 
the  south  in  Damyat,  celebrated  for  its  commanding  view,  and  on  the 
other,  the  rich  expanse  of  the  plain  of  the  Forth,  with  its  singularly 
winding  river  and  gradually  widening  estuary.  The  little  glen  of  Alva, 
rather  more  than  half  way,  invites  the  tourist  to  turn  aside  to  scan  its 
woodland  beauties  and  cascade.  At  Dollar,  where  there  is  an  academy  of 
considerable  repute,  we  are  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  fine  quadran- 
gular ruin  of  Castle  Campbell,  long  a  seat  of  the  Argyle  family,  imposingly 
perched  on  an  eminence  between  two  deeply  channelled  rivulets,  which, 
uniting  below  its  walls,  form  the  brook  which  runs  through  Dollar.  An 
amphitheatre  of  hills  rises  around,  clothed,  as  are  the  ravines,  in  close 
mantling  wood.  This  structure  was  destroyed  in  1645  by  Montrose  and 
his  adherents,  the  Ogilvies  of  Airlie,  alike  hereditary  enemies  of  the 
Campbells.  The  ancient  name  is  the  Castle  of  Gloom,  and  from  the  names 
of  the  surrounding  localities,  it  has  further,  by  a  play  of  words,  been  said 
to  be  situated  on  the  Water  of  Grief,  in  the  Glen  of  Care,  and  the  Parish 
of  Dolour !  About  three  miles  above  Dollar,  the  channel  of  the  Devon, 
immediately  after  making  the  singular  change  in  its  course,  called  "  The 
Crook  of  Devon,"  exhibits  a  succession  of  peculiar  appearances,  known 
under  the  somewhat  fantastical  titles  of  the  Caldron  Linn,  the  Mumbling 
Bridge,  and  the  Devil's  Mill.  Of  these,  the  last  and  uppermost  is  where 
the  river,  forming  a  cascade,  falls  into  a  deep  rocky  cavity,  beating 
against  the  sides  of  which  a  sound  is  produced  resembling  that  of  a  mill, 
and  the  prefix  to  its  cognomen  is  derived  from  this  said  mill  working 
Sunday  as  well  as  Saturday.  Less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  below,  the 
narrow  duct  of  rock  is  spanned  by  an  arch  120  feet  above  the  water, 
of  which  the  alteration  of  its  note,  as  it  toils  along  to  a  rumbling  noise, 
gives  the  variation  of  epithet  to  this  spot.  The  aspect  of  the  chasm  from 
the  bridge,  or  from  the  adjoining  banks,  is  startling,  and  highly  pictur- 
esque. A  mile  below,  the  water,  within  a  short  space,  has  channelled  out 
in  its  descent  a  series  of  deep  basins  or  caldrons  in  the  rock,  in  which  it 
seethes  and  boils  in  great  commotion,  and  finally  precipitates  itself  from 
the  third  and  last  caldron  in  a  fine  waterfall  of  forty-four  feet. 


780  DUNFERMLINE.  API'. 


39.  DUXFEKMLINE. 

Instead  of  retracing  his  steps,  we  would  recommend  to  the  tourist  to 
strike  across  to  Dunfermline,  and  return  to  Stirling  by  Alloa.  Dun- 
fermline  is  distinguished  by  having  been  an  early  seat  of  the  Scottisli 
monarchy  and  frequent  residence,  and  long  the  burial  place  of  our  kiiit,rs. 
The  ruins  of  a  square  tower  on  a  peninsular  mound,  on  the  side  of  a  deep 
glen,  close  by  the  town,  is  called  Malcolm  Ccenmore's  Tower.  There  he 
was  married  to  his  queen,  "  the  sainted  Margaret,"  daughter  of  Edward 
Atheling ;  and  it  was  he  who  transferred  the  place  of  royal  sepulture  hither 
from  lona.  Malcolm  himself,  David  I.,  Alexander  I.  and  III.,  and 
Robert  Bruce,  and  other  monarchs,  were  buried  in  the  choir  of  the  abbey, 
the  site  of  the  present  parish  church.  The  abbey  became  one  of  the  most 
richly  endowed  monastic  institutions  in  Scotland,  and  was  governed  by 
a  mitred  abbot.  The  remaining  lofty  wall  of  the  fratery,  with  its  three 
tiers  of  windows,  still  testifies  to  the  style  of  the  establishment.  Of  the 
abbey  the  strong  buttressed  nave  remains  entire,  of  Norman  architecture, 
with  some  of  the  pillars  cut  in  zigzag,  others  spirally  grooved.  A  gloomy 
grandeur  is  the  characteristic  of  the  whole.  The  choir  and  transept  have 
been  re-constructed  for  a  parish  church.  It  will  perhaps  be  in  the  recol- 
lection of  the  reader  that,  some  years  ago,  in  clearing  away  the  rums  of 
the  choir,  the  skeleton  of  the  illustrious  Bruce  was  discovered  quite  entire, 
wrapped  in  its  leaden  shroud.  It  was  re-interred  under  the  pulpit  of  the 
present  church.  But  a  fragment  of  the  palace  now  remains.  The  last 
time  it  was  honoured  by  a  royal  visit  was  in  1650,  on  which  occasion 
Charles  II.  signed  the  solemn  league  and  covenant  here. 

The  town  of  Dunfermline  is  celebrated  for  its  manufactures  of  fine 
table  linen,  in  which  from  6000  to  7000  persons  are  employed  in  the  town 
and  suburbs.  The  whole  surrounding  district  is  peculiarly  rich  in  coal, 
iron,  and  limestone,  including  the  extensive  collieries  of  the  Earl  of  Elgin, 
and  a  variety  of  metals  have  been  wrought  in  the  Ochils.  On  the  way 
to  Stirling,  along  the  rich  carse  grounds  bordering  the  Forth,  the  towers 
of  Clackmannan  and  Alloa  are  objects  in  the  landscape  which  attract  the 
eye;  the  former  a  remnant  of  a  castle  of  Robert  the  Bruce's,  whose  sword 
and  helmet  are  preserved  at  Broom  Hall,  the  Earl  of  Elgin's  mansion, 
and  the  other  of  the  old  castle  of  the  Marr  family,  whose  fine  mansion 
and  demesne  adjoins  the  town. 

40.  The  Bridge  of  JHan,  past  Stirling,  is  a  delightful  watering-place. 
A  steep  incline,  rising  to  Dunblane,  enables  to  enjoy  more  leisurely  the 
delightful  scenery  of  the  Allan.  Here,  in  the  grounds  of  Kippenross, 
there  is  a  noted  sycamore,  supposed  to  be  the  largest  in  the  kingdom, 
and  nearly  500  years  old.  Dunblane  Cathedral  is  pretty  entire  in  the 
walls,  and  the  choir  is  used  as  the  parish  church.  Some  of  ttte  quaint 
oak  carving,  and  a  few  old  sarcophagi  and  monuments,  are  preserved. 
Dunblane  is  supposed  to  have  been  a  cell  of  the  Culdees.  It  stands 
associated  with  the  name  of  the  eminent  and  spiritual  Leighton,  long 


APP.  CARSE  OF  GOWRIE — GLAMMIS  CASTLE.  781 

remembered  here  as  "  the  good  bishop."  The  railway  passes  close  to  his 
favourite  walk.  His  library,  bequeathed  to  the  clergy  of  the  diocese,  is 
still  entire.  About  two  miles  to  the  north-east  of  the  town,  the  Sheriff- 
muir  was  the  scene  of  the  drawn  battle,  13th  February  1715,  between  the 
rebel  army,  under  the  Earl  of  Mar,  and  the  royal  troops,  under  Argyle. 
The  latter's  left  was  speedily  broken,  and  completely  routed  by  Glengarry 
and  Clanranald.  while  Argyle  drove  back  his  opponents  (who  attempted 
to  rally  ten  times)  to  the  Allan.  The  victorious  Highlanders  returning 
on  his  rear,  caused  him,  however,  to  desist,  and  both  armies  withdrew, 
neither  knowing  which  had  won  the  day ;  but  Argyle  succeeded  in  pre- 
venting the  intended  passage  of  the  Forth.  Fortemot,  ten  miles  from 
Perth,  is  the  locality  to  which  Kenneth  M'Alpine  removed  the  Scoto- 
Pictish  monarchy  in  the  ninth  century.  Dupplin  Castle  (the  Earl  of 
Kinnoull)  is  seen  as  we  advance.  At  Moncrieff  the  line  passes  through 
a  tunnel  of  rock,  1J  miles  in  extent,  emerging  from  which,  the  valley  and 
river  of  the  Tay,  with  Perth's  fair  city,  bursts  in  splendour  on  the  view. 

5.   THE  PERTH  AND  DUNDEE,  DUNDEE  AND  AKBROATH,  SCOTTISH 
MIDLAND  JUNCTION,  AND  ARBROATH  AND  FORFAR  RAILWAY. 

41.  These  lines  form  a  continuous  circuit  of  communication  by  the 
several  points  indicated  by  their  respective  names,  and  by  the  Dundee 
and  Newtyle  Railway  having  a  further  middle  line  of  connection,  and 
afford  a  variety  of  choice,  as  far  as  the  Froickheim  Junction,  about  mid- 
way between  Forfar  and  Arbroath,  whence  the  Aberdeen  Railway  conti- 
nues the  line  of  railway  to  that  city.  The  tourist  should,  perhaps,  prefer 
the  direct  line  to  Dundee.  This  passes  through  the  level  Carse  of  Gourrie, 
so  well  known  for  its  great  expanse  of  the  finest  corn  land ;  it  is  embel- 
lished with  numerous  mansions,  and,  with  the  contiguous  Firth  of  Tay, 
is  lined  by  ranges  of  wooded  and  cultivated  hills.  The  large,  bustling 
manufacturing  and  sea-port  town  of  Dundee  presents  a  fine  appearance 
from  the  water  or  quays — its  peculiar  feature  being  its  great,  massive 
square  steeple,  which  is  worth  ascending  for  the  view. 

In  this  way,  however,  unless  by  taking  the  Dundee  and  Newtyle 
line,  one  misses  the  fine  Castle  of  Glammis,  the  best  specimen  extant, 
being  in  perfect  preservation,  of  the  old  Scottish  baronial  architecture — 
the  oldest  portions  early  Norman,  the  latter  Flemish.  It  stands  in  the 
midst  of  extensive  woods,  quite  near  the  Glammis  station  on  the  Scottish 
Midland  Junction,  27  miles  from  Perth.  It  is  a  large  and  lofty  pile, 
crowned  with  sharp-pointed  turrets  and  railed  platforms.  The  great  hall, 
and  especially  the  roof,  is  very  fine.  There  are  several  valuable  paintings 
and  some  curious  relics.  There  had  been  lofty  corresponding  wings,  with 
intervening  courts,  which,  with  very  extensive  and  intricate  outworks, 
have  unfortunately  been  removed.  Malcolm  II.  is  said  to  have  died  here, 
having  been  wounded  in  the  vicinity  by  assassins ;  and  the  representa- 
tions on  certain  curiously  sculptured  obelisks  near  at  hand,  are  supposed 
to  represent  the  occurrence.  These,  and  a  curious  sun-dial  in  the  court, 


782  ARBROATH — DUNNOTTAR.  APP. 

are  worthy  of  attention.  The  outlook  from  the  top  of  the  castle,  on  the 
fertile  expanse  and  rich  woods  of  Strathmore,  will  be  found  not  less  so. 
We  ought  not  to  omit  to  say  that  the  railway  runs  up  from  Perth  along 
the  course  of  the  Tay,  commanding  very  beautiful  views,  as  far  as  its 
junction  with  the  Isla,  where  the  scenery  is  picturesque.  On  the  right 
will  be  seen  Dwn&inane.  Hill,  a  name  associated  with  that  of  Macbeth.  It 
is  crowned  by  what  has  been  a  fortified  station,  which  may  have  owed  its 
origin  to  him.* 

Progressing  from  Dundee,  the  next  point  of  special  interest  is  jrbroath, 
supposed  to  be  the  "Fairport,"  and  its  "Redhead"  crags  and  coves  to 
have  been  in  the  novelist's  eye,  in  depicting  some  of  the  scenes  of  the 
Antiquary.  It  possesses  a  more  palpable  interest  in  the  ruins  of  the  cele- 
brated Abbey  of  Aberbrothock,  founded  by  William  the  Lion,  who  lies 
interred  within  its  walls,  and  dedicated  to  Thomas  A'Becket,  shortly 
after  his  murder,  and  rather  a  singular  recognition,  if  it  be  so  regarded, 
of  the  principle  of  ecclesiastical  supremacy  to  which  he  fell  a  martyr. 
The  abbey  has  been  a  magnificent  building,  but  now  a  mass  of  rather 
unsightly  fragments,  having  sadly  gone  or  been  reduced  to  decay,  none 
of  the  pillars  remaining,  and  the  friable  stone  having  yielded  up  all 
vestiges  of  the  decorative  parts ;  but  the  Barons  of  Exchequer  have  inter- 
fered to  prevent  further  demolition,  and  have  had  the  area  cleared  out. 

6.    THE   ABERDEEN    RAILWAY. 

42.  There  are  not  many  points  of  particular  interest  in  the  further  way 
north.  A  slight  divergence  at  the  Montrose  Station,  on  one  hand,  leads 
to  Montrose,  and  a  short  branch,  in  the  opposite  direction,  conducts  to 
Brechin. 

Montrose  is  a  considerable  and  rather  handsome  town,  built  on  a  low 
peninsula  stretching  from  the  north  across  the  estuary  of  the  Esk,  and 
connecting  with  the  southern  shore  by  one  of  the  largest  of  suspension 
bridges,  and  is  girt  on  the  east  by  extensive  links  and  sands. 
*  Brechin  is  delightfully  situated  above  the  wooded  dell  of  the  Esk,  and 
is  remarkable  for  the  round  tower  attached  to  the  church — one  of  the  only 
two  such  in  Scotland— the  other  already  noticed  being  at  Abernethy. 
The  cathedral  church  itself  is  very  old,  with  another  tower  short  and 
square,  and  terminating  in  a  dwarf  octagonal  spire.  Messrs.  Henderson's 
nurseries  here  are  deservedly  celebrated. 

The  country  to  Aberdeen  continues  well  cultivated,  but  rather 
bleak ;  but  the  line  presents  variety  in  crossing  several  small  intersecting 

*  There  is  some  very  fine  wooded,  river,  and  cliff  scenery  at  Craighall,  on  the 
Ericht,  near  Blairjrowrie,  of  much  the  same  character,  though  not  on  so  grand  a 
scale,  as  that  of  the  Findliorn.  Between  Blairgowric  and  Dunkeld,  a  distance  of 
twelve  miles,  the  drive  by  the  lochs  of  Marlie,  Cluny,  Butterstone,  and  Lowes,  is  very 

E  leasing,  and  especially  as  we  approach  Dunkeld.     The  pass  into  the  Deeside  High- 
imls,  by  the  Spittal  of  Glenshec,  presents  some  fine  rocky  mountain  peaks  towards 
the  summit  level. 


APP.  DUNNOTTAR.  783 

valleys ;  the  outskirts  of  the  Grampians  cause  the  interior  to  assume  a 
hilly  character :  and  north  of  Stonehaven  the  railway  runs,  in  great 
measure,  along  the  face  of  cliffs  immediately  above  the  sea.  Near  the 
neat  town  of  Stonehaven,  we  have  the  extensive  ruins  of  Dunnottar  Castle, 
built  by  the  Keiths,  Great  Marischals  of  Scotland,  which  occupy  four  or 
five  acres  on  the  edge  of  a  portion  of  the  iron-bound  coast  to  the  south,  with 
a  deep  intervening  chasm.  The  shell  of  the  great  square  tower  is  entire,  and 
is  surrounded  by  the  ruins  of  other  numerous  buildings,  showing  how  large 
the  garrison  had  been.  The  area  at  top  was  encircled  by  a  rampart 
wall,  and  the  access  was  by  a  winding  footpath,  and  through  a  gateway 
in  a  wall,  forty  feet  high,  and  along  an  arched  passage  protected  by  more 
than  one  portcullis.  During  the  wars  of  the  Commonwealth,  the  regalia 
were  placed  for  safety  by  the  Privy  Council  in  Dunnottar,  as  the  place  of 
greatest  security  in  the  kingdom.  During  the  siege  which  ensued,  when 
driven  to  extremity,  Mrs.  Ogilvie,  the  governor's  wife,  entrusted  them  to 
Mrs.  Granger,  wife  of  the  minister  of  Kinneff,  who  had  been  permitted  to 
visit  her  by  the  English  general,  Lambert.  Mrs.  Granger  contrived 
boldly  to  carry  out  the  crown  in  her  lap,  while  her  servant  had  the  sceptre 
and  sword  slung  in  a  bag  of  flax  on  her  back.  They  were  secreted  at 
times  under  the  pulpit  at  Kinneff,  and  at  others  in  a  double-bottomed 
bed  at  the  manse,  till  the  Restoration.  Mrs.  Ogilvie  did  not  tell  her 
husband  where  they  were  till  she  was  on  her  deathbed.  Wallace,  about 
1296,  according  to  Blind  Harry,  destroyed  4000  Englishmen  at  Dunnottar, 
setting  fire  to  the  church  where  they  had  fled  for  sanctuary. 

"  Some  hung  on  crags,  right  dolefully  to  dee, 
Some  lap,  some  fell,  some  fluttered  in  the  sea." 

In  1685,  167  of  the  Covenanters  were  thrust  into  the  Whigs'  Vault  at 
Dunnottar,  where  many  of  them  died.  With  these  characteristic  inci- 
dents of  times  to  which  our  own  form  a  happy  contrast,  we  close  our 
rapid  survey  of  the  Lowlands,  by  way  of  Supplement  to  our  Guide  to  the 
Highlands  and  Islands  of  Scotland. 


NOTE  TO  SECTION  II. 

ERRATUM    AS    TO    ROADS    ON    THE    WEST    OF    ROSS    AND 
SUTHERLAND  SHIRES. 

In  our  preliminary  remarks  on  the  roads  on  the  west  of  Ross  and  Sutherlandshire, 
p.  43,  it  has  been  incorrectly  stated,  that  "  from  Ullapool,  through  the  district  of 
Coigach,  to  Loch  Inver,  in  Sutherlandshire,  there  is  yet  no  puhlic  road."  In  the  de- 
scription of  Sutherlandshire,  p.  515,  this  mistake  is  so  far  rectified  hy  the  sentence — 
"  At  Ledmore  a  road  branches  off  south-west  to  Cnockan,  the  extreme  boundary  of 
Assynt,  towards  Loch  Broom,  which  has  now  been  continued  to  Ullapool,  sixteen 


784  NOTE   TO   SECTION   II. 

miles  distant."  We  deem  it  right  thus  more  pointedly  to  direct  attention  to  this 
fact : — This  short  road  forms  a  very  important  link  in  the  means  of  intercourse  on 
the  west  coast,  as  thereby  there  is  a  line  of  communication  completed,  though  by 
rather  tortuous  windings,  throughout  the  whole  of  the  west  coast,  and  thus  round 
the  whole  of  Scotland.  From  Ullapool,  southwards,  we  may  either  take  the  Garve 
road,  or  that  by  Loch  Greinord,  to  Poolewe  (almost  completed),  and  thence  to  the 
Dingwall  and  Jeantown  road,  at  Auchnasheen — while,  were  the  road  formed  from  the 
head  of  Loch  Torridon  to  Shieldag,  a  much  more  westerly  point  would  be  reached 
direct.  For  the  formation  of  the  road  from  Ullapool  to  Ledmore,  as  well  as  the  repair, 
or  rather  reconstruction,  of  that  to  Auchnasheen,  and  also  those  round  by  Loch  Grei- 
nord and  Loch  Maree,  and  elsewhere,  the  public  and  the  Highlands  are  indebted  to 
the  co-operation  of  the  Highland  Relief  Committee  with  the  public  spirited  landed 
proprietors  in  these  districts — a  valuable  and  enduring  memorial  of  the  labours  of 
the  Committee. 


TABLE   OF  DISTANCES. 


DIRECTIONS  TO  TRAVELLERS. 

A  VERY  few  hints  will  suffice  in  the  way  of  suggestions  as  to  equipment  and  other  con- 
siderations in  travelling.  The  more  limited  the  number  of  persons  in  a  touring  party, 
it  is  obvious  the  less  risk  there  will  be  of  inconvenience  in  point  of  accommodation, 
as  there  may  be  in  many  parts  of  the  Highlands  where  there  is  only  a  single  inn  of 
moderate  size.  Pedestrians  should  have  their  wardrobe  as  light  and  scanty  as  pos- 
sible ;  but  in  every  case  we  would  recommend  woollen  clothing  to  be  used  (including 
worsted  stockings,  which  should  be  changed  every  day).  Or  a  light  over-coat  should 
be  carried.  Indeed  this  will  be  found  indispensable,  as  there  may  be  frequent  occa- 
sion for  boating  and  coaching.  A  walking  umbrella  should  always  be  carried,  to  pro- 
tect one  from  the  sun  as  much  as  from  the  rain,  together  with  a  compass,  and  a 
travelling  map  had  best  be  wrapped  in  an  oil-skin,  which  will  also  serve  to  carry  a 
few  sheets  of  writing-paper  and  sketch-book,  with  pen  and  ink  and  drawing  materials. 
In  case  of  deviating  out  of  the  usual  thoroughfares,  a  few  buttons,  pins,  thread  and 
needles,  and  soap,  with  a  piece  of  linen  rag  for  bruises  and  sores,  may  not  be  amiss ; 
and  all  ought  to  be  provided  with  a  little  medicine,  chiefly  laxative  and  sedative. 
Blisters  on  the  skin  should  be  opened  by  running  a  needle  through  them,  or  with  a 
penknife,  and  the  foot  and  stocking  sole  well  rubbed  with  brown  soap,  which  hardens 
the  skin.  A  tea  dinner  is  a  good  arrangement,  with  refreshment  during  the  day. 
But  the  pedestrian  should  not  leave  in  the  morning  without  at  least  a  piece  of  bread 
or  other  nourishment,  to  prevent  faintishness  by  the  way.  Eat  it  along  with  the 
water  you  will  feel  disposed  to  drink  on  your  journey,  but  use  spirits  of  all  kinds  in 
great  moderation,  especially  during  the  early  parts  of  the  day.  Milk  and  water  is  a 
safe  and  satisfying  beverage.  If  on  a  botanical  or  geological  excursion  of  some  endur- 
ance, carry  but  one  pair  of  strong,  large-sized  shoes,  one  pair  of  browsers,  one  cloth 
waistcoat  with  leather  pockets,  one  square  short  coat,  provided  with  six  large  pockets, 
two  out  and  two  inside,  and  two  in  the  breasts,  two  pair  of  coarse  worsted  socks,  two 
shirts,  one  black  silk  neckcloth,  and  a  cap  or  wide-awake.  Geologists  should  carry  a 
small  chipping  hammer,  and  a  quadrant  for  taking  the  dip  of  rocks ;  and  the  botanist 
will  find  that  a  few  sheets  of  paper  and  blot-sheet  between  stout  pasteboards,  and 
tied  with  a  strong  cord,  or  a  strap  and  buckle,  will  form  a  useful  and  convenient 
press  for  preserving  specimens.  Knapsacks  are  apt  to  tear  and  let  in  the  rain  where  it 
is  not  wanted ;  so  that,  if  the  appearance  of  a  light  wicker  basket,  so  woven  or  pro- 
tected as  to  be  water  tight,  is  disregarded,  it  will  be  found  the  best  general  receptacle 
for  all  sorts  of  stores  and  comforts.  But  for  the  most  part,  the  pedestrian  should 
make  his  wardrobe  so  portable  as  to  be  easily  contained  in  his  coat  pockets.  Water- 
proof capes  will  be  found  of  great  service  by  all  travellers,  and  are  less  burdensome 
than  an  over-coat ;  but  then  they  do  not  serve  as  a  sufficient  substitute  when  one  is 
exposed  without  motion.  A  pair  of  slippers  will  be  found  a  comfort,  which  well 
repays  the  trouble  of  carrying. 

2L'2 


786 


TABLE    OF    DISTANCES. 


1.   DISTANCES  IN  THE  HIGHLANDS  AND  ISLANDS. 


1.  Inverness  to  Perth,  by  Banff,  Aberdeen,  and  Dundee. 


Miles 

Miles 

Campbelltown  (tolerable  inn)     11 

11 

Aberdeen 

Nairn          .                                  7 

18 

Stonehaven 

Forres 

11 

29 

Inverbervie 

Elgin 

12 

41 

Johnshaven 

Fochabers 

9 

50 

Montrose 

Culleu 

13 

62 

Arbroath 

Banff 

14 

76 

Dundee 

Turriff 

11 

87 

Inchture 

Old  Meldrum 

16 

103 

Perth 

Miles    Mile- 
16       11!) 
15       134 
10      144 
3*    147* 
9      156* 
169| 
186* 
194* 
207} 


17 


13J 


2.  Inverness  to  Perth,  by  Huntly,  Aberdeen,  and  Brechin. 


Fochabers,  (see  No.  1) 
Keith 

Miles 
50 

9 

Miles 
50 
59 

Esk  Bridge 
Brechin 

Huntly 

10 

69 

Forfar 

Pitmachie 

13 

82 

Glamiuis 

Inverury 

9 

91 

Meigle 

Aberdeen 

16 

107 

Cupar-Angus 

Stonehaven 

15 

122 

Perth 

Lanrencekirk 

13 

135 

Miles  Miles 
61  14H 
146* 
169 
164* 
171J 
176? 
189* 


12* 
5* 


3.  Inverness  to  Perth,  by  the  Highland  Road. 


Moy,  public-house 

Freeburn,  tolerable, 

Bridge  of  Carr,  a  good  small  inn 

Aviemore 

Kingussie 

Dalwhinnie 


Miles  Miles 
11*  11* 
3|  15J 
9t  24* 
32* 


44* 

58* 


Dalnacardoch 

Blair,  or  Bridge  of  Tilt 

Mouliuearn 

Dunkeld 

Perth 


12j  71J 

10}  82 

9f  91J 

9}  101* 

15  116* 


4.  Perth  to  Fochabers,  by  Blair-  A  thole,  Castietown  ofBraemar,  and 
Grantoion. 


Dunkeld  ...  15  15 

Blair          ....  19*  34* 

Castletown  of  Braemar  26  60* 

Rienloan,  tolerable  .  13  73* 

Corgarff,  thatched  public-house     8*  82 

Tomantoul,  tolerable          .         9  91 

Grautowu  ...  14  105 


Grantown  to  Bridge  of  Carr, 

10  miles. 
Balliudalloch  or  Inveravon, 

small  inn  13      118 

Aberlour  ...          7*    125* 

Rothes  ...          4      129* 

Fuchaben  ...        10      1394 


5.  Perth  to  Aberdeen,  by  Blairgowrie,  and  Castktown  ofBraemar. 


Cupar-Angus 
Blairgowne 
Spittal  of  Glenshee 
Castletomi  of  Braemar 


Mili-s  Mii.-s 

12*  12* 

4*  17 

19  36 

15  51 


Pannanich 
Kincardine-O'Neill 
Park  Inn 
Aberdeen 


Miles  Mile- 

16       67 
16       83 

12  95 

13  108 


TABLE  OF  DISTANCES. 


787 


6.  Inverness  to  Glasgow,  by  Fort-  William  and  Crinan  Canal. 


General's  Hut,  near  Foyers, 

Oban         .... 

13 

96 

slated  public-house         .        18        18 

Easdale,  no  inn 

15 

105 

Fort-Augustus,  tolerable            14       32 

Crinan  Canal,  north  end, 

Invergarry          .        .        .          7$      39$ 

small  inn 

20 

125 

Letterfinlay,  slatedpublic-house   7$      47 
Spean  Bridge,  slated  public-house  8        55 

Lochgilphead 
Tarbert 

9 
13 

134 
147 

Fort-William                                 8        63 

Rothesay 

27 

174 

At  Bannavie,  a  large  inn. 

Greenock 

19 

193 

Appin         ....        20        83 

Glasgow 

26 

219 

7.  Inverness  to  Dmvegan,  by  Kyle  Rhea. 

Miles    Miles 

Miles 

Miles 

Drumnadrochet                           14        14 

Broadford 

12 

86f 

Invermoriston,  small  inn            13        37 

Isle  Oronsay,  steam- 

Fort-Augustus, 7=34  miles. 
Torguil,  slated  public-house         8$      35$ 
Cluany,  slated  public-house        16        51$ 
Shielhouse,  good  public-house    11}      63J 
Shielhouse  to  Dornie  public-house,  10  ; 
Kyle  Akin,  good  inn,  10=20  miles. 
Kyle  Rhea,  public-house            llf      74f 

boat  inn,  9             ~)  -.  „ 
Armadale,  no  inn,  7  j 
Sligachan,  good 
Portree 
Kinloch-Snizort,  public-house 
Coushletter,  public-house 
Dunvegan 

13 
13 
6 
6 
10 

99| 
lllf 
1171 
123J 
133f 

8.  Inverness  to  Dalwhinnie,  by  Fort-Augwtus. 

Miles    Miles 

Miles 

Miles 

Port-Augustus,  (see  No.  6).       32       32 
Garvamore,  no  inn              .        18        50 

Bridge  of  Laggan 
Dalwhinnie 

8 
5 

58 
63 

9.  Inverness  to  Loch  Howrnhead. 

Miles    Miles 

Miles 

Milei 

Invermoriston,  (see  No.  7).        27       27 

Loch  Hournhead,  slated 

Fort-Augustus                            7       34 

public-house 

20 

734 

Invergarry  Inn            .        .          7$      41$ 

Tomandoun,  slated  public-house  12        534 

Tomandoun  to  Cluany,  10J 
miles. 

10.  Inverness  to  Arisaig. 

Miles    Miles 

Mile 

Miles 

Letterfinlay,  (see  No.  6).            47       47 

Kinloch-Aylort,  slated  public- 

Inverlochy  Castle,  no  inn           14       61 

house 

10 

86 

Bannavie            ...         2       63 

Arisaig,  slated  public-house 

10 

96 

Glenfinnan,  tolerable          .       14       76 

11.  Fort-  William  to  Pitmain,  by  Loch  Laggan. 


Spean  Bridge,  small  inn 
Bridge  of  Roy  and  Inn, 
Sinclair's  Inn,  '  east  end  of 


Miles    Miles 
7 

3       10 


Miles    Mile? 

Loch     Laggan,     public- 
house  ....        26        35 


Bridge  of  Laggan 
Pitmain 


788 


TABLE  OF  DISTANCES. 


12.  Fort-  William,  to  Lochgilphead. 


Ballachulish  Ferry  inns,  the 

best  on  south  side  14  14 

Durar,  small  inn         .  7  21 

Portnacrosh,  public-house  4  25 

Shian  Ferry,  public-house  4  29 

Connel  Ferry,  small  inn     .  5  34 

Lorn,  tolerable  inn            .  6  40 


Kilininver,  small  public-house    5  45 

Kilmelford  do.          .          7  52 

Barbreck  ...          8  60 

Kilmartin          ...          8  68 

Lochgilphead,  inn     .  8  74 

Do.        to  Inverary  16 


13.  Oban  to  Staffa  and  lona,  by  Ulva. 


Kerrera,  public-house  .  4 
Ferry  to  Achnacraig,  slated 

public-house  .        .          7 

Craiganour,  slated  public-house  5 
Aros,  thatched  public-house  11 
Tobermory,  8$  miles. 


Lochnakeal,  public-house 
Laggan-Ulva,  public-house 
Staffa,  no  inn  or  house  of 

any  kind        ... 
lona,  uo  public-house,  but 

cleanly  private  lodging 


14.  Oban  to  Dumbarton,  by  Inverary  and  Loch  Lomond. 


Miles    Miles 

Connel  Ferry,  small  inns    .          5          5 
Shian  Ferry,  5,  Fortnacross,  4, 

Ballachulish,  11,  Fort- William, 

14=39  miles  from  Oban. 
Taynuilt,  small  inn     .        .          6        11 
Dalmally     ....        12        23 
Dalmally  to  Tyndrum,  11  miles. 
Inverary     ....       16       39 


Taynuilt  to  Port-Sonachan,  8f, 

Inverary,  12£=21J. 

Cairndow                   .  .  9} 

Arroqnhar                 .  .  14 

Tarbert      .  1$ 

Luss          .                .  .  8 

Dumbarton               .  .  12$ 


48f 
62| 
64$ 


15.  Inverary  to  Portnahaven  in  Islay. 


Miles 

Miles 

Miles 

Miles 

Goatfield    .... 

8 

8 

Feoline      .... 

17i 

67$ 

Lochgilphead  Inn 

l*i 

224 

Ferry  to  Islay,  good  inn  at  Port 

Beallanoch  Inn,  tolerable 

7 

29J 

Askaig   .... 

1 

68J 

Tayvillich  Inn,  tolerable     . 

6 

35* 

Bridgend  Inn    . 

8 

761 

Kcal,  public-house 

6 

«i 

Bowmore,  3  miles. 

Ferry  to  Jura     .        . 

B| 

50 

Portnahaven,  tolerable 

17 

98} 

16.  Inverary  to  Campbelltown,  and  back  to  East  Tarbert. 


Miles  Miles 

Lochgilphead  (see  No.  15)          221  22J 
East  Tarbert  Inn        .        .        12J  35 
West  Tarbert,  public-house          1  36 
Whitehouse,  good  inn         .          4J  40J 
Clachan    of    Sliinikcll,    public- 
house       ....          4}  45 
Clachan  Tayanloan,  good  public- 
house      ....          6J  5U 
Clachan  Barr,  good  public-house  6f  681 
Bealachantine     ...          2J  60J 
Mackerihanish       Bay,      small 

public-bouse  .        .          t^  65 


Campbelltown  .        .          6| 

Mull  of  Cantyre,  10  miles. 
Sadcll,  good  public-house  10 
Carradell,  punlic-house  .  4 
Grogpprt,  public-house  .  4 
Clunaig,  public-house  .  10 
Skipness  castle  and  village,  2 

miles,  (do). 

Clunaig  to  East  Tarbert,  across 
the  hills,  no  road  from  Skip- 
ness  ...  10 


8H 

851 

994 


tow 


TABLE    OF    DISTANCES. 


789 


17.  Tarbert  to  Bowmore.  and  Portnahaven  in  Islay. 


Carrick  Point 

1         1 

Bridgend  Inn    . 

8        42 

Ardpatrick 

10        11 

Portnahaven 

17        59 

Port  Askaig 

23        34 

Bridgend  to  Bowmore,  3  miles 

18.  Stirling  to  Inverness,  by  Fort-  William. 

Miles    Miles 

Miles    Mil.-i 

Doune 

8          8 

Inverouran,  public-house 

10        62 

Callander 

.        .                 7}      15f 

King's  House,  tolerable     . 

9       70 

Lochearnheac 

13|      29| 

Ballachulish,  tolerable 

16        86 

Lull)  Inn     . 

10J      40 

Fort-  William 

14      100 

Crienlarich 

7       47 

Inverness  ('see  Nos.  6.  and  7 

Tyndrum    . 

5        52  I      &c.)>  hy  Invermoriston 

64      164 

19. 

Stirling  to  Dunkeld,  by  Lochearnhead  mid  Loch  Tay. 

Miles    Miles 

Miles    Miles 

Doune 

8         8     Killin 

7       36* 

Callander 

7f      15|    Kenmore 

16        52} 

Callander  to 

Loch  Catrine,  9£ 

Aberfeldy 

6        58J 

miles. 

Grandtully  Arms 

7        65* 

Lochearnheac 

13|      29$ 

Dunkeld 

9        74* 

20.  Stirling  to  Perth,  by  Lochearnhead  and  Crieff. 

Miles    Miles 

Miles    Mile* 

Lochearnheac 

,  (see  No.  18)        29J      29J 

Stirling,  20*  miles. 

St.  Milan's 

.        .        .         7       36J 

New  Inn 

1\       55} 

Comrie 

§42 

Perth        .... 

10        65| 

Crieff 

48* 

21.  Crieff  to  Inverness,  by  Dalnacardoch. 

Miles    Miles 

Miles    Miles 

Carmuclach,  tolerable         .        11        11 

Cushiville,  small  inn 

5         28 

Amulree 

.         -          .            1J       11* 

Turnmel  Bridge 

7        35 

Aberfeldy 

10*      22 

Dalnacardoch     . 

10        46 

Weems 

1        23 

Inverness,  (see  No.  3) 

Tli    116i 

22.  Crieff  to  Inverness,  by  Tummel  Bridge,  Bridge  of  Garry,  and  Blair. 

Miles    Miles  I  Miles    Mile* 

Tummel  Bridge  (see  No.  21).     35        35      Blair  Athole       ...          4        49 
Bridge  of  Garry,  no  inn      .        10        45   |  Inverness  (see  No.  3)         .        82      131 


23.  Inverness  to  Shielhouse,  by  Strathglass  and  Strath  Affrick. 

Miles    Miles  Miles    Miles 

Shielhouse,  by  the  Beallach  and 
Crowe  of  Kintail,  good  public- 
house     ....        17        64 
Shielhouse,  by  Glomak  Fall,  3 
or  4  miles  more. 
N.B.  Struy  to  Jeantown,  by 
Glenstrathfarar,  about 
47  miles. 

Struy,  by  Glen  Cannich, 
to    Shielhouse,  about 
47  I  the  like  distance. 


Bogroy,  public-house 
Beauly  Bridge     . 
Beauly  (inns),  1  mile. 
Crask  of  Aigas,  public-house 
Struy  Bridge,  and  small  inn 
Invercannich,  public-house 
Fasnakyle  Bridge 
Loch  Benneveian,  no  inn 
Annamulloch  and  Culivie,  west 
end  of  Loch  Affrick,  Shepherd's 
Houses  ...        10 


7 

7 

4 

11 

5 

18 

•1 

22 

n 

29J 

4 

32 

5 

37 

790 


TABLE   OP   DISTANCES. 


24.  Inverness  to  Dunvegan,  by  Loch  CaiTon. 


Miles    Miles 

Miles    Mile* 

Dingwall,  by  Kessock  Ferry       13        13 
Strathpeffer,     Spa    Hotel     and 
another  inn     .               .5        18 

Applecross,  12  miles. 
Strome  Ferry,  public-house 
Dornie,  6  miles. 

5       67* 

Contin,  inn         .                         3       21 

Kyle  Akin  Inn 

12       79} 

Strathgarve         .                          5}      26} 

Broadford 

8}      88 

Auchnanault       .                .        11        37* 

Dunvegan  (see  No.  7) 

47      135 

Luib,  public-house              .          8        45} 

Struan       .... 

11 

Craig,  public-house            .         8       53} 

Sligachan 

13 

Jeantown           .               .         9       62} 

— 

Shieldaig  on  Loch  Torridon, 
14  miles. 

24 

25.  Inverness  to  Lochbroom  and  UUapool. 

Miles    Miles 

Miles    Miles 

Strathgarve  (see  No.  24)     .       26}      26* 

Ardcarnich,  public-house 

7         58} 

Glascarnock,  public-house          12       38} 
Braemore,  public-house      .       13       51} 

UUapool,  tolerable  inn 

5          63* 

26.  Inverness  to  Loch  Maree,  Poolewe,  and  Gairloch. 

Miles    Miles 

Miles    Miles 

Auchnanault,  (see  No.  24)         37}      37* 

Gairloch,  tolerable  inn 

8       74* 

Auchnasheen,  no  inn         .         5       42} 

Poolewe,  tolerable  inn 

5       79} 

Kinloch-Ewe  Inn               .       12        54} 

Poolewe  from  Slatadale  (road 

Torridon  House,  12  miles,  no  inn. 

incomplete) 

6        85} 

Slatadale,  public-house              12       66} 

27.  Inverness  to  Thurso. 

Miles    Mile, 

Miles    Mile, 

Beauly        .                       .12}      12} 

Clashmore 

10}      70} 

Dingwall            ...         9       21} 

Ditto,  from  Tain,  by  Meikle 

Dingwall,  by  Kessock  Ferry,  13 
miles,  difference,  81  . 

Ferry,   9J   miles,    differ- 
ence 15. 

Evanton      .        .                        6       27} 

Golspie,   4  miles  past  the 

Invergordon                      .         7       34} 
Tain           .                       .11}      46J 

Mound,  over  Loch  Fleet 
Port  Gower 

14        84} 
14}      99} 

Bonar  Bridge                     .       13}      60 

Berridale 

11}    111 

From  Dingwall,  across  the  hill, 
to  Stittenham  Inn,  12}  miles, 

Swiney 
Wick 

12}    123* 
15      138* 

Bonar  Bridge         14 

Thurso 

20}    159} 

difference 


12" 


28.  Inverness  to  Tongue,  by  Kessock  and  Meikle  Ferries,  and  the  Mound. 


The  Mound,  (see  No.  27) 
Laire          .... 
By  Kessock,  Stittenham,  and 
Bonar  Bridge  50}. 


Miles    Miles 
57        57 
14        71 


Miles    Miles 

Aultnaharra,  public-house        21        92 
Tongue  ...       18      110 

By  Kessock,  Stittenham,  and 
Bonar  Bridge,  89$. 


TABLE  OF  DISTANCES. 


791 


29.  Inverness  to  Tongue  and  Cape  Wrath,  by  Bonar  Bridge. 


Miles    Miles 

Miles 

Miles 

Bonar  Bridge,  (see  No.  25)        60       60 
Do.  by  Kessock,  and  Stitten- 

Cape Wrath,  no  inn         .         11 
Do.       by  Kessock,  and 

154* 

ham,  39*.. 

Stittenham 

134 

Lairg,  excellent  inn            .        11       71 

or, 

Aultnaharra,  excellent  inn          21        92 

Aultnaharra              .        .        92 

92 

Tongue,  excellent  inn        .       18      110 

Do.        by  Kessock  and 

Ferry          ....          2      112 

Stittenham                      71i 

Loch  Erriboll  at  Huelim,  public- 

Cashel  Dim,  public-house          13 

105 

house              ,        .        .        10      122 

Eriboll,  public-house                   5 

110 

Ferry          ....          2 

Portchamel                .        .          8J 

118*. 

Portchamel,  no  inn,  round  the 

Cape  Wrath,  no  inn           .        20J 

139 

head  of  Loch  Eriboll               12      134 

Do.        by  Kessock  and 

Duirness  Bay,  good  inn               7      141 

Stittenham  . 

118* 

Ferry          ....          2*.     143J 

30.  Bonar  Bridge  to  Assynt,  EddracMllis  and  Duirness. 

Miles    Miles 

Miles 

Mile 

Shin  Bridge,  public-house            5         5 

Oldiney  (no  inn)  from  Loch 

Cassley  Bridge,    do.            .          8        13 

Inver,  14. 

Oikel  Bridge  and  small  inn          7       20 
Ullapool            .        .        20 

Kyle  Skou,  public-house           12 
Scourie,  good  inn      .        .       11 

50 
61 

Aultnancealgach  Burn,  public- 
house              ...       10       30 

Laxford  Bridge,  public-house      6 
Rhiconich  Inn,  small  inn            6 

67 
73 

Innisindamff,  inn                .          8        38 

Duirness,  good  inn            .        14 

87 

Loch  Inver,  14,  (52),  excellent  inn. 

31.  Tongue  to  Thurso. 

Miles    Miles 


Bettyhill  of  Farr,  good  inn         12       12 

Melvich  Inn  in  Glen  Hallow- 

Strathy  Village  and  Inn,  toler- 
able        ....         8       20 

dale,  good       ...         8 
Reay  Kirk,  and  Inn,  tolerable     4 

28 
32 

Thurso       ....       12 

44 

32.  Circuit  of  the  Orkney  Islands. 

Miles    Miles 

Miles 

Miles 

Thurso  to  Stromness,  about       24       24 

Bridesness         ...         3 

102 

Birsay         ....        12        36 

Start  lighthouse,  or  Taftness, 

Erie           ....         6       42 

in  Sanday       ...          7 

109 

Rousay,  tolerable  inn         .         2       44 

Start  to  Kettletoft     .        .          7 

116 

Across  Rousay,  say     .                 3       47 

Papa  Sound  in  Stronsay  (vil- 

Egilshay    ....          2        49 

lage)       ....          7 

123 

Tuquoy  in  Westray    .        .         8       57 

Lambhead          ...          6 

129 

Pierowall  Inn     ...          4        61 

Ghoe  of  Shapinshay          .         7 

136 

Papa  Westray     .        .       4 

Elwick       ....          6 

143 

Rapness      ....         8       69 

Carness,  on  Mainland       .         2 

145 

Cuthesvoe  in  Eday                      3       72 

Kirkwall            ...          3 

148 

Calf  Sound,  comfortable  public- 

Stromness          .        .      12 

house      ....         2       74 

Holm         ....          7 

155 

Pool,  or  Hecklabor,  in  Sanday      3       77 

Burray       ....          2 

157 

Scar,  or  Savil      ...         8       85 

South  Ronaldshay     .        .         1 

158 

Castlehill,  comfortable  inn            4        89 

Burwick     ....          8 

166 

North  Ronaldshay                       7       96 

Houna       ....        12 

178 

Remains  of  lighthouse        .         3       99 

TABLE  OF  DISTANCES. 


33.  The  Long  Island. 


Milei 


Stornoway  to  Ness,  near  the  Butt, 

by  Barvas 

Stornoway  to  CaUernish  Inn    . 
Garry nahuie,  j unction  with  Uig  Road, 

near  Calleruish,  to  Uig  Church     . 
Stornoway  to  the  Lews  and  Harris 

March 

The  Harris  Road,   from  the  Lews 

March  to  Tarbert  (where  there  is 

an  inn),  is  nearly  completed.  There 

For  the  other  islands,  see  p.  660. 

NOTE. — There  are  inns  affording  good  accommodation  at  all  the  preceding  stations 
where  no  qualifying  remark  is  made,  unless  in  the  Long  Island  and  the  Orkneys. 
By  public-house  is  to  be  understood  a  small  inn  of  moderate  pretensions. 


is  an  old  road  from  Tarbert  to  Ro- 
del.    The  whole  distance  from  the 
Lews  March  to  Rodel,  is  about     .    32 
Stornoway  to  Tolsta         .        .        .12 
Stornoway  to  Portnagowan  in  Eye 

peninsula 12 

Callernish  to  Barvas         .        .        .18 
An  inn  at  Dalbcg,   about  half-way 
between  these  places. 


II.   DISTANCES   IN   THE   LOWLANDS. 


RAILWAY  LINES. 


1.  Carlisle  to  Edinburgh,  100  miles. 


Rockcliffe 

Gretna 

Kirkpatrick 

Kirtlebridge 

Ecclefechan 

Lockerbie 

Nethercleugh 

Wamphray 

Beattock 

Elvanfoot 

Abingtoo 


Miles 

4 

8 

Lamingtou           .... 
Symington           . 

13 

Tliankerton          .        .        .        . 

17 

Carstairs              .        .        .        . 

20 

Carnwath             .... 

26 

29 

Auchengray         . 
Harburu              .        .        .        . 

34 

Midcalder            . 

39 

53 

Slateford               .        .        .        . 

58 

Edinburgh           . 

Milei 
63 
66 
68 
73 
74 
79 
85 
90 
95 
98 

100 


2.  Carlisk  to  Glasgow,  (via  Caledonian  Railway). 


Rockcliffe 

Gretna  Junction 

Kirkpatrick 

Kirtlebridge 

Ecclefechan 

Lockerbie 

Netherclcugh 

Wamphray 

Beattock 

Elvanfoot 

Abington 

Lamington 

Symington 

Tliankerton 


Lanark 

Hardwood 

Carluke 

Overtoil 

Wisliaw 

Motherwell 

Holytowu 

Whftlliit 

Coatbridge 

Gartsherrie 

Gartcosh 

Garnkirk 

Steps  Road 

Glasgow 


81 

85 
86 

-,!! 

91 

'.)» 
M) 


105 


TABLE  OF  DISTANCES. 


793 


3.  Carlisle  to  Greenhitt  Junction. 


Miles 

Milcx 

Motherwell 

89 

Cumbernauld 

101 

Gansherrie 

96 

Greenhill  Junction 

.      106J 

4.  Berwick  to  Edinburgh. 

Ayton 

1 

Drem            .... 

40 

Reston 

11 

Longniddry 

44 

Grant's  House 

16 

Tranent        .... 

48 

Cockburnspath 
Dunbar 

21 
29 

Inveresk       .... 
Portobello 

51 
55 

Linton 

34 

Edinburgh 

58 

5.  Edinburgh  to  Hawick. 

Portobello 

3 

Stow             .... 

27 

Niddry 

5 

Bowland  Bridge 

29 

Gallowshall  or  Eskbank 

8 

Galashiels 

34 

T)allimmip 

9 

37 

Gorebridge 

12 

St.  Boswell's 

41 

Tvnehead 

16 

New  Belses 

16 

iferiot 

19 

Hawick 

53 

Fountainhall 

.        23 

6.  Edinburgh  to  Glasgow. 

Corstorphine 
Gogar 

4 
6 

Falkirk          .... 
Scottish  Central  Junction 

26 
30 

Ratho 

8 

Castlecary 

32 

AVinchburgh 

12 

Croy             .... 

36 

Linlithgow 

.       18 

Campsie  Junction 

41 

Pohnont 

23 

Glasgow 

48 

7. 

Glasgow  to  Ardrossan  and  Ayr. 

Paisley 

7 

Kilraarnock  branch 

10i 

Johnstone 

10 

tfilwinning 

26 

Cochrane  Mill 

11 

Ardrossan                            5$ 

31J 

Lochwinnoch 

15 

Irvine   

29 

Beith     .... 

17 

Troon  (Fleetwood) 

34 

Kilbimie 

.       19 

Monkton      .... 

36 

Dairy     .... 

23 

Ayr       

40 

8.   Glasgow  to  Greenock. 

Paisley 

7 

Port-Glasgow 

20 

Bishopton 

13 

Greenock     .... 

23 

9.  GreenhUl  Junction  to  Perth,  Forfar,  and  Aberdeen. 

Larbert 
Stirling 

4 
12 

Luncarty     .... 
DunkeldRoad     . 

49 
50 

Bridge  of  Allan 
Greenloaning 

.        .        15 
23 

Stanley         .... 
Cargill          .... 

51 
56 

Auchterarder 

31 

Woodside     .... 

58 

PEBTH                  . 

45 

COIIPAR-ANOIIS   . 

61 

2  M 

794 


TABLE    OF    DISTANCES. 


Greenhill  Junction  to  Perth,  Forfar,  and  Aberdeen — Continued. 


Miles 

Mile!) 

Ardler                                                    63 

Dubton        .                                      961 

Meigle                                                 66 

Montrose                                      991 

Eassie                                                    69 

Man-kirk     .                                       100J 

Glammis                                              72 

Laurencekirk                                    104f 

FORPAE                                               78 

Fordoun       .                                       1081 

Clocksbriggs                                          80J 

Drumlithie                                          112J 

Auldbar         .                                         831 

Stonehaven                                         1191 

Guthrie  Junction                                   861 

Muchalls      .                                      123J 

Farnell  Koad         .                                 90J 

Portlethen                                        127J 

Bridge  of  Dunn                                    93| 

Cove.    .        .                                    130f 

Brechin        .        .                       971 

ABERDEEN                                     135 

10.  Edinburgh  to  Dundee  and  Coupar-  Angus. 

Granton  Ferry       .                                 3 
Burntisland           .        .                          8 

Cupar-Fife      .       .                       .33 
Dairsie            .                                .36 

Kinghorn       .        .                                11 

Leuchars        .        .                        .39 

Kirkcaldy      .       .                              14 

St.  Andrews          .                        7 

Dysart    ...                                16 
Thornton  Junction                                 19 
Markineh       ...                        21 

Ferry-Port-on-Craig                       .        44 
Broughty  Ferry     .                       .45 
Dundee,  east  station                     .       47 

Falkland  Road       .       .                       24 

Newtyle         .                                .58 

Ladvbank  Junction       .                       27 
Sprmcrfield                                           29 

Ardler           ...                .63 

11.  Edinburgh  to  Perth,  by  Edinburgh,  Perth,  and  Dundee  Railway. 

Burntisland  8 

Newburgh     31 

Kirkcaldy      15 

Abernethy      

Ladybank  Junction       ...        27 

Bridge  of  Earn      .... 

Colessie  30 

PBRTH           45 

12.  Perth  to  Dundee,  Arbroath,  FriocMeim  Junction,  and  Aberdeen. 

Kinfauns       .                                          3 

Monifieth             .                       .27 

Glencarse      .                                        6 

Carnonstie 

Errol     .        .                                         10 

Easthaven 

Inchture       .                                      12 

Arbroath 

Longforgan   .                                     •  14 

Friockheim  Junction                   .       44 

Invergowrie                                         17 

Farnellroad          .                        .481 

Dundee,  west  station                           21 

Aberdeen  (see  No.  9)   .               .       92| 

Broughty  Ferry     .                               25 

13.  Edinburyh  to  the  Tweed,  the  Border,  Ettrick  Forest,  and  Clydesdale. 

Edinburgh  by  rail  to  Melrose,  (See 
No.  6)         37 

Selkirk         94 
Moffat  by  Ettrick       ...        130 

St.  Boswells  —  Newton           .        .       41 

Birkhill       141 

Kelso    .        .                ...        51 

Gordon  Arms  Inn       ...       151 

Coldstream                    .        .          9 

Selkirk        164 

Berwick        .                               14 

Peebles       185 

Hawick         .                ...         71 

Do.  without  the  round  by  Ettrick, 

Langholm                      .        .        23 

Moffat,  and  Yarrow        .       146 

Longtown     .                                9 

Biggar         200 

Jedburgh,  about  two  miles  off 
Hawick  road      ...       73 

Lanark        221 
Hamilton            ....        226J 

Melrose        87 

Glasgow              ....       237 

INDEX. 


Abbotsford,  762. 

Aberarder,  314. 

Aberbrpthwick,  Abbey  of,  782. 

Abercairney,  256. 

Aberdeen,  320-325. 

Aberdeen,  Itin.  320. 

Aberdeen  to  Banff,  by  Old  Meldrum  mid- 
road,  333. 

Aberfeldy,  272. 

Aberfeldy  to  Dunkeld,  273 

Aberfoil,  Pass  and  Clachan  of,  174. 

Aberfeldy,  Birks  of,  282. 

Abenachan,  152. 

Aberlour,  301. 

Abernethy  Round  Tower,  778. 

Aberuchil  Castle,  259. 

Achany,  484. 

Achall,  Loch,  513. 

Acharn,  Falls  of,  264. 

Achnacarry,  120-180. 

Aclinacraig  to  Tobermory,  610. 

Achray,  Loch,  167. 

Achrisgill  River,  532. 

Ackergill  Castle,  420. 

Affrick,  Glen  and  Loch,  439. 

Affrick  Loch,  to,  and  Strathglass,  footnote 
199. 

Aigas,  Island  of,  427. 

Ailsa  Rock,  546-554. 

Aird,  Castle  of,  569. 

Aird,  the,  381. 

Alexander  II.'s  expedition  and  death,  77, 
590. 

Allan,  Bridge  of,  780. 

AUangrange,  442. 

Allness,  393. 

Alloa,  Towers,  780. 

Alloway  Kirk,  772. 

Almond  Glen,  257- 

Almond,  Viaduct  over,  769. 

Alt-a-Mhairlich,  conflict  of,  420. 

Altdrui  Glen,  288. 

Altrive,  764. 

Altyre,  312. 

Altyre,  family  records  of,  312. 

Alva,  Glen,  779. 

Alvie,  Tor,  242. 

Alvie,  Loch,  242. 


Amulree  and  Aberfeldy,  route  to,  256. 

Ancrum  House,  760. 

Ancrum  Moor,  Battle  of,  760. 

Andrews,  St.,  777. 

Andrews,  St.,  Cathedral,  778. 

Anecdote  as  to  the  state  of  the  country  in 

1745,  431. 
Annamulloch,  438. 
Annan,  the,  775. 
Appin,  111,  556. 
Applecross,  481. 

Approaches  to  the  Highlands,  359. 
Approach  to  Inverness,  248. 
Aray,  Glen,  108. 
Arbiglaud,  773. 
Arbroath,  782. 
Ardchattan  Priory,  93,  557. 
Ard,  Loch,  173. 
Ardmeanach,  384-441. 
Ardmore,  585. 
Ardnamurchan,  607. 
Ardoch,  Roman  camps  at,  253. 
Ardoch  to  Crieff,  255. 
Ardross,  393-400. 
Ardrossan,  770. 
Ardtornish  Castle,  612. 
Ardvrock  Castle,  517. 
Argyle's  expedition  in  1685,  73. 
Ansaig,  178- 

Arkaig,  Kinloch,  barracks,  181. 
Arkaig,  Loch,  181. 
Arkaig,  Valley  of,  180. 
Arkle,  531. 
Armadale  Castle,  618. 
Armada,   tradition    respecting    the    ship 

Florida,  one  of  the  Spanish,  608. 
Arniston,  756. 
Arcs  Castle,  610. 
Arran,  546. 

Arran,  attractions  of,  553. 
Arran,  the  Cock  of,  550. 
Arran,  west  coast  of,  550. 
Ashdale  Glen,  553. 
Ashiestiel,  765. 
Askaig,  Port,  572. 
Askaig,  Port,  to  Brid<*end,  581. 
Assembly,  educational  scheme  of  General, 

34.      ' 

Assynt,  clearness  of  water  in,  515. 
Assynt,  Glen  of,  515. 


796 


INDEX. 


Assynt,  Loch,  516-519. 

Assynt,  Loch,  to  Kyle  Skou,  524. 

Athole,  232. 

Athole  House,  233. 

Auchindown  Castle,  111,  614. 

Auchmore  Spring,  518. 

Auchnasheen,  466. 

Auchtergaven,  226. 

Auchterneed,  enlistment  at,  458. 

Augustus,  Fort,  125. 

Auldearn,  356. 

Auldearn,  battle  of,  357. 

Auldearn  burying  ground,  357. 

Aultghuis,  150. 

Aultgraat,  396. 

Aultnaharrow,  491. 

Aultsigh,  148. 

Avean,  Loch,  277- 

Aviemore,  243. 

Avoch,  444. 

Avon,  Glen,  284. 

Avon,  Loch,  277,  287. 

Awe,  Loch,  90,  109,  515. 

Awe,  Pass  of,  92. 

Aylort,  Kinloch,  177. 

Ayr,  770. 

Ayr,  Burns'  monument  and  birthplace, 

&c.,  770. 
Ayrshire  coast,  70, 770,  772. 


B 

Badcaul,  527. 

Badenoch,  history  of  ancient  Lordship, 

239. 
Balblair,  Puke  of  Cumberland's  encampt. 

at,  359. 

Balblair  peat  mosses,  359. 
Balcarry  Point,  773. 
Balcony,  391. 
Ballachernoch  road,  316. 
Ballachulish,  102. 
Ballater,  282. 
Ballindalloch  House,  300. 
Balmacaau,  151. 
Balmoral,  281. 
Balnakiel  House,  504. 
Balnagown  Castle,  395. 
Banditti,  2-15. 
Banff,  329. 
Bannavie,  117. 
Bannockburn,  Field  of,  159. 
Barony,  powers  of,  240. 
Bass  Hock,  the,  776. 
Battle,  clan,  at  Clachnaharry,  381. 
Beallach,  480. 
Beaufort,  429. 

Beauly,  Loch  or  Firth  of,  384. 
Beauly,  Valley  of  the,  385. 
Beauly  by  Strathglass  to  Kiutail,  424. 
Beauly  Ferries,  430. 
Beauly,  village  and  priory,  386. 
Belladrum,  429. 
Belleville  House,  241. 
Ben  Ledi,  164. 


Ben  Cruachan,  90. 

Benger,  Mount,  763. 

Ben-na-Main,  289. 

Benneveian,  Loch,  437. 

Ben  Muick  Dhui,  290. 

Ben  Nevis,  112. 

Ben-y-Gloe,  233. 

Bercaldine  Castle,  93,  557- 

Berigonium,  96,  557 

BeiTidale,  414. 

Berwick,  footnote,  759,  775. 

Berwick,  general  features  of  country,  775. 

Berwick  to  Edinburgh,  775. 

Berwick,  North,  776. 

Biggar,  765. 

Birkhfll,  762. 

Birnam  Hill,  226. 

Birsay  Palace,  710. 

Bishops,  violent  death  of  two,  536. 

Bissets,  429. 

Black  Isle,  the,  440. 

Black  Mount,  97. 

Black  Bocks,  the,  of  Strathconon,  462. 

Blackhouse  Tower,  764. 

Blairgowrie  to  Dunkeld,  782. 

Blar-na-Parc,  battle  of,  459. 

Blasted  Heath,  Shakespeare's,  356. 

Blath  Bhein,  640. 

Boarlan,  Loch,  514. 

Boleskine,  127. 

Bona,  and  Roman  station,  131. 

Bonar  Bridge  to  Tongue,  482. 

Bonar  Bridge,  401. 

Bonjedward,  760. 

Border  Country,  the,  756. 

Borlum,  Mackintosh  of,  245. 

Borradale,  177. 

Boswells,  St.,  758. 

Borthwick  Castle,  756. 

Bnthwell  Bridge  iind  Castle,  768. 

Bothwell  Bridge,  battle  of,  768. 

Bowhill,  Sweet,  764. 

Bowmore,  583. 

Boyne  Castle,  333. 

Braal  Castle,  416. 

Braan,  hermitage  on  the,  228. 

Bracadale,  630. 

Braemar,  Castletown,  and  Castle  of  279- 

280. 

Braemar  to  Aberdeen,  282. 
Braeriach,  289. 
Brahan,  388. 
Branxholm,  761. 
Brechin,  782. 

Brechin  church  and  round  tower,  782. 
Bressay  Sound,  741. 
Bridgcnd,  757. 
Broadford,  619. 

Broadford  to  Brochel  Castle  in  Rasay,  647. 
Broadford,  to  Sconser  and  Portree,  620. 
Brochel  Castle,  648. 
Brochel  Castle,  tradition  respecting  it, 

649. 

Brodick,  village  and  castle,  547. 
Brodick  to  Loch  Ransa,  550. 


INDEX. 


797 


Brodie,  355. 

Broom,  Loch,  468,  472. 

Brora,  and  minerals,  412. 

Brora,  coalfield,  Strath,  and  Loch  of,  512. 

Bruar,  Falls  of,  232. 

Bruce's  Encounters,  89,  639. 

Buchan,  Bullers  of,  326. 

Buchan,  Route  through,  to  Peterhead  and 

Banff,  325. 

Bunaw  ferry  and  furnace,  92. 
Bunchrew,  384. 
Burgh-head,  346. 
Burgh,  Barons  of,  740. 
Burns,  birthplace,  771. 
Burns,  Land  of,  771. 
Burns'  Mausoleum  at  Dumfries,  775. 
Burns,  monument  to,  at  Boon,  771. 
Bute,  Kyles  of,  73. 
Bute,  Island  of,  72. 


Cadzow  Castle,  767. 

Caerlaverock  Castle,  774. 

Cairnbulg  Castle,  327. 

Cairngorm,  287. 

Cairngorm,  botany  of,  287. 

Cairngorm,  rock  crystals,  and  geological 

character  of,  287-293. 
Cairntoul,  289. 

Caithness,  general  features  of,  415. 
Caithness,  history  of,  419. 
Caithness  improvements,  415. 
Caithness,  Ord  of,  414. 
Calder  Water,  south,  768. 
Calders  of  Cawdor,  history  of,  375. 
Caldron  Linn,  779. 

Caledonian  Canal  and  its  history,  132. 
Callander,  166. 
Calrossie,  396. 
Camusinduiu  Bay,  500. 
Campbell,  Castle,  779. 
Campbelltown,  567- 
Campbelltown  (Inverness-shire),  359. 
Camusunary,  640. 
Canobie,  761. 
Cantray,  373. 

Cantyre,  Mull  of,  554,  563-8. 
Cantyre,  religious  edifices,  564. 
Carberry  Hill,  conference  of,  775. 
Carnwath,  765. 
Carr,  Inn  and  Bridge  of,  244. 
Carrick  Castle,  107. 
Carrick,  the  shore,  772. 
Carron,  Loch,  466. 
Carron  Iron  Works,  769. 
Carterhaugh,  764. 
Cartland  Crags,  766. 
Caschrome,  the,  643. 
Cassley,  river  and  waterfall,  510. 
Castle  Douglas,  773. 
Castle-na-Coir,  510. 
Catrine,  Loch,  170. 
Catrine,    Loch,    route    from    to    Loch 

Lomond,  172. 

2 


Catti,  the,  409. 

Cattle,  black,  13. 

Cattle  lifting  incident,  305. 

Caussie,  cliffs  and  caves  of,  351. 

Cawdor  Castle,  373. 

Cawdor,  scenery  and  oak-wood  at,  378. 

Cawdor,  skirmish  for  heiress  of,  376. 

Cawdor,  thaneage  of,  375. 

Cawdor,  traditionary  anecdote,  377. 

Chapelhope,  763. 

Charles,  mementos  of  Prince,  180. 

Charles',  Prince,  Monument,  177. 

Charles',  Prince,  wanderings,  181, 633,  663. 

Charles',  Prince,  cave,  623. 

Charles',  Prince,  erection  of  standard,  177 

Charles',  Prince,  landing  place  of,  178. 

Charlotte,  Fort,  738. 

Cheviot  Hills,  the,  761. 

Chisholm,  The,  428. 

Chisholm's  Pass,  437. 

Chisholm,  Clan,  428. 

Chou,  Loch,  173. 

Chromate  of  iron  in  Unst,  741. 

Church,  dissensions  in,  28. 

Churches,  parliamentary  or  government, 

27. 

Cillie-christ,  Raid  of,  149. 
Clach  Chonabhachan,  269. 
Clach  Sgoilte,  303. 
Clachnaharry,  381. 
Clachnaharry,  geological  note,  382. 
Clackmannan  Tower,  780. 
Clans,  strength  and  distribution  of  the,  8. 
Clans,  political  relations  of  the,  10. 
Clashmore,  402. 

Clava,  ancient  stone  monuments  at,  369. 
Clett,  the,  423. 
Clibrick,  Ben,  491. 
Cliff  Hills  in  Zetland,  735. 
Cluany,  Loch,  193. 
Cluany  Inn,  193. 
Chmie  Hills,  354. 

Cluny,  anecdote  of  Macpherson  of,  186. 
Clyde,  Firth  and  River,  66-68. 
Clyde,  Falls  of,  766. 
Coaches,  public,  48. 
Coal-fish,  725. 
Coignafearn,  303. 
Cobbler,  the,  86. 
Cole's  Castle,  414. 
Coldingham  Priory,  776. 
Colonsay,  570-587. 
Columba's,  St.,  tomb,  600. 
Colvend,  773. 
Colzean  Castle,  773. 
I  Comrie,  258,  461. 
Comrie  Castle,  268. 
Comrie,  Melville's  monument  at,  258. 
Comrie  to  Loch  Earn,  259. 
Connel  Ferry,  94. 
Connel  Ferry  to  Loch  Fyne  and  Loch- 

Gilphead,  558. 
Conon,  Strath,  462. 
Conon,  Falls  of  the,  462. 
Conon  House,  389. 

M  2 


798 


INDEX. 


Contin,  460. 

Corgarff  Castle,  283. 

Corpach,  monument  at,  118. 

Corrie  an  Lachan,  551. 

Corriemulzie  and  Quoich,  Falls  of,  279. 

Corryarick  road,  182. 

Corryvreckan  whirlpool,  76, 585. 

Coruishk  Loch,  639. 

Coulbeg,  522. 

Coubin,  sands  of,  353. 

Coul,  460,  525. 

Conl  Glen,  525. 

Conlmore,  522. 

Covenanters,  the,  763. 

Cowdaily  Castle,  766. 

Cowdenknowes,  the,  758. 

Craggy  and  Slam  Lochs,  497. 

Craggy  Loch,  514. 

Craigelachie,  243. 

Craigelachie  Bridge,  301. 

Craighall,  782.     ' 

Craignethan  Castle,  767. 

Craignish,  Isles  and  Loch,  76. 

Crask,  the,  486. 

Creich,  401. 

Creran,  Loch,  93,  557. 

Crieff,  249. 

Crieff  to  Comrie,  257. 

Crieff  to  Lochearnhead,  257. 

Crieff  to  Strath  Tay,  256. 

Crichton  Castle,  757. 

Criffet,  773. 

Crinan  Canal,  66,  75. 

Croe,  Glen,  104. 

Croft  system,  468. 

Cromarty,  trade  of,  449. 

Cromarty,  448. 

Cromarty,  traditions  of,  450. 

Cromdale,  battle  of,  297. 

Crookston  Castle,  770. 

Cuchullins,  the,  641. 

Cullachy,  304. 

Cullen  and  Cullen  House,  332. 

CuUoden  House,  361. 

Culloden  moor  and  battle,  365. 

CuhVie  and  Annamulloch,  438. 

Cumberland,  disgraceful  conduct  of  Duke 

of,  369. 

Cuming,  clan,  241. 
Cumings,  castle  of  the,  241,  295. 
Cunaig,  519,  525. 
Cushiville,  269. 

D 

Dalchonzie,  259. 

Dalcross  Castle,  360,  371. 

Dalgetty  Castle,  335. 

Dalhousie,  766. 

Dalkeith,  756. 

Dalnacardoch,  234,  271. 

Dalnacardoch,  Cairns,  &c.,  234. 

Dalmally,  90. 

Dalmigivie,  Dell  of,  304. 

Dalnispidal,  234. 

Dalniapidal,  military  operations  at,  234. 


Dalvey,  355. 

Dalwhinnie,  inn  of,  236. 

Damph  Loch,  518. 

Dark  Mile,  the,  180. 

Darnwick,  757. 

Darnwick,  skirmish  between  Buccleuch 
and  Angus,  757. 

Daviot  House,  247. 

Dearn,  Strath,  upper  part  of,  302. 

Dee,  Linn  of,  278,  291. 

Dee,  Strath,  277. 

Dee,  sources  of  the,  289. 

Dee  Strath  to  Aberdeen,  footnote,  282. 

Deer  Herds,  181,  233,  530. 

Denholm,  760. 

Devil's  Cauldron,  258. 

Devil's  Mill,  779. 

Devon,  scenery  of  the,  779. 

Dim,  Craig,  238. 

Dhu  Glen,  525. 

Dingwall,  389. 

Dippin  Rocks,  the,  553. 

Dine,  Strath,  and  Dirie  More,  467. 

Distances,  Table  of,  785. 

Divie,  the,  309. 

Doehart,  Glen,  166. 

Dochart  Glen,  Robert  Brace's  encounter 
in,  88. 

Dochfour,  Loch,  131. 

Doclifour  to  Inverness,  132. 

Dollar,  779. 

Don,  the,  336. 

Don,  Strath,  283. 

Donn,  Rob,  the  poet,  492. 

Donn,  Rob,  the  poet,  his  grave,  505. 

Dores,  155. 

Dornie,  village  of,  196. 

Dornoch,  402,  545. 

Dornoch  Palace  and  Cathedral.  403. 

Doune  Castle,  162. 

Dress,  19,  644. 

Drhuim,  the,  427. 

Druidical  Circles,  362. 

Drumclog,  767. 

Drumdernt,  443. 

Drumfin,  609. 

Drumodhnin,  obelisks,  circles,  and 

caves,  551. 
Drummclzier,  766. 
Drummond  Castle,  251. 
Drummond  Hill,  264. 
Dramnadrochet  inn,  152. 
Drumouchter,  Pass  of,  234. 
Dryburgb,  758. 
Dryhope  Tower,  764. 
Duart  Castle,  613. 
Duff  House,  329. 
Duich,  Loch,  195. 
Duirness,  504,  533. 
Dulnain,  Pine  Forests,  244. 
Dulsie,  308. 
Dumbarton,  81. 
Dumbarton  Castle,  68. 
Dumbarton  Castle,  its  seizure  by  Craw- 
ford of  Jordanhill,  68. 


IXDEX. 


799 


Dumfries,  773. 

Dumfriesshire,  775. 

Dunaverty  Castle,  and  massacre,  568. 

Dunbar  and  Castle,  775. 

Dunbeath,  415. 

Dunblane,  780. 

Dunblane  Cathedral,  780. 

Dunblane,  Archbishop    Leighton's  Walk! 

and  Library,  780. 
Duncansbay,  420. 
Dun  Creich,  401. 
Dundarduil,  316. 
Dundonald,  469. 
Dun  Dornadilla,  496. 
Dundrennan  Abbey,  773. 
Dunedera  Castle,  105. 
Dunes  or  Burghs,  201,  531,  624,  735. 
Dunfermline,  780. 
Dunfennline,  Abbey  Church,  780. 
Dunfermline,  Malcolm's  Tower,  780. 
Dunfermline  Palace,  780. 
Dunglaas  Viaduct,  776. 
Dunira,  259. 
Dunkeld,  226. 

Dunkeld,  Bishoprick  of,  228. 
Dunkeld,  Cathedral,  227. 
Dunkeld,  grounds  of,  228. 
Dunkeld,  King's  Pass,  and  Upper  Valley  of 

the  Tay,  229. 
Dun  Mac  Snichan,  96. 
Dunnet  Head,  423. 
Dunolly  Castle,  77. 
Dunnottar  Castle,  782. 
Dunoon  Castle,  70. 
Dunphail,  310. 
Dunriachy,  316. 
Dunrohin,  409,  536. 
Dunstaffnage  Castle,  94. 

Chapel,  95. 
Duntulm  Castle,  631. 
Dunvegan,  Antique  Keh'cs  at,  626. 
Dunvegan  Castle,  625. 
Dunvegau  to  Sligaehan,  629. 
Dupplin  Castle,  781. 
Duthil,  294. 
Dwarfie  Stone,  the,  708. 


E 


Earn,  Tmdge  of,  778. 

Earn,  Loch,  260. 

Earn,  Strath,  219. 

Echiltie,  Tor,  and  Loch,  461 . 

Eck  Loch,  108. 

Eddrachiilis,  526. 

Edinample,  Castle  and  Falls  of,  261. 

Ednam,  759. 

Education  and  religious  instruction, 
history  of,  30. 

Education  and  religion,  present  state 
of,  35. 

Educational  scheme,  General  Assem- 
bly's, 34. 

Eglinton  Castle,  770. 


Eig,  Island  of,  617- 

Eig,  Scuir  of,  617. 

Eil,  Loch,  176. 

Eilan,  Loch-an,  288. 

Eilan,  Loch-an,  Castle,  288. 

Eilanmore,  561. 

Elachie  Craig,  243. 

Elachie  Craig  Bridge,  301. 

Elderslie,  770. 

Elgin,  339. 

Elgin  cathedral,  341. 

Elgin  cathedral,  its  history,  342. 

Elgin  church,  340. 

Elgin,  history  of,  343. 

Elginshire,  freestones  in,  351. 

Elibank  Tower,  765. 

Ellandonan  Castle,  196. 

Ellinor,  Port,  585. 

Enick  Glen,  512. 

Episcopacy  in  Scotland,  28. 

Erchless,  428. 

Ercildoun,  758. 

Eriboll,  Loch,  500. 

Errick,  Strath,  153, 315. 

Errocht  Loch,  236. 

Ericht  River,  782. 

Esk,  the,  756. 

Eskadale,  428. 

Esses,  the,  311. 

Essiemore,  Falls  of,  553. 

Etive,  Loch,  93. 

Ettrick  churchyard  and  village,  763. 

Ettrick  Forest    and  Clydesdale,    outline 

of  routes  to,  762. 
Evantown,  390. 

Excursions,  interesting  walking,  176,  303. 
Exmouth,  "Wreck  of,  583. 
Expense  of  travelling,  61. 
Ewe,  Kinloch,  473. 
Ewe,  loch  and  river,  478. 


Fair  Isle,  723. 

Falkirk,  769. 

Falkirk,  battles  of,  769. 

Falkland  Palace,  777- 

Falloch,  Glen,  85. 

Fannich,  Loch,  468. 

Farness,  309. 

Farout  Head,  504. 

Farquharsons,  280. 

Farquharsons,  children  of  the  trough,  280. 

Farr,  314. 

Farr,  Bettyhill  of,  534. 

Farr  Church,  534. 

Farraline,  Loch,  315. 

Farrar,  Glen  Strath,  434. 

Fascally  House,  230. 

Fasnakyle,  431. 

Fassifem,  176. 

Fast  Castle,  776. 

Fearn,  Abbey  of,  400. 

Feideland,  746. 

Vender,  Falls  of,  233. 


800 


INDEX. 


Fentons,  429. 

Fernehurst,  760. 

Fern  Tower  house,  252. 

Ferrindonald,  392. 

Ferrintosh,  442. 

Fetlar,  741. 

Fillan's,  St.,  259. 

Fillan's,  Pool  of  St.,  89. 

Findhorn  great  flood  of  1829,  313. 


Findhorn 
Findhorn 
Findhorn 
Findhorn 
Findhorn 
Findhorn 


rapidity  of,  304. 
river,  246. 
river,  sources  of  the,  302. 
river,  floods  of  the,  312. 
seaport  of,  353. 
village,  353. 


Finlarig  Castle,  202. 

Finlarig  Castle,  skirmish  near,  262. 

Finlas,  Glen,  172. 

Fish,  14,  16. 

Fisheries,  British,  14,  541. 

Fishery,  herring  and  salmon,  16,  5H. 

Fitfiel  Head,  723. 

Fleet,  Loch,  Mound  at,  406. 

Flenrs  Castle,  759. 

Flodden,  759. 

Floods  of  1829,  312 ;  1849,  208-209. 

Florida,  The  Ship,  608. 

Flowerdale,  477- 

Fochabers,  338. 

Foinne  Bhein,  531. 

Forest  of  Ballochbuie,  280. 

Forres,  353. 

Forss,  535. 

Forteviot,  781. 

Forth,  River,  157. 

Forth,  Valley  of  the,  161,  779. 

Fortingal,  267. 

Fortingal,  remarkable  yew  true  at,  267- 

Fortrose,  444. 

Foudland  Hills,  336. 

Foula,  748. 

Fowling  on  Handa,  529. 

Fowhng  on  St.  Kilda,  668. 

Foyers,  Falls  of,  127. 

Fraoch,  Eilan,  91. 

Fraserburgh,  328. 

Fraser  Castle,  337- 

Freeburn,  246. 

Fruin,  Glen,  battle  of,  86. 

Fyne,  Loch,  104. 

Fyne,  Loch,  herring,  74, 106. 

Fyvie  Castle,  334. 


Gaelic  literature,  38. 

Gaelic  poetry,  493. 

Gaelic  School  Society,  33. 

Gaick,  Pass  of,  291. 

Gaick,  Pass,  catastrophe  there  in  1799, 292, 

Gairloch,  177. 

Gala  Water,  : 

Galashiels,  757. 

Galloway,  coasts  of,  and  Dumfries,  773. 


Galloway.  New,  773. 

Game,  17. 

Ganirie,  minerals  and  fossil  fish  of,  331. 

Garachary,  the,  289. 

Gareloch,  the,  106. 

Garrawalt,  the,  281. 

Garry,  river  and  loch,  189. 

Garth  Castle,  269. 

Gartney,  Strath,  to  Locheamhead,  172. 

Garve,  Strath  and  Loch,  465. 

Gems,  Scottish,  293. 

Geological  sketch  of  Highlands,  4. 

Geology  of  Ben  Nevis,  114. 

Geology  of  the  Grampians  and  Cairn- 
gorm, 293. 

Geology  of  Ben  Wyvis,  459. 

Geology  of  Brora,  412. 

Geology  of  Loch  Broom,  472. 

Geology  of  Loch  Maree,  474,  476. 

Geology  of  coasts  of  Moray  Firth,  344, 3»2 

Geology  of  Portsoy  and  Banffshire,  331. 

Geology  of  the  Black  Isle  and  Cro- 
marty,  453. 

Geology  of  Arran,  546. 

George,  Fort,  359. 

George,  old  Fort,  at  Inverness,  216. 

Geusachan,  431. 

Geyzen  Briggs,  402. 

Glilvach,  Falls  of,  152. 

Gilnockie  Tower,  761. 

Gilphead,  Loch,  to  Tarbet,  559. 

Girnigo  Castle,  419. 

Glammis  Castle,  781. 

Glascaniock,  467- 

Glasgow  to  Oban,  by  Loch  Lomond,  SO. 

Do.  to  Fort- William,  by  Loch  Lomond,  97. 

Do.  to  Oban,  by  Inverary,  103. 

Glass,  Falls  of  the,  437. 

Glass,  Loch,  394. 

Glass,  Strath,  430. 

Glenalmond,  225. 

Glen  Cannich,  436. 

Glencoe,  97. 

Glencoe,  Massacre  of,  99. 

Glencominth,  429. 

Glen  Dearg,  277- 

Glenelg,  200. 

Glenelg,  dunes  or  burghs  in,  201. 

Glenfernisdale,  237. 

Glen  Feshie,  291. 

Glenfinnan,  Prince  Charles's  monu- 
ment, 177. 

Glen  Fruin,  battle  of,  86. 

Glcngairn,  283. 

Glengarry,  189 

Glengarry,  the  late,  122. 

Glemffer,  braes  of,  770. 

Glen  Lui-beg,  291. 

Glenmore,  286,  299. 

Glenmore  forest,  286. 

Glenmore-nan-Albin,  the  Great  Glen  of 
Scotland,  132, 147. 

(ili -M  Moriston,  147. 

Glen  Roy,  Parallel  Roads  of.  isi; 

Glen  Shiel,  194. 


INDEX. 


801 


Glen  Shiel,  battle  of,  194. 

Glen  Shiel,  subterranean  structure  in,  194. 

Glen  Shirra,  185. 

Glenstrathfarar,  434 

Glen  Urquhart,  151. 

Glomak,  Falls  of,  197,  439. 

Goatfell,  548. 

Goil,  Loch,  107. 

Goldielands  Tower,  761. 

Golspie,  409. 

Gordon  Castle,  338. 

Gordonstown,  351. 

Gower,  Port,  414. 

Gowrie,  Carse  of,  224,  780. 

Grahams,  429. 

Grampians,  the,  242. 

Grampians,  grandeur  of,  284. 

Grampians,  geology  and  plants  of,  243, 

287;  293. 
Grampians,  Routes  across  to  Braemar 

and  Athole,  284. 
Grampians,  passage  through  by  Drum- 

ochter,  234. 
Grandtully  Castle,  274. 
Grange  House,  777. 
Grange,  Lady,  629. 
Grant  Castle,  297. 
Grant  Castle,  view  from  tower,  297. 
Grantown,  296. 

Grantown,  Orphan  Asylum  at,  296. 
Great  Glen,  adaptation  of,  for  a  canal,  133. 
I)o.  for  roads  along,  147. 
Great  glen,  general  character  of,  118. 
Greenoek,  69. 
Greenhill  Junction,  769. 
Gregor,  Clan,  86. 

Gregor,  historical  notice  of  the  clan,  86. 
Gremord,  Loch,  473. 
Gretna  Green,  761,  777. 
Grey  Mare's  Tail,  the,  762. 
Gruinart,  Loch,  583. 
Gualin,  the,  533. 
Gun,  clan,  419. 
Gunn,  the  freebooter,  245. 

H 

Haco's  Invasion,  591. 

Haddington,  776. 

Haddington  Abbey,  776. 

Haddo  House,  334. 

Haaf,  deep-sea  fishing  of  the,  745. 

Halidon  Hill,  759. 

Hallowdale,  Glen,  535. 

Hamilton  Palace,  767. 

Hamilton  to  Glasgow,  768. 

Handa,  527. 

Harden  Castle,  761. 

Harold  Harfager,  689,  727. 

Hartie  Corrie,  Pass  of,  642. 

Hawick,  761. 

Hawick  and  Melrose,  761. 

Hawthornden  and  Roslin,  footnote,  756. 

Heads,  Well  of  the,  124. 

Hebredian  Castles,  Gil. 


Hee  Ben,  486. 

Helmsdale,  414. 

Henderland  Tower,  763. 

Hermitage  Castle,  761. 

Heronry  on  the  Findhorn,  311. 

Herring,  cod,  and  ling  fisheries,  541. 

Herring  fishery,  16,  417. 

Highbridge,  slcirmish  at,  in  1745,  119. 

Highland  counties,  valued  rent  of,  6. 

Higlilanders,  characteristics  of  the  an- 
cient, 6. 

Highlanders,  their  political  relations,  10. 

Highland  music,  39. 

Highland  population,  general  character 
of,  5,  40. 

Highlands,  ancient  encampments,  360. 

Highlands,  approach  to,  359. 

Higlilands,  causes  of  change  and  career 
of  improvement  in  the,  11,  646. 

Highlands,  commercial  resources  of,  12. 

Higlilands,  ecclesiastical  history  of  the,  20. 

Highlands,  ecclesiastical  statistics  of,  28. 

Highlands,  general  features  and  early 
history  of  the,  1. 

Highlands,  geological  sketch  of,  4. 

Highlands,  history  and  state  of  educa- 
tion and  religious  instruction,  &c.,  31 . 

Hogg,  James,  birthplace,  763. 

Hogg,  residences,  764. 

Holborn  Head,  423. 

Holme,  373. 

Holy  Island,  549. 

Holy  Loch,  107. 

Holywell  Haugh,  759. 

Home  Castle,  759. 

Hope,  Ben,  492,  499. 

Hope,  Loch,  499. 

Horsburgh  Castle,  764. 

Horses,  13. 

Houna  Inn,  420. 

Houna  to  Thurso,  422. 

Hourn,  Loch,  190. 

Hourn,  Loch,  head,  to  Shielhouse,  190. 

Hoy,  botany  of,  707. 

Hoy,  excursion  to,  705. 

Hoy,  Island  of,  705. 

Hoy,  Old  Man  of,  706. 

Hoy,  Wardhill  of,  707- 

Humrnir  House  of,  629. 

Huntly,  337. 

Huntly  to  Inverness,  336. 

Hut,  General's,  the,  154. 


Inchard,  Loch  and  river,  532. 

Inchmahome  Priory,  ruins  of,  175. 

Inchok,  356. 

Innisindarnff,  516. 

Innis  Kenneth,  602. 

Inns,  Highland,  53. 

Inns,  Highland,  Sutherliiudshire,  488. 

Insh,  Loch,  240. 

Inver,  Loch,  519. 

Inverallochy  Castle,  327. 


802 


IXDEX. 


luverary,  106. 

Inverary  by  the  Garcloch,  Loch  Goyle, 
and  Loch  Eck,  106. 

Inverary  Castle,  105. 

Invercannich,  431. 

Invercauld  Brrlge,  view  from,  280. 

Inverdruie,  286. 

Inverfarikaig,  Pass  of,  129, 155,  315. 

Invergarry  Castle,  123. 

Invergordon,  394. 

Invergordon  Castle,  394. 

tnverleithen,  764. 

Inverlochy,  battles  at,  115, 117- 

Inverlochy  Castle,  115. 

Invermoriaton  house  and  waterfall,  127. 

Invermoriston  to  Drmunadroc.het,  148. 

Invennoriston  to  Kyle  Rliea  and  Kyle 
Akin,  192. 

Invernahavon,  battle  of,  238. 

Inverness  Academy,  212. 

Inverness,  ancient  commerce,  217. 

Inverness,  ancient  politics,  manners,  219. 

Invernesss  and  northern  counties,  ap- 
proach to  along  Moray  Firth,  318. 

Inverness,  antiquity  of,  214. 

Inverness,  beauty  of  scenery  about,  206. 

Inverness  by  Culloden,  &c.,  to  Findhorn, 
363. 

Inverness,  character  of  the  surrounding 
country,  206. 

Inverness  churches,  212. 

Inverness  coaches  and  steamers,  202. 

Inverness  country  seats,  214. 

Inverness,  Cromwell's  Fort  at,  218. 

Inverness,  expense  of  housekeeping,  204. 

Inverness,  form  of  architecture  in,  219. 

Inverness,  improvements,  211. 

Inverness  infirmary,  213. 

Inverness  inns,  202. 

Inverness  jail,  209. 

Inverness,  King  Duncan,  murder  of,  214. 

Inverness  magistracy,  219. 

Inverness  manufactures,  210,  211. 

Inverness,  objects  and  scenes  about,  205. 

Inverness,  Old  Fort  George,  216. 

Inverness,  origin  of  the  name,  207. 

Inverness  population,  210. 

Inverness,  public  charities,  213. 

Inverness,  royal  visits,  217. 

Inverness  schools,  213. 

Inverness,  situation  of,  208. 

Inverness  stone  bridge,  208. 

Inverness  streets,  2U9. 

Inverness,  spirit  of  improvement,  220. 

Inverness,  splendid  view,  362. 

Inverness,  the  burgh  charters  of,  216. 

Inverness,  the  castles  of,  214. 

Inverness,  the  castles  of,  heritable  keeper 
of,  215. 

Inverness,  the  castles  of,  history  of,  215. 

Inverness,  the  early  disturbed  state  of,  217- 

Inverness  to  John  o'  Groat's,  380. 

Inverness  town-house,  210. 

Inverness,  trade,  210. 

Inverness,  visits  of  Queen  Mary  to,  217. 


Inverness  walks,  213. 

Inversnaid,  85, 172. 

Inverury,  336. 

lona,  592. 

lona  cathedral,  597- 

lona,  Dr.  Johnson,  592. 

Irvine,  770. 

Island,  More,  561. 

Islay  antiquities,  578. 

Islay  castles  and  forts,  578. 

Islay  chapels  and  crosses,  580. 

Islay  dunes  or  burghs,  579. 

Islay,  general  description  of,  573. 

Islay  hiding-places,  579. 

Islay  House,  581. 

Islay,  inhabitants  of,  their  circumstances 

and  character,  574. 
Islay  lead  mines,  574. 
Islay,  Macdonalds  of,  577. 
Islay,  M'Donald's  guard  and  destruction 

of,  578. 

Islay  monumental  stones  and  cairns,  580. 
Islay,  productions,  fertility,  cattle,  fish. 

&c.,  573. 
Islay  relics,  580. 
Islay,  Sound  of,  572. 
Islay  tombstones,  580. 
Islay,  tynewald,  580. 
Islay,  villages  and  coasts,  575. 
Isles,  Lords  of  the,  575,  590. 
Isles.  Lords  of  the,  historical  sketch  of, 

576. 
Islesmen,  dress  and  manners  of,  644. 


James  V.,  anecdote  of  expedition 

Borders,  567. 
Jeantown,  466. 
Jedbnrgh  Abbey,  760. 
Jed,  Vale  of  the,  760. 
Jedburgh  to  Hawick,  760. 
Jock  o'  the  Stile's  Castle,  761. 
John  d'lle's  treaty,  612. 
John-o'-Groat's  BOOM,  420. 
John,  Mead  of  St.,  312. 
Jura,  570,  585. 
Jura  to  Lochgilphead,  560. 


Kame,  echo  at  the  Meadow  of  the, 

in  Hoy,  706. 
Keiss  Castle,  419. 
Keith,  337. 
Keiths,  419. 
Kelp,  14,  643. 

Kelp,  process  of  making,  642. 
Kelso  and  abbey,  "•">!>. 
Kelso  to  Berwick,  759. 
Kelso  to  Jedburgh,  759. 
Krmnny,  :«7. 

Ken  Loch,  773. 
Kenmore,  2G4. 
Kennedy  s,  122. 


INDEX. 


803 


Keppoch,  Macdonalds  of,  183. 

Ken-era  Island,  77,  590. 

Kerrisdale,  477. 

Ken-ngarbh,  532. 

Kessock  Terry,  440. 

Kessock,  Ord  of,  443. 

Kilbirnie  Locli,  769. 

Kilcalmkill  in  Sutherland,  413. 

Kilchurn  Castle,  91. 

Kilcoy  Castle,  442. 

Kilda,  St.,  inhabitants,  667- 

Kilda,  St.,  fowling,  669. 

Kilda,  St.,  666. 

KOdonan  Castle,  553. 

Kildnimmie,  336. 

Kilkerran  Cemetery  and  Castle,  567. 

Killiecrankie,  Pass  and  Battle  of,  230. 

Killin,  262. 

Killin,  Vale  of,  153. 

Kilmarnock,  770. 

Kilmorack,  Falls  of,  426. 

Kilmorack  old  church  and  manse,  426. 

Kilmoraek,  singular  mode  of  ftshing  at,  426 

Kilrnun,  108. 

Kilravock  Castle,  372. 

Kiltarlity,  428. 

Kilwinmng,  770. 

Kippenrpss,  sycamore  tree,  780. 

Kincardine  Moss,  161. 

Kinglass,  Glen,  104. 

Kingussie,  village  of,  239. 

Kinloch,  Aylort,  177. 

Kinloch  Bervie,  532. 

Kinloch,  Eannoch,  270. 

Kinlochmore,  Falls  of,  102. 

Kinloss  Abbey,  352. 

Kinnaird's  Head,  328. 

Kinrara,  242. 

Kinrara,  scenery  of,  243. 

Kintail,  crowe  of,  439. 

Kintyre,  general  character  of,  559. 

Kintyre,  Mull  of,  568. 

Kirkcaldy,  777. 

Kirkhill,  385. 

Kirkhill  burving-place,  385. 

KirkiboU  village,  498. 

Kirkwall,  693. 

Kirkwall  Cathedral,  694. 

Kirkwall,  Earls'  and  Bishops' Palaces,  696. 

Kishorn  Loch,  479. 

Knapdale,  554-559. 

Knockfarrel,  458. 

Kuockfin,  437. 

Kyle  Akin,  619. 

Kyle  Rhea,  619. 

Kyle  Skou,  523-4. 


Ladykirk  Ford,  759. 

Lady  Rock,  613. 

Laggan,  promontory  and  bay  of,  584. 

Laggan,  Loch,  122-184. 

Laggavoulin,  585. 

Lamlash  Bay,  549. 


Lanark,  7C6. 

Lanark  to  Hamilton,  767. 

Langside,  battle  of,  768. 

Langholm,  761. 

Language,  19. 

Largs,  battle  of,  71- 

Lasswade,  756. 

Latheron,  415. 

Launa,  Locli,  of  Ossian,  559. 

Lawers,  258. 

Lawers,  Ben,  261. 

Laxford,  531. 

Ledbeg,  515. 

Ledmore,  515. 

Ledi,  Ben,  164. 

Leni,  Pass  of,  164. 

Leod  Castle,  457. 

Lerwick,  737. 

Letterfinlay,  121. 

Leven,  Loch,  101. 

Leven,  Valley  of  the,  81. 

Lews,  650,  664. 

Lews,  cave  in,  656. 

Liddesdale,  761. 

Lincluden  Abbey,  774. 

Lindores  Abbey,  769. 

Ling  fishery,  541,  744. 

Linnhe,  Loch,  110. 

Linlithgow  Palace  and  Church,  769. 

Lismore,  Island  of,  111,  613. 

Literature,  Gaelic,  38. 

Littledean  Tower,  758. 

Livelihood,  sources  of,  18. 

Lobster  fishery,  684. 

Loch  Aber,  114. 

Loch  Affrick,  438. 

Loch  Alsh,  197. 

Loch  Benneveian,  437. 

Lochindorbh,  Castle  of,  295. 

Lochindorbh  Castle,  siege  of,  295. 

Lochan-an-Corp,  164. 

Loch-an-Eilan,  288. 

Loch  Eil,  176. 

Lochy,  Falls  of  the,  263. 

Loch  Fleet  and  Mound,  406. 

Lochgilphead,  559. 

Lochan,  Glen,  104. 

Loch  Goil,  107. 

Loch  Laggan,  184. 

Loch  Laggau  road,  182. 

Lochlea,  770. 

Loch  Lochy,  120. 

Loch  Lochy,  battle  of,  121. 

Lochmabeu  and  castle,  774- 

Loch  Oich,  123. 

Locliiel,  Sir  Ewen  Cameron  of,  120,  176. 

Lochwinnoch,  770. 

Logan,  origin  of  the  name,  444. 

Lomond,  Ben,  85. 

Lomond,  Loch,  82. 

Lomond,  Loch,  route  to  from  Loch  Ca- 

trine,  172 
Long  Island,  649. 
Long  Island  antiquities,  656. 
Long  Island,  aspect  of  the  islands  of,  655. 


804 


INDEX. 


Long  Island  climate,  661. 

Long  Island,  emigration,  653. 

Long  Island,  general  features  of,  651. 

Long  Island  implements,  659. 

Long  Island,  occurrences  in  during  the 
Rebellion  of  1745,  663. 

Long  Island  packets,  660. 

Long  Island  produce,  655. 

Long  Island  storms,  662. 

Long  Island,  want  of  inns  in,  655. 

Long,  Loch,  103. 

Longtown,  761. 

Loth",  414. 

Lovat,  Fort,  accommodations  of  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  429. 

Lovat,  Fort,  sieges  of  under  Edward  I.  and 
Cromwell,  429. 

Lovat,  Lord,  377,  427. 

Lowlands,  Guide-hook  for,  footnote ,  754. 

Lowlands  and  Highlands,  ancient  inhabi- 
tants. 363. 

Loval,  Ben  and  Loch,  497- 

Lubcroy,  513. 

Lulmaig,  Loch,  165. 

Luichart,  Loch,  461,  465. 

Luine,  Glen,  191. 

Luncarty,  225. 

Luss,  85. 

Lyon,  Glen,  268. 

M 

Maben,  four  towers  of,  774. 

Maben,  loch  and  castle,  77  t. 

Macbeth,  364,  374. 

Macbeth's  witches,  356. 

Macdonalds  of  Islay,  578. 

Macintyre,  Duncan  Ban,  the  poet,  492. 

Mackay,  General  Hugh,  531. 

Mackenzies   and   Macdonells,   rencontre 

between,  149. 
Mackerihanish  Bay,  563. 
Mackintosh's  prison,  247. 
Macneish,  sept,  260. 
Macpherson,  the  Outlaw,  331. 
Macraas,  the,  436. 

Magnus',  Saint,  Bay,  in  Zetland,  747. 
Magnus',  Saint,  Cathedral  at  Kirkwall,694. 
Magus  Moor,  the.  777 
MaS,  black,  245. 
Mam  Clach  Ard,  route  by,  176. 
Mam  Soul,  439. 
Mam  Soul  glaciers,  439. 
Mangston  Tower,  7G1. 
Manners  Stone,  the,  628. 
Maoil  Castle,  620. 
Maormors  of  Moray,  363. 
Marble  quarries,  Skye,  G37- 
Marble  quarries,  Sutherlandshire,  515. 
Mar,  Earls  of,  279. 
Maree,  Loch,  474. 
Maree,  Loch,  road  to,  473. 
Mar  Lodge,  278. 
Mary's,  St.,  Loch,  702. 
Mirxy  Scuir,  462. 


Mary's,  St,  Well  and  Chapel,  608. 

Mauchline,  772. 

Maybole  Parish,  773. 

Meegerney  Castle,  268. 

Meig,  river,  462. 

Meikle  Ferry,  400,  545. 

Melrose  Abbey,  757. 

Melrose,  Old,  758. 

Melvich,  535. 

Menzies  Castle,  272. 

Merkland  Loch,  486. 

Mingarry  Castle,  607. 

Minikaig,  Pass  of,  291. 

Minto  Crags,  760. 

Minto  House,  760. 

Miulie,  Loch,  434. 

Moffat  to  Selkirk  by  Yarrow,  762. 

Moffat  Wells,  762.' 

Moidart,  Loch,  179. 

Moin,  the,  498. 

Moir,  Loch,  394. 

Monaliagh  mountains,  302. 

Monar,  great  deer  hunt,  435. 

Monar,  Loch,  434. 

Moncrieff  Hill,  778. 

Moncrieff,  tunnel  at,  781. 

Moness,  Falls  of,  273. 

Moniack,  385. 

Monteith,  Loch,  173. 

Monteviot,  760. 

Montrose,  782. 

Montrose,  defeat  and  capture  of,  517. 

Monymusk,  337. 

Monzie,  256. 

Moor,  the  hard,  356. 

Moray,  339. 

Moray,  diocese  of,  342. 

Moray,  geology  of,  3-14. 

Moray,  plain  of,  351. 

More,  Strath,  491. 

Moriston,  Glen,  192. 

Morven,  tombs  in,  612. 

Moulinearn,  229. 

Mousa,  Burgh  of,  735. 

Moy  church  and  manse,  2 47- 

Moy,  Loch,  islets  and  castle,  247. 

Muckerach,  Tower  of,  294. 

Muik,  island  of,  617. 

Muirtown,  381. 

Mull,  general  features  of,  591. 

Mull,  geology  of,  591. 

Mull,  lona,  and  Staffa,  different  routes. 

589. 

Mull,  Sound  of,  609. 
Mull,  Sound  of,  old  castles  along,  609. 
Munlochy,  444. 
Muiiro,  clan,  391. 

Murshov's,  Donald  Mack,  tomb,  505. 
Music,  Highland,  39. 
Muthil,  256. 

N 

Nairn,  358. 

Nairnshire,  351. 

Nairn,  Strath,  and  river,  314,  364. 


INDEX. 


80f> 


Naut  Glen,  109. 

Naver,  Strath,  and  loch,  496. 

Neptune's  Staircase,  119. 

Ness,  islands  in  the,  208. 

Ness,  Loch,  126. 

Ness,  Loch,  N.  side,  147- 

Ness,  Loch,  S.  side,  153. 

Netherby  Hall,  761. 

Nevis,  Ben,  112. 

Nevis,  Ben,  structure  of,  114. 

Newark  Castle,  764. 

Newbattle  Abbey,  756. 

Newton  Wuds,  770. 

Niddry  Castle,  769. 

Nidpath  Castle,  765. 

Nigg,  453. 

Nith,  the,  775. 

Norham  Castle,  759. 

North  Mavine,  745. 

Noss  Island  and  Cradle,  739. 

Novar,  390. 

O 

Oakwood  Tower,  762. 

Oban,  district  around,  79. 

Oban  to  Crinan  Canal,  75. 

Ohan  to  Inverness,  110. 

Oban,  village  of,  77,  97. 

Ochtertyre,  258. 

Oe,  MuU  of,  585. 

Ogle,  Glen,  166. 

Oich,  Loch,  123. 

Oich,  Loch,  to  Fort  Augustus,  125. 

Oikel,  cascades,  512. 

Oikel,  Strath  and  Bridge,  509,  512. 

Old  Deer,  Abbey  of,  326. 

Oldwick  Castle,  416. 

Olney  and  Kyle  Skou,  525. 

Olrig,  422. 

Ord,  Muir  of,  stone  pillars,  388. 

Ord  of  Caithness,  the,  414. 

Ord  of  Kessock,  362,  443. 

Ord,  Muir  of,  388. 

Orkney,  agriculture,  677. 

Orkney,  botauy  of,  698,  707,  718. 

Orkney,  climate,  672. 

Orkney,  education  in,  &c,  681. 

Orkney,  exports,  687. 

Orkney,  ferries  and  freights,  714. 

Orkney  fisheries,  683. 

Orkney,  food,  681. 

Orkney,  general  aspect  of,  673. 

Orkney,  general  features  of  north  isles  of, 

711,  715. 

Orkney,  geology  of,  718. 
Orkney,  history  of,  688. 
Orkney  houses,  680. 
Orkney,  inhabitants,  manners,  See.,  679. 
Orkney,  manufactures,  683. 
Orkney,  natural  history  of,  717. 
Orkney,  natural  history  of,  writers  upon, 

715. 

Orkney,  population  of,  671. 
Orkney,  sea  insurance,  686. 
Orkney,  single-stilted  plough,  677. 


Orkney,  shipping,  686. 
Orkney,  storms,  675. 
Orkney,  superstition  in,  682. 
Orkney,  table  of  produce,  687- 
Orkney,  trade,  683. 
Oronsay,  Island  of,  587- 
Oronsay  Isle,  619. 
Oronsay,  monastic  remains,  588. 
Ospisdale,  402. 
Outskerries,  741. 


Paisley,  770. 

Papa  Stour,  748. 

Paps  of  Caithness,  416. 

Peebles,  765. 

Peffer,  Strath,  mineral  wells,  456. 

Peffer,  Strath,  note  to,  544. 

Penielheugh,  760. 

Pentland  Firth,  421. 

Pentland  Firth,  dangers  of,  &c.,  421. 

Perth,  221. 

Perth  to  Inverness,  across  the  Grampians, 

221. 

Peterhead,  326. 
Petty  church,  362. 
Petty  moat  hills,  362. 
Petty,  moss  of,  359. 
Phadrick,  Craig,  132,  203. 
Philiphaugh,  762,  764. 
Phopachy,  384. 
Pipers'  College  in  Skye,  627. 
Pitcaithley  Wells,  778. 
Pitlochrie,  229. 
Pladda,  553. 
Pluscardine  Abbey,  345. 
Polignac's,  Princess,  birthplace,  583. 
Pomona,  693. 
Ponies,  13. 
Poolewe,  478. 
Population  of  the  Highlands,  and  landed 

property,  5-6. 
Port  Gower,  414. 
Portnahaven,  582. 
Portree,  621. 

Portree,  coast  section  near,  622. 
Portree  to  Dunvegan,  624. 
Port  Sonachan,  109. 
Portsoy,  331. 
Posting,  &c.,  66. 
Poul-a-ghloup,  cave  of,  505. 
Prestonpans  and  Pinkie,  battles  of,  775. 
Pulteneytown,  418. 


Qnendal,  723. 
Quern,  the,  643. 
Quiraing,  632. 
Quoich,  Loch,  190. 


Raid  of  Cillie-christ,  149. 
Railway,  Aberdeen,  782. 
Railway,  Arbroath  and  Forfar,  781. 


806 


INDEX. 


Railway,  Caledonian,  777- 
Railway,  Edinburgh  and  Hawick,  756. 
Railway,  Edinburgh  and  Berwick,  775. 
Railway,  Edinburgh,  Perth,  and  Dundee, 

777. 

Railway,  Glasgow  and  Ayr,  770. 
Railway,  Newtyle,  781. 
Railway,  Perth  and  Dundee,  781. 
Railway,  Scottish  Central,  778. 
Railway,  Scottish  Midland,  781. 
Raits  Castle,  241,  379. 
Raits  Castle,  incident  at,  241. 
Rannoch,  Bridge  of,  310. 
Rannoch,  Kinloch,  270. 
Rannoch,  Moor  of,  97. 
Kansa,  Castle  of,  550. 
Ransa,  Loch,  550. 

Rasay,  Dr.  Johnson's  remarks  on,  649. 
Rasay,  Island  of,  647. 
Reay,  deer  forest,  530. 
Reay  village,  535. 
Redcastle,  441. 
Redgorton,  225. 
Regulus,  St.,  Tower  of,  778. 
Relugas,  310. 
Rhaebuie  road,  191. 
Rhiconich,  532. 
Rispond,  501. 
Roads,  construction  of,  44. 
Roads,  district,  44. 
Roads,  military,  45. 
Roads,  parliamentary,  46. 
Roads,  repair  of  public,  47. 
Rob  Bonn,  character  of  his  productions, 

493. 
Rob  Bonn,  his  grave,  505. 

Rob  Donn,  the  Gaelic  poet,  492. 

Rob  Roy's  grave,  165. 

Roeness,  747. 

Rogie,  Falls  of,  464. 

Roman  station  and  well  at  Burghhead,  346 

Ronaldshay,  North,  713. 

Ronaldshay,  South,  715. 

Rosehall,  510. 

Rosehaugh,  444. 

Rosemarkie,  448. 

Roslin  Chapel  and  Castle,  756 

Ross  and  Sutherland,  boundary  of,  514. 

Ross  and  Sutherland,  steam  communica 
tion  to,  545. 

Ross,  cathedral  of,  446. 

Ross,  Easter,  392. 

Ross,  Easter,  seats,  394. 

Rothesay  Castle,  72. 

Rothes,  village  of,  301. 

Rothiemurchus,  242,  286. 

Rothiemurchus,  Shaws  of,  240. 

Rousay,  712. 

Routes,  outline  of  the  more  interesting,  56 

Roxburgh  Castle,  759. 

Roy,  Castle,  299. 

Ruisky,  150. 

Rumbling  Bridge  at  Dunkeld,  229. 

Rumbling  Bridge,  779. 

Rum,  Island  of,  617- 


Rutherglen,  708. 
Ruthven  Barracks,  241 . 
Ruthven  Castle,  257. 

S 

Saddle,  the,  in  Skye,  641. 

Sadell,  Abbey  of,  569. 

Salmon,  16. 

Sanda,  Island  of,  568. 

Sandav  in  Orkney,  713. 

Sandside,  535. 

Sandwick,  sculptured  stone  at,  453. 

Sannox,  Glen,  549. 

Scalloway,  736. 

Scandinavian  inroads,  351. 

Scandinavian  names,  389,  419,  531. 

Scatwell,  462. 

Scavaig,  Bay  of,  638. 

Scaven,  Loch,  466. 

Scone,  225. 

Scone  Palace,  225. 

Scott,  Sir  Walter,  his  burial-place,  758. 

Scottish  monarchy,  early  history  and 

original  seat  of,  6,  567,  576. 
Scourie,  527. 
Scrabster  roadstead,  535. 
Scriden,  549. 
Scriptures,  Gaelic,  31. 
Scuirvullin,  463. 
Scuir-na-Lapich,  435. 
Scuir  Marxy,  462. 
Sculptured  stones,  453. 
Selkirk,  762. 
Selkirk  to  Peebles,  762. 
Serpent  river,  the,  191. 
Shanter,  Tarn  o',  772. 
Sheep  and  wool,  12. 
Sheriff  Fraser,  exertions  of,  245. 
Sheriffmuir,  battle  of,  780. 
Shetland  Isles.    See  Zetland. 
Shetland  Islanders,  dress,  habits,  See.,  72f>. 
Shiel,  Glen,  194. 
Shiel,  Glen,  battle  of,  194. 
Shiel  House  to  Kyle  Akin,  195. 
Shiel,  Loch,  177. 
Shieldaig,  474. 

Shieldaig  and  Applecross,  Roads  to,  479. 
Shin,  Loch,  485. 
Shin,  Strath,  485 
Shin,  Linn  of,  485. 
Shipwreck,  miraculous  deliverance  from, 

629. 

Sinclair  Castle,  519. 
Sinclairs,  419. 
Skelbo  Castle,  406. 
Skene,  Loch,  763. 
Skerry,  Port,  535. 
Skibo,  402. 
Skipness  Castle,  567- 
Skou,  Kyle,  623. 
Skua  gull,  742. 
Skye,  population,  646. 
Skye,  croft  system,  646. 
Skye,  ferry  to,  178. 


INDEX. 


807 


Skye,  Islaud  of,  616. 
Skye  and  Rasay,  615. 
Skye  Farming,  643. 
Skye,  Island  of,  marble  in,  637. 
Skye,  general  remarks  on,  615,  642. 
Skye  Islanders,  dress  of  the,  645. 
Skye  Islanders,  dwellings  of,  644. 
Skye  Islanders,  kindly  feelings  and  hos- 
pitality of,  646. 

Skye  Islanders,  women's  apparel,  645. 
Skye  Islanders,  ornaments,  646. 
Skye  Islanders,  poverty,  646. 
Skye  Islanders,  changes  in  conditions  of, 

646. 

Skins  Castle,  327- 
Slate  Islands,  77- 
Sligachan,  Glen,  641. 
Slochmuichk,  Pass  of,  244. 
Smailholm  Tower,  758. 
Small  Lakes,  526. 

Smoo,  Cave  of,  or  Uaigh  Mhore,  501. 
Snizort,  624. 
Snizort,  Loch,  626. 

Societies,  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow  Gaelic 
School,  36. 

Society,  Inverness  Education,  33. 

Society,  Gaelic  Episcopal,  35. 

Society  for  propagating  Christian  know- 
ledge, 31. 

Societies,  London  and  Scotland,  12. 

Spean,  Glen  and  River,  183. 

Spey,  the,  339. 

Spey,  Bridge  of,  339. 

Spey,  Loch,  189. 

Spey,  River,  embankments  on,  240. 

Spey,  Strath,  243,  294. 

Spiounadh,  Ben,  533. 

Spinningdale,  401. 

Spittal  of  Glenshee,  782. 

Spynie  Castle,  345. 

Stack,  Ben,  527. 

Staffa,  603. 

Staffa,  Fingal's  cave,  605. 

Staffa,  Mackinnon's  cave,  605. 

Stalker  Castle,  110. 

Statistics,  moral,  33. 

Statistics,  educational,  30. 

Statistics,  ecclesiastical,  20. 

Steam  navigation,  54,  203. 

Stennis,  Zetland,  745,  768. 

Stennis,  in  Orkney,  stone  monuments 
at,  699. 

Stewart,  George,  of  Massetter,  true  his- 
tory of,  705. 

Stewart,  Castle,  360. 

Stewart,  Lord  Robert,  711,  731. 

Stein,  Village  of,  625. 

Stirling  rock,  castle,  and  town,  157. 

Stoc  Mhaol  Doraidh,  585. 

Stornoway,  657. 

Stornoway  Castle,  659. 

Strathaird's  Cave,  637. 

Strathbogie,  332. 

Strathbran,  464. 

Strathconon,  463. 


Struthdearn,  246,  302. 

Strathearn,  249. 

Stratherrick,  154,  315. 

Strathfleet,  485. 

Strathgartney,  172. 

Strathglass,  approach  to,  428. 

Strathglass,  ancient  pine  forests,  430. 

Stratlure,  172. 

Strathmore,  491. 

Strathnairn,  247,  314. 

Strathnaver,  496,  534. 

Strathpeffer,  459,  544. 

Strathspey,  243. 

Strathspey  below  Grantown,  300. 

Strathy,  524. 

Strathy  head,  524. 

Straw-plaiting  in  Orkney,  685. 

Streens,  the,  305. 

Strome  Ferry,  466. 

Stromness,  701. 

Stromness,  road  to,  from  Kirkwall,  696. 

Stromness  Bay,  701. 

Stronsay,  714. 

Strowan,  234. 

Stray,  434. 

Suil  Veinn,  520. 

Sumburgh  Head,  723. 

Sumburgh  Roust,  724. 

Sunart,  Loch,  612. 

Storr,  622. 

Struan,  Loch,  630. 

Sunderland  House,  582. 

Sutherland,  agriculture  of,  489. 

Sutherland,  improvements  in,  401. 

Sutherland  mail  phaetons,  401. 

Sutherland,  Kyle  of,  cattle  trysts,  508. 

Sutherland,  line  of  policy  observed  in,  487. 

Sutherland  peasantry,  489. 

Sutherland,  general  character  of,  483. 

Sutherland,  western  coast  of,  522. 

Sutherland,  condition  of  peasantry,  530. 

Sutherland,  Earls  of,  History  of,  419. 

Sutherlandshire  roads,  498. 

Sutherlandshire,  depopulation  of,  487. 

Sweetheart  Abbey,  773. 

Sweno's  stone,  352. 

Swin,  Loch,i».,r<6O 

Swiney,  465. 

T 

Tain,  St.  Duthus'  Church,  397. 

Tain,  upper  road  to,  394. 

Tain,  396. 

Tain  Academy,  399. 

Tain  poorbouse,  394. 

Talisker,  630. 

Tantallan  Castle,  776. 

Tarbat  House,  395. 

Tarbat  Ness,  and  Fearn,  excursion  to,  399. 

Tarbert,  East,  74,  571. 

Tarbert,  Isthmus  of,  511. 

Tarbert  Isthmus,  West  Loch,  571. 

Tarbolton,  770. 

Tarff  Water,  125. 

Tarnaway  Cnstle  and  forest,  355. 


808 


1NDKX. 


Tay,  Strath,  to  Strati.  Tuimm-l,  269. 
Tay,  Loch,  261. 

Tay,  Strath,  224,  27:!. 
Taymouth,  264. 

Teanassie  Burn,  427. 

Teith,  valley  of  the,  162. 

Thanedoms,  356. 

Thirlstane  Castle,  763. 

Thomson,  poet,  monument  to,  759. 

Threld,  village  of,  593. 

Thurso,  416,  422. 

Till,  bridge  of  the,  759. 

Tilt,  deer  forest,  pass  between  and  Bnie- 
mar,  277. 

Tilt,  Glen,  233. 

Tilt,  Glen,  deer  forest,  27:.. 

Timber,  14. 

Tin-wall,  736. 

Tinto,  760. 

Tirim  Castle,  179. 

Tobennory,  609. 

Tollie,  Loch,  97- 

Toinantoul,  283. 

Tomuahurich,  132. 

Tongue,  534. 

Tongue,  mail-gigs  to,  401. 

Tongue,  Kyle  and  House  of,  497. 

Tongue,  Strath,  534. 

Tongue  to  Thurso,  533. 

Tor  Castle,  119. 

Torridou,  Loch,  473. 

Torthorwald  Castle,  774. 

Torvain,  132. 

Tourists,  directions  to,  785. 

Toward,  Castle,  71. 

Tower  Dean  embankment,  776. 

Traquair,  764. 

Trinity  College,  225,  257. 

Trosachs,  the,  171. 

Trotternish,  622,  631. 

Trotternish,  east  coast  of,  622. 

Troup  Head,  328. 

Truim,  Glen,  237. 

Tulloch,  Muir  of,  483. 

Tulloehgorum,  299. 

Tummel,  Falls  of,  271. 

Tummel,  Strath,  271. 

Tumuli,  3fi2. 

Turriff,  335. 

Turrit,  Glen,  189,  258. 

Turnberry  Castle,  773. 

Turning  Stone,  the,  460. 

Tushielaw,  762. 

Tutumtarvach,  clan  conflict  at,  and  burial- 
ground,  511. 

Tweed,  Border  peels  along  the,  765. 

Tweed,  general  character  of,  757- 

Tweed,  the,  757- 

Tyningham,  holly  hedges  at,  776. 


U 

Udalism,  succession  and  laws  of,  729. 

Udallers,  739. 

Uig,  Bay  of,  631. 

Ullapool,  471. 

Ullapool,  road  to,  466. 

Ullapool,  routes  from,  4(i8. 

Unst,  741. 

Urquhart,  Glen,  151. 

Urquhart  Castle,  130. 

Urquhart  to  Invennoriston,  23',). 

Urquharts  of  Cromarty,  453. 

Uyea  Island,  747. 


Vaterstein,  629. 

Venachar,  Loch,  167. 

Via  in  Orkney,  unique  structure  at,  710. 
1  Voil,  Loch,  172. 
:  Vullin  Scuir,  463. 

W 

Walking  excursion,  interesting;,  303. 

Wardhill  and  Hill  of  Hoy,  707". 

Wark  Castle,  759. 

Waterloo,  stones  of  memorial  to  heroes,  242 . 

Weavis,  Ben,  458. 

Well  of  the  Heads,  124. 

West  Coast,  short  route  to,  464. 

Westray,  712. 

Westray,  Papa,  712. 

Whalsey  Island,  740. 

Whitebridge,  153,  315. 

Wick,  416. 

Wick  (Old)  Castle,  419. 

WilkieVlHrth-place,  777- 

William,  Fori^d  Maryburgh,  111. 

William,  Fort,  to '  Glenmoriston,  17«. 

Wilsontown  Iron-works,  £66. 

Wool,  13. 

Wrath,  Cape,  506. 

Wrath,  Cape,  View  from,  507. 


Yarrow,  the,  764. 

Yarrow,  upright  stones  near  manse  of,  764. 

Yell,  Island  of,  742. 

Z 

Zetland,  Ecclesiastical  buildings,  713. 

Zetland,  Geology  of,  7-"><>. 

Zetland,  History  of,  7:.'7. 

Zetland  Islands,  720. 

Zetland  Islanders,  dress,  habits,  &o.,  of,  7-'> 

Zetland,  Mainland  of,  735. 

Zetland,  Natural  history  of,  749. 


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